The few weeks leading to Christmas are the perfect time to build special memories for our children (if you have any) and family members. The kind of memories they will cherish for years to come and maybe pass on.

In the past few years, I have tried to be more organised to make sure that Christmas is indeed a special and not a stressful time…

{Planning the look of your Christmas table ahead}

This year, I wanted to create a very soothing look and introduce textures, warmth and simplicity around a natural palette of off-white, brown and greys.
I paired a vintage textured cotton tablecloth with some beautiful linen napkins and these simple but gorgeous Artisan plates from The White Company.

For the final touch, I decorated the table with some timeless and stylish glass candle holders and grey candles, which I will be able to use throughout the seasons.

“When it comes to styling your table, have as many candle holders as you can afford and mix and match sizes. A cluster will always create more of a WOW factor than just a couple of candle holders looking lonely on your dining table.”

{Decorating the Christmas tree}

Mila gets really excited when it comes to decorating the Christmas tree and year after year, we add on new decorations. This year I picked up a beautiful, small tree but it’s only when Mila started decorating with these very pretty porcelain star decorations that I realised how little it was and how much she had grown :-)

Still, I think it looks just perfect…

{Lighting up candles & fairy lights}

While Mila’s thing is decorating the Christmas tree, my thing is switching on all the fairy lights and lighting candles all around our home. I especially love this curtain Christmas lights I hung onto the French doors as it will forever remind me of my first trip to New-York in Winter where all the nice, little cafés had fairy lights in their windows.

This year, my favourite finds were these inexpensive but stunning mercury tealight holders (only £6) and these Champagne flutes (featured on the table) which look incredibly stylish.

“Providing you don’t have small children running around, scattering tea light holders on the floor near your Christmas tree, will add a festive look” 

{Make gift-wrapping time enjoyable}

Gift-wrapping is my downtime.
I love doing it in the evening when Mila is in bed and I can pack everything without being asked constantly about what I’m packing.

When I was running the BODIE and FOU shop, we used to wrap gifts from our Christmas orders in white paper Kraft which funnily enough, is not that easy to find and we had to buy 5 massive rolls of white kraft from a specialist wholesaler. So I was delighted to find out that The White Company had this white kraft wrapping paper in their collection

“Make gift-wrapping a fun experience. Have everything ready (gift-wrap paper, scissors, sticky tape, ribbons, lovely gift tags, etc.), light up your favourite scented candle (I swear by this Winter scented candle) and put on the radio or Netflix to listen to your favourite program”

{Getting some fresh air between then and now}

One thing that used to wear me down before I changed my eating habits and looked after my well-being, was attending too many parties, ate/drank too much food/drinks from early December. This meant that by the time Christmas came, I was feeling sluggish and not in fantastic shape.

So getting some fresh air, going for a power walk, a run or just doing 20 minutes of exercises every day even in December, will keep you in top form.

Mila is wearing my very soft cashmere jumper, her cashmere scarf and this lovely beanie.

What are your favourite moments in the run-up to Christmas!?

Posted in partnership with The White Company; all views my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help support BODIE and FOU.

All photography by Karine Köng | Facebook | Instagram