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PB THE ENGLISH HOME THE ENGLISH HOME 97Tell us about your Christmas parties?I have thrown all sorts of parties over theyears. I am very lucky that I have a largesitting room; I can clear that out and haveup to around 100 people. I love for peopleto dress up, and I think having a themeencourages this. One year we had aglamorous sparkle theme, but at otherparties throughout the year we have alsohad sixties, lederhosen, bonnets andbuttonholes... It’s just great fun.``````How do you decorate?Obviously, the house is already decked forChristmas, but I will get carried away addingfresh foliage to the mantelpiece andstaircase. I love to go to Covent Gardenmarket to gather lots of flowers, too; it’s``````such a great experience. Last year I had bigvases full of red amaryllis – make sure youbuy the flowers a couple of days before, sothey are open on the day. If I don’t havetime, then I’ll call Nikki Tibbles from WildAt Heart. She is a friend, and she’s great.``````What else helps set the right ambience?I love to have plenty of scented candles,and I am very excited about my new range.My favourite is called Sparkle and has thescent of a flower called a ‘pink’ as wellas lots of spicy notes. It’s delicious.``````When do you send out your invites?It is a good idea to send ‘save the dates’, aspeople get so busy at Christmas. I wouldusually do that around six weeks before,and just use something like Paperless Post[email service], then follow it up with abeautiful invite three weeks before theevent. The Wren Press does a great job.``````What food and drink do you serve?I like to keep things simple with food.Once, an Italian friend cooked lovely pastaand risotto that we served in little bowlsfor people to tuck into. Oysters andseafood are perfect, too, as you can helpyourself, and they look fantastic. I like togreet guests with a cocktail. A simple butlovely one is my ‘Vodka Fizz’, combiningvodka, elderflower and sparkling waterwith some mint and lime. I alwayshave a bottle of Black CowVodka – a friend inDorset makes itfrom milk; it’svery delicious.Monkey 47 Gin isalso a favourite,and Perrier-JouëtChampagne andFever-Tree mixers.``````Do you hire in anything?I will go to Jones Hire for things like extratablecloths, cutlery and tableware. But ifyou just need glasses you can get themfrom the off licences when you order thebooze. Always get far more than you need,and they pick them up dirty so you don'tneed to spend hours washing up.``````What are the most importantingredients for a successful party?The people, of course! But, you must alsohave the right levels of lighting and music.The host and hostess should be relaxed,if they are twitchy and anxious then that willspread through the party. Being organised iskey to being able to relax on the night. Ithink it’s a good idea to consider everythingyou might want to do at a party as a guest,from hanging up your coat, tosmoking, to using the bathroom. Youdon’t want to be panicking justbefore guests arrive that you haven’tgot enough ashtrays or loo roll!My party planning starts well inadvance – I am setting asidesome time this weekend tobegin preparations... n``````CLOCKWISE, FROM ABOVE Hammeredgold scented candles, from £45, SophieConran. Smart party stationery from TheWren Press. Florist Nikki Tibbles of Wildat Heart, creates gorgeous floral displaysfor all manner of occasions.SOPHIE CONRANLITTLE BLACK BOOKWith a career incorporating interior design, authoring cookery booksand designing a range of tableware in collaboration with Portmeirion,Sophie Conran talks to us about her favoured touches that helpto add a little extra sparkle to Christmas party preparations``````FEATURE``````KATY MCLEAN``````TEH UK DEC15 Little Black Book.indd 97 22/10/2015 15:50