A welcome basket for guests this Christmas

I don't know about you but when we go and stay with friends or relatives it can go one of two ways. I can be uber organised and remember to pack everything I need to take, or more than likely I'll be rushing around at the last minute randomly throwing things into my bag. Then it's hit and miss as to whether or not I actually throw the things I need into my bag or not...

And I'd like to think I'm not alone, although I expect my guests are slightly more prepared than I ever am.

So when Wayfair challenged me to put together a welcome basket for my guests this Christmas then stepping up to my role as host I used my mid-range self as a basis for what to include in my basket, but first I needed to choose a basket.

After plenty of deliberation I opted for this fabric basket in petrol by Zeller. Our spare bedroom is a mix of pale blues, mid aqua and neutral calming colours, but I thought adding a pop of blue would make a nice change - and it does.

You'll know by now that I'm not much of one for sticking to rules, so I'm using a side table as a bedside table and I love the strong shape it gives.  The brilliant white top show off the colours of my basket and of its contents.

The unfinished legs give it a modern and effortlessly stylish look and feel, and it's also available on the Wayfair site.

So what's in my basket?

• Slippers! We've wooden floors throughout our house and if you're not used to that, then it can be cold underfoot, and they are the most often loaned item to guests.
• A small patchwork quilt because there's nothing worse than being cold in someone else's house is there?  It's only a small quilt, and there's another larger one on the open shelf unit, so I'm not trying to freeze my guests out!  
• Some reading material and quite a selection at that. There's the magazines from this year's Ideal Home Show at Christmas and from Grand Designs Live earlier in the year.  Plus some classics - I've included The Da Vinci Code and Flowers in the Attic - sometimes having an old favourite to dip in and out of is welcoming isn't it?  I've also included a tongue-in-cheek book entitled "House Rules" not quite what you might think, but it's full of tips for running a smoothly oiled home - I think I could do with reading it again!
• An eye mask as it has been said our bedroom is on the light side...
• Some essential toiletries including cotton wool buds, cotton wool pads, make-up remover and my favourite thing to forget a contact lens case.

On the side table I've also added a delicate glass jar with some brightly coloured alstroemerias, also known as Lily of the Incas or the Peruvian Lily, and a small fabric tray for jewellery and valuables. It's one I made a short while back and the colours match the new basket well.  It's a small thing, but whenever I stay away from home I'm always keen to know where my jewellery is, and that it's together, so if we needed to leave in a hurry I can easily pick it up in one go. I'm hoping that I'll never need to know that, but when I do it's reassuring.

The final item that's an essential when guests stay is some fluffy towels, and this year I've gone for some of these funky and festive stag towels. Aren't they great?

So what have I forgotten?  What would you include in a welcome basket for your guests?  Leave a comment and let me know, as my once confident-that-I'd-included-everything-self is no beginning to wonder what I've missed!

* This is a sponsored post with Wayfair but all views and opinions are my own.

Some festive tableware from Homesense

I've some more Homesense loveliness today, and I make no apology for that. Since their store opened in Greenwich earlier in the year, I'm a confirmed fan. So when they asked me to put together some of their festive tableware, well, who was I to refuse?

The thing is about tableware is that at Christmas there never seems to be enough, does there?  

With a houseful of guests arriving Christmas Eve I'm as keen as ever to avoid multiple bouts of washing up in between meals, just so there's enough plates. While plates are pretty important, so is spending time with friends and family without donning your marigolds!

And it’s usually supper that we run out of plates for - but not this year!  

For us supper - a meal we probably only ever eat at Christmas - is one of those meals that is made up of food leftover from lunch, think pigs in blankets, cold stuffing and a turkey sandwich. Or from the cheeseboard, with some salad added for balance - sometimes we even eat it too!

But it always ends with a mince pie, or maybe a first slice of Christmas cake, along with a small glass of something sweet - this year after our trip to Porto, it could be port, or maybe the Marsala that’s already open.   

And this year we’ll be using these festive plates for that. I’m hoping that they’ll have their second outing of the day, having first been used for smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels at breakfast. No washing up needed either as they’ll be in the dishwasher with everything we use at lunch. 

They’re stylish aren’t they? As usual and spoilt for choice, I opted for two designs - a snowflake patterned plate hailing from Portugal and a boldly decorated Noel plate, in a 4:2 split.  

The tray, which is just gorgeous, had a ‘Vietnam’ label on and I spent more time than was probably necessary deciding on which size. There’s three and I opted for the middle size, but would have happily taken all of them! 

the coasters were the final addition to my basket, and while they look pretty and sparkly- what I’m really looking forward to is a lack of marks on our glass table. Not that I’m planning on spilling any drinks... 

I’ve snuck the new plates into the cupboard, do you think MOH will spot them?!

What do you think? Do you have festive tableware? I’m not alone am I.,,

This is a collaborative post, but all views and opinions are my own.  

A Christmas hamper, my way.

A couple of weeks ago I headed over to the Homesense at Merton for a bit of a challenge, which was to put together a hamper of my own. And it's not as easy as you'd think. But before that I haven't been over to Merton for quite a while - I used to go that way most weeks to play netball, so it was great to see how much had changed over that way. And like in Greenwich, a brand new Homesense store is a good addition.

On arrival the team gave me a wicker hamper, which comes complete with a cellophane wrapper, a golden bow and filling to make it look oh so professional. My job was to find items to go inside it, and I wanted to give it a Christmassy theme.

As you'll know Homesense is packed with many, many fabulous items, so what did I choose?

I was pleased to spot these glasses, they're a cross between a champagne glass and cocktail glass and will come in handy this Christmas as we realised, after a quick glass count-up, we realised that we didn't have six of any of our everyday glasses (don't laugh about the everyday glasses - that really is a thing).  We're planning a Christmas cocktail for Christmas eve and so these will be just the thing for that.

The sparkly beaded coasters will also come in handy, and I'm sure we'll be using these throughout the year - at just a fiver, I thought these were a bargain.  I wanted to include some Christmassy items, so the next items were:

• a small panettone, in a gorgeous tin
• some Willie's cacao chocolate, a favourite of mine
• a pack of four Christmas spreaders 
• a Christmas scented candle
• some tea towels to take care of those glasses
• and finally, some LED star lights for some added sparkle.

The star lights are great, and I think they can be used year-round. I'll admit though, even though they're not golden stars, I couldn't help but feel like I was looking for stars on I'm a Celebrity... but thankfully without the critters!

The spreaders look fun and I'm sure will be useful, both on our breakfast table and later for the soft cheeses on the cheeseboard.  I've a feeling that they'll be so useful that I'll want to use them year round too. I know MOH isn't seeing the value of them yet, but give it time and I'm sure he'll be convinced, and in which case I'll need to head back there during the year and find some less Christmassy ones!

The candle is understated but hints at Christmas smells and no doubt will help set a soothing atmosphere when things get a bit fraught, as the preparations in the final weekend get underway. For me that's usually when I realise just how many vegetables need prepping, I forget each time that I cook for more than the two of us, how many more are required. It usually works out fine...

And there's usually panettone too. This year just a mini one and I may well have been swayed by the pretty tin too, I've a feeling it will make its way into my craft room at some point in January.  About January 2nd I predict...

So if you're still looking for Christmas presents and are stuck then maybe putting together your own personalised hamper could be just the thing, what do you think?

This is a collaborative post but all views and opinions are my own.