Entertaining

I planned to post these photos of my Thanksgiving tablescape on Monday night after our guests had gone home and the dishes had been washed up. Up until then, it had been a delightful day of preparing and a really fun party. I love love love Canadian Thanksgiving because it represents something really beautiful and, crucially to my life here in Australia, transportable – it’s about celebrating seasonal food, home-made treats, and time spent with loved ones. Which is why I didn’t try to make it look or feel like a chilly autumn night here in our bright and sultry Sydney apartment.

As for the lateness of this post, that’s another story. It tuned out that the Thai leftovers I had for lunch before starting on Thanksgiving dinner and decor were bad bad bad. The 24 hours of violent food poisoning that began later Monday evening felt a lot longer, but I’m just relived to know that the takeaway was the culprit and no one got sick from eating my food. And I figure since that dinner didn’t count for much in the calorie stakes, I have a lot to make up for come Christmas!

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Last Friday I hosted a dinner party for 8 in our tiny apartment. Since it was a family celebration I wanted keep things casual and fun with enough special touches so it felt like an occasion. I went with a simple all-white-and-glass decor scheme that made the room appear brighter and more spacious without costing the earth. Here’re a few easy ideas I used for how to get that casually elegant balance happening at your next shindig:

• Don’t worry about matching dish sets. A mixed collection of white plates and bowls looks great on the table together if you keep the scale of each place setting roughly the same.

• There’s no need to resort to paper or plastic anything – ramekins can be soup bowls, extra cutlery can be found at the dollar store, and mason jars double as water glasses. Get creative with what you have, and trawl the charity shops for what you don’t!

• Everyone loves fresh flowers at a party. To save on blooms and create a centre piece guests can see each other over, I chose two bunches of inexpensive white daisies and arranged them in little vintage cream bottles along the centre of the table. Setting tea lights in shot glasses between the bottles adds a bit of extra sparkle and I love the overall balance between the sophisticated palate of whites, creams, fresh greens, glass and the informality of the daisies.

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{clockwise from top: gingerbread muffins • baubles & lights •  under the tree • home-made raspberry jam & almond butter}

{post-presents brunch • smoked salmon, cream cheese & fresh dill on home-made bagels • Andy the Dog • bejewelled fruit salad}

{ukulele practice • mince pies & Christmas shortbread on silver service • bronzed toes in the pool • a new vintage biscuit tin}

{scrabble en famille• pomegranate-adorned salad • tomato soup & strata • post-supper ping-pong tournament • sparkling candles on the verandah}

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