Life & Style
TAT London
Online interiors mecca Tat London is our go-to for intriguing antiques and inspired home-styling ideas, so we quizzed its founder, Charlie Porter, for her tips on conjuring a creative Christmas
Christmas cooking
I am not a chef and I don’t particularly love cooking – no change at Christmas. What I do like doing is hosting, and canapés fall under that umbrella, which is where I come in. I like to make things mini – popular in the early Noughties and still a big hit with me!
Decorating the table
Think it through, it’s not just going to come to you on the day. And be prepared. The year before last I did a jewelled theme, with coloured ribbons and place mats wrapped in Florentine wrapping paper. Last year it was ‘Starry Night’, with hundreds of stars hanging from the ceiling. Both took a lot of time and preparation but it paid off, and it adds a little bit of excitement to proceedings.
I’ll be listening to…
Well, it’s not really me who will be listening, but one of my favourite Christmas scenes is seeing my mother on Christmas Eve, preparing the food for the next day listening to The Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols.
I’ll be watching…
Anything! A few years ago we invested in a projector and it has revolutionised the telly-watching experience. It even made watching the Downton Abbey film bearable… just. I think this year I would like to revisit Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, and mine my sister’s favourite, All About Eve.
I’ll be wearing…
Something I fit into. I am a cliché in that every year I put on a lot of weight during the Christmas period. A fun dress is always a good shout to distract from the weight. I have bought a hell of a lot of dresses recently – it's actually a little bit of an obsession, which is mad as there has been no opportunity to wear them. But if the world was my oyster, wearing Molly Goddard’s black tulle dress would be a real treat. For the rest of the Christmas period I would hope to be in an all in one Adidas tracksuit, it's been on my list for a while!
My favourite festive tradition…
A tradition which may sadly not go ahead this year is that we meet with around four families in our village pub. The last few years there has been a karaoke so we have sung our way into Christmas Day.
My Christmas treat…
There are so many, but I've got very into hot toddies in recent years.
My Christmas smells like…
Clementines.
How I’ll give back…
There are so many brilliant causes, this year more than ever, but two I will be giving to are Shelter and Choose Love.
