Make your table merry and bright

It maybe a touch "Margot Leadbetter" but a cocktail/tea trolley can come in very handy for accommodating the gravy, sauces, stuffing, side dishes and the dirty plates It also saves the host or hostess from having to run in and out of the kitchen. You can buy new wooden ones for 25 from eBay and you sometimes find the kitsch, gilt versions in charity shops.

The heated hostess trolleys are even more useful for keeping side dishes warm, though they are pretty ugly. You can buy them new for about 200 from Argos and second-hand from eBay for about 50.

When it comes to the table decor, start by thinking of a theme (see ideas below) and then about vision lines. There is nothing more annoying than having to crane your neck to see the person opposite.

Either keep everything quite low, or add height with something slim and sculptural like candlesticks or a candelabra, or a tall, thin clear glass vase filled with white fairy lights.

You can also hang decorations over the table on fishing wire from the ceiling .

Kimberly Robb from the interior design team at James Brindley, Harrogate, which is famed for its fantastic Christmas table displays,

has this advice: "Forget simplicity, now is the time to laden the table with decoration.

"Lighting is key, so among the gleaming cutlery, glasses, goblets and crockery, set the mood with a scattering of metallic tea lights. Their warm glow will create a cosy ambience.

"Candelabras are also striking placed in a line down the centre of the table. Choose bronze, silvers and golds, all

of which are receptive to the glow and flicker of candlelight.

"Nature can add finishing touches at no cost. Weave fresh ivy in between crockery and lights and spray fruit such as apples and pears in gold paint and place spilling from a bowl or scattered around the table for an instant touch of grandeur.

"Gold fruit can also make wonderful stands for name cards attached to their stalks or roll napkins and tie with raffia and teamed with cinnamon stick bundles and ivy."

Other simple inexpensive ideas include using fresh flower heads in mini votive vases encircled by battery-powered lights, twigs hung with mini baubles, a glass bowl filled with baubles also works well.

Robin Silver from The Home Store at Salts Mill suggests using red felt squares, from craft shops, as table mats. They look perfect topped with white crockery.

Finally don't forget the music. A Gregorian chant and carols are atmospheric, though for me it has to be Bing.