Hosting made easy

Rosie Green's fail-safe entertaining tips to guarantee a chic Christmas

- 

You know those saints who say it's better to give than to receive? They're probably the same people who prefer to be a host, rather than a guest. If that’s you, I’m in awe, but I confess to being in the latter camp for both of these scenarios.

I’m famed for being the hostess with the leastess. For serving too little food, too late, and often failing to procure the one vital ingredient — say, the chicken for a roast chicken dinner. Yes, really.

I have produced extremely dry puddings (I later found the butter in the microwave) and prawn dishes for vegetarians (surely crustaceans don’t count?). My friends joke that if you're invited to mine for dinner, you should consider taking your own food.

But this year, I will be hosting Christmas. And although I might have passed off a cold buffet as cute in my twenties, it’s not going to fly now.

Don’t get me wrong; I really want to be a good host. I look at the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and the Duchess of Sussex - insouciantly throwing together ingredients and presenting them to smiling offspring and glamorous friends - and I admire their competence and grace.