It all began when we stumbled across the most picturesque home for a dinner party... Jasmine enveloping the facade, perfectly trimmed hedges and weathered wall sconces flanking the front door (it reminded us of the early English style homes you would see on the leafy streets of the Hamptons). How could such a place exist right here in Brisbane? It just oozed dreamy old world charm. This would be the perfect place for a special Christmas soirée.

We began to build our Christmas table by following suit from the beautiful greenery in the garden and selecting our tablecloth. We always prefer to start with the hero piece and then layer from there. A vintage paisley laden in gorgeous green and blue blooms was the perfect backdrop for our charming ‘old world’ look.

The next step was creating the centre piece and focal point of the table. We selected brass candleholders to add glamour and a touch of sparkle. We also layered large bunches of freshly picked roses in crystal ice buckets (a great alternative to traditional vases) to add impact and height.

Now the fun part - place settings! This is where you can get creative by mixing and matching plates, napkins, glassware and flatware - just make sure that everything complements the table setting! Firstly we started with Jute placemats to add a natural element and break up the pattern. We then layered white dinner plates with ornate green accent plates and crisp white linen napkins to add contrast. We went all ‘matchy-matchy’ with crystal glassware in the same style as our vases and selected beautiful bamboo for our flatware (because we love it!). To complete the story a beautiful brass shell and trinket box were filled with indulgent chocolates as an extra special treat. Being the season of giving, we wanted to add a lovely little gift for guests - Christmas favours laden with gourmet fruit mince pies and ginger stars. Perfect!

Our final act of Christmas cheer was to deck the door with a beautiful preserved boxwood wreath. Then it was finally time to pop the bubbly to mark the occasion! The end result… a magical, mystical and very Australian Christmas. Watch the video below for more Christmas cheer…

On behalf of us all at Mayflower House we would like to wish all our wonderful followers a very Merry Christmas! Thank you for joining us on our decorating journey. May you all have a magical Christmas that’s merry and bright.