Recently, I celebrated a ‘big’ birthday. In the run-up to it, I was rather fearful of the rapid acceleration towards old age, the thought of becoming dull, irrelevant, someone endlessly focused on the weather and how fast time passes, whose back goes out more than they do… And while, in that quintessentially British way, I rather enjoy a bit of self-deprecation, a bit of an indulgent wallow in dourness and depression, I knew I had to do something to snap out of it…
So I threw a party. There were balloons, fizz, my nearest and dearest all around me, cocktails, dogs, speeches, mini-burgers and a massive cake that was literally the best people had ever tasted. While it may come as a surprise to some, I’m not a big fan of being the centre of attention, but this was epic and I bloody loved it.
It reminded me of the warm, wonderful power of a great get-together and, as we head into this holiday season, I just wanted to implore you all to do whatever you can to enjoy yourselves, however briefly, but whenever you can. Yes, the weather’s grim (see, I have started banging on about it), the world’s in a state and bleakness never seems to be far away, but surrounding yourself and those you hold dear with love and light is the only way to forge ahead.
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This time of year represents many different things to many different people and we wanted this – our most brilliant bumper issue of the year – to reflect that. We tackle Christmas head on, with gifting galore and the most boujee and louche decorating and entertaining ideas from a host of experts and our talented friends at design studio Banda. (If you’re wondering, my festive period will definitely involve platters of chips and copious martinis. I’m owning it!) There’s also a stunner of a shoot, where we up the glamour stakes, showing off the most luxe precious-metal pieces that would make either extravagant presents, heirloom investments or both.
As this is the time of year for unbridled consumerism, we lean into the joy of shopping, exploring the retail meccas of the past that had both cultural and interior-design impact, and look to two of LVMH’s newest modern temples dedicated to guiding you towards the ultimate purchase. There’s also our annual exploration of lighting – so vital to the season and to making you and your guests look fabulous (even after a month of parties, no sleep and too much vodka).
Finally, of course, there’s what we do best: great houses from around the world, packed with inspiration and wow moments to remember. A usual edition would have about six but, as it’s a time for giving and this issue needs to see you right through into 2026, we’ve packed in 13, including one owned by a Hollywood star and six in our winter edition of ELLE Decoration Country bound onto the back of the magazine. We should have wrapped it up and popped it under the tree… Happy holidays, and see you on the other side!
