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Extracted from The Virgin Gardener by Laetitia Maklouf
This not just for the realm of the ultra-organised. Wreaths are deliciously easy to make and welcome you in to your own home after a long day at work, which is delightfully self-respecting and cheery
TIMING: Winter
YOU WILL NEED: A good armful of evergreen foliage. This could, of course, be [...]

Happy Monday! January blues are kicking in; there are definite sniffles coming from all corners of the office and Christmas is now behind us. What a wonderful Christmas we had here at Handpicked though. Thank you to everyone who thought to stop by the website or who had a flick through the catalogue.
We really hope [...]

Expert Panel member Matthew Dennison reveals the best ways to decorate in style this season. He should know. He worked for years at House & Garden, and is famous for his table settings!
Be inspired by history. Early Christmas trees introduced by the Royal Family were not fir but holly, and decorated with twists of coloured [...]

The festive season is all about indulgences and this year Christmas came early for me in the form of the Retro Sweetie Jar. Channelling my inner child and indulging my sweet tooth, I splashed out on the jar that’s full to the brim of my favourite childhood sweets.
It’s now one of my favourite evening [...]

CANAPE STATION
Is there anything better than a perfect cocktail? A perfect cocktail with a little morsel of something delicious to nibble on….
Cut thinnish slices of baguette, brush them with olive oil and bake them in a hot oven (200C/400F/Gas mark 6) for about 10 minutes until golden. You now have a batch of crostini which [...]

Last night Handpicked were lucky enough to attend the Foundation Carol Service and Christmas Fair at St Paul’s Church in Wilton Place. It was the perfect occasion to put on our festive boots on and have a sneaky glass of mulled wine.
The service was in aid of the church itself in order to raise [...]

My beloved husband has perfected the art of last-minute present-buying. On the last Saturday before Christmas, he neatly dodges the list of chores I’ve been saving for him by declaring that he has important shopping to do. (This translates as ‘If you don’t let me go, you won’t get a Christmas gift). He hops on [...]

Carol singing, ice skating, mulled wine – all three at the same time if we can find them. Not to mention ‘it’s behind you’, and decking the halls with boughs of holly. Here’s our very personal list of events we can’t make it through the festive season without. And for special wow factor, stock up [...]