Each year, the Queen invites members of the Royal Family gather to Sandringham to enjoy their Christmas. The festive season involves a lot of feasting, presents and above all, family, friends and loved ones. So how can you make sure you are the best host you can be?

A former butler to the Royal Family has revealed his key tips for ensuring your hosting skills are fit for the Queen this Christmas.

Grant Harrold worked in the royal household as a butler from 2005 to 2011, during which time he served Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry.

According to Mr Harrold, the best way to ensure you are a good host is to ensure everyone feels comfortable in your home.

He told Nine Honey: “Say that someone makes a mistake or get something wrong, you’d never tell them off or say anything, you’ve got to be very relaxed.”

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He also advised decorations be kept “simple and traditional” to help people feel at ease, as too many lights can be disconcerting for some people.

Mr Harrold added it is best to check for dietary requirements or requests ahead of the festive season to ensure there are no surprises on the day.

He said: “A good host would always know what the diets are of the guests (vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian etc) or whatever they can’t eat or can’t drink, in terms of allergies and intolerances.”

Another tip Mr Harrold advised was to verify the dress code with guests prior to their arrival.

He added: “You can be as formal or informal as you wish but make sure your guests know they have to adhere to the dress code.

“Are you having a Christmas jumper get together or is it a black tie event? Will guests be required to change between lunch and dinner?

“These are all the details your guests need to know in advance, so they know what to bring or what to wear.”

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The former butler also advised on how to best set your dinner table.

The table is one of the main focus points of any Christmas entertaining occasions and therefore must be done adequately to ensure you complete your hosting duties well.

He said: “When creating a formal dinning setting, centre your plate and add the dessert cutlery first.

“Then your mains cutlery, followed by your entree cutlery.

“The bread plate belongs to the left of the main plate and all drinks (hot or cold) go on the right.

“If setting wine glasses, start with a white wine glass above the starter knife and red wine glass to the left of that with the water glass to the right of the white wine glass.”

He said it is also important to be aware of where you seat people.

Mr Harrold added: “You should know who at your party doesn’t get along or any issues between people at your get together.

“Put name cards to place people around the table and make sure you seat those who don’t get along at opposite ends of your table.”

This also showed that you are able to pre-epy any issued and fix the problem before it begins.

Other general advice Mr Harrold gave includes:

• Being certain to have a supply of everything, not just food.
• Have an extra present in the cupboard in case of an additional, unexpected guest.
• Ensure to buy enough napkins, toothpicks, toilet roll and bin bags to cover all eventualities.

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