Christmas lunch essentials

Pimp your festive lunch table with our handpicked selection of Christmas essentials – from gorgeously unique tableware to local veg and handcrafted puds

Locally reared meat and fresh South West veg

Darts Farm

The South West’s bountiful countryside is pretty unbeatable when it comes to quality produce. And if you fill your Christmas table with all things local you’ll reap triple benefits: you and your guests will enjoy an ultra-flavourful Christmas spread, you’ll have earned bragging rights re. low food miles, and you’ll be supporting local producers and farmers.

Your one-stop-shop for the festive feast is Darts Farm in Topsham near Exeter. The team grow all their own veg (Maris piper potatoes, leeks, cabbages, celeriac, curly kale, cauliflower and Darts’ iconic sprout stalks to name but a few) in the fields surrounding the shop and handpick them fresh each morning to stock the veg cart in the farm shop.

Pick up a showstopping centrepiece from Darts Farm Butchers. Trad turkeys come courtesy of Steven Slade at Aylesbeare and are hand selected by Darts’ master butchers Alistair and Phillip. For a richer, ultra-succulent bird, quality geese from Paul Edworthy at Cockingford Farm, Widecombe-in-the-Moor, is also available, or opt for Darts Farm 40-day dry-aged Ruby Red Beef which is slow-grown to maturity on the farm.

Handcrafted Christmas pud

Georgie Porgie’s Puddings

This year marks George Hollywood’s 30th Christmas crafting handmade steamed puddings for Georgie Porgie’s Puddings in Budleigh Salterton, Devon.

Go trad with a Classic Christmas Pudding (it recently won Gold at Taste of The West) for a deliciously spiced crowd-pleaser that’s heavenly with a dollop of brandy butter. Or add a drop of spirited sweetness by opting for the more niche option of Zesty Exeter Gin Pudding with an oozing of double cream. After a juniper-spiked start, vibrant lime lingers on the palate.

Playful tableware

See+QUIN

At See+QUIN in Bath, it’s all about turning the ordinary into the extraordinary by giving home decor a fun, quirky twist.

Crafter Kate Southward blends traditional techniques with modern design by using a hand-operated chainstitch Singer sewing machine to create bold embroidered elements on everyday items. Add a splash of craft and creativity to the Christmas dinner table with a set of six embroidered Christmas Cracker Linen Napkins, Festive Phrase Linen Napkins (pictured) or Personalised Wreath Placemats.

As well as being a cracking talking point over Christmas lunch, these items are made in alignment with Kate’s ethical practices so there’s a whole lot of love stitched into each item.

South West fizz

Bride Valley Vineyard

Don’t resort to raising a Christmas toast with a sub-standard Prosecco. Treat your guests to the real deal with a bottle of quality fizz grown in the South West.

Bride Valley Vineyard was a dream-turned-reality for the late Steven Spurrier – a global wine superstar – and has picked up a legion of fans since its first harvest back in 2011. Its Blanc de Blancs 2018 is a gorgeous choice to accompany Christmas turkey and trimmings. The Chardonnay-only style of sparkling wine brings freshness and bold citrus flavours of grapefruit and lemon, which give way to the trademark Blanc de Blancs flinty salinity.

Eco Christmas crackers

Little Green Cracker Company

We’re all doing our bit to reduce our consumption of single-use plastics, but there’s no need to cut out the festive fun associated with such objects. Thankfully, companies like Little Green Cracker Company in north Devon are providing eco (and luxury) solutions to ensure we can still enjoy the festive tradition of pulling Christmas crackers – minus any guilt about the planet.

Its luxury Christmas crackers and Li’l Eco Mixed Christmas Crackers are handmade, eco-friendly and plastic free. Everything is designed to be recycled and repurposed: the cracker remnants can be recycled or composted, and, as a plant-based material, the Tencel ribbon will likewise biodegrade.

And the gifts? Forget fortune-telling fish and flimsy keyrings; these are sourced from small companies in the UK (many in the South West) with impeccable eco creds, designed to be used rather than consigned to landfill. They include treats such as a St Eval scented tealight, jar of Tracklements fig relish, bee-friendly wildflower and chilli seeds, garden twine and soap from Cole & Co – plus a paper crown and corny joke, of course.

Like 5 of the best Christmas lunch essentials? Discover 5 of the best gifts for wine lovers.

We choose the companies included in our 5 of the best features based on editorial integrity. Occasionally, some inclusions will be from clients with whom we have a commercial relationship.