Christmas Party Decorations with Next-Day Delivery: What Is on the Shelf This Week

Every year there is a week in November when the Christmas party decorations people have been pinning since September quietly sell through, and the week after that is when the emails start: can you get it to me by Saturday? So this post is the honest version of a Christmas shop. Everything below is sitting on the shelf in our Buxton stockroom as I write this, it is all posted from here rather than ordered in for you, and it all qualifies for next-day delivery. No pre-orders, no "dispatched in 5 to 7 days", no waiting on a container. If it is in this post, it is packed tonight.

I will keep this post updated through the season, so if you are reading it in December, the list still holds.

Christmas party decorations with next-day delivery: how it actually works 📦

We post every working day, right up to the Royal Mail deadline in December, and we are closed only at weekends and on bank holidays. Choose next-day at checkout and Royal Mail aims to have it with you the day after we post it; choose standard and it is usually two or three days. Free UK delivery kicks in over £40 on any service, and everything in this post is held in stock here, not drop-shipped from a supplier, so the date you see at checkout is a real one. If you are planning a party for the weekend, Wednesday is the comfortable day to order and Thursday is the brave one.

The Christmas table, ready to ship 🎅

Three tables you can have on the doorstep tomorrow. The first is Hootyballoo's Vintage Santa, a soft pink and red that looks like a 1950s Christmas card: Vintage Santa Paper Plates - Pack of 8, Vintage Santa Paper Napkins - Pack of 16 and Vintage Santa Paper Cups - Pack of 8, all under £6 a pack. Put them on a red and white striped cloth and you are done.

The second is the Nutcracker. The Meri Meri x New York City Ballet Nutcracker Christmas Party Cups x 8 and the Nutcracker Ballet Soldier Christmas Party Napkins x 16 are the two pieces from that range we hold here, and they are enough to carry a table on their own with plain white plates. The full styling guide is in our Nutcracker Christmas party post.

The third is gingerbread, which is the one the children choose every time. My Mind's Eye's Gingerbread House Christmas Party Plates x 8 are shaped like a little iced house, and the Gingerbread Man Christmas Party Napkins x 24 stretch to a class party. For a quieter table, the Red Bow Scallop Border Party Plates x 8 are cream with a hand-drawn red bow and go with absolutely everything else in this post.

Christmas party decorations for the room 🎄

If you only buy one thing for the room, make it the Large Christmas Tree Honeycombs With Star x 3. Three green paper trees that open out in seconds, stand on a mantelpiece or a sideboard, and fold flat for next year. The Gold Merry Christmas Banner With Velvet Bows - 2m is the one I would hang above them, and for a hallway or a kids' table the Christmas Village and Wreath Christmas Banner is a row of little paper houses with a felt wreath, which children find endlessly interesting. If you want tinsel, and this year everyone wants tinsel, the Pink Tinsel Scallop Christmas Garland is the shelf copy of the Meri Meri garland that is all over Pinterest right now.

Christmas balloons that post today 🎈

Balloons are the thing people leave to the last minute and then cannot get, so these are all here in quantity. The Giant 3D Standing Nutcracker Foil Balloon is £4.99, stands on the floor on its own once air-filled (no helium needed) and is the most photographed thing we sell in December. The Christmas Rocking Horse Foil Balloon (41 inch) is the one for a first Christmas, and the Red Starry Ball Foil Balloon - 75 cm and Green Starry Ball Foil Balloon - 75 cm are giant baubles that look wonderful in a cluster of three tied to the banisters.

Small Christmas gifts and the elf, on the shelf 🎁

For the gift pile: the Meri Meri x Molly Mahon Large Christmas Gift Bags x 3 are block-printed paper bags with a velvet ribbon handle that are nicer than most presents. From East of India, the East of India Wren Wooden Ornament, the East of India Porcelain Christmas Tree - Merry Christmas and the East of India Porcelain Nativity Set are the three I would put in a teacher's bag or on a mantelpiece. The Rainbow & Gold Christmas Tree Candles x 6 are the table present for the host.

And the elf. Our own Cheeky Elf Arrival Doll - Boy or Girl is £6.99, arrives in a few days rather than a few weeks, and the first of December is closer than it feels.

The ready-to-ship Christmas shopping list 📝

Shop Christmas party decorations with next-day delivery 🚚

Everything in this post is in the New Christmas collection, and the full ranges are in Christmas Tableware and Christmas Garlands. Free UK delivery over £40 and next-day delivery on everything in stock.