How to Host a Cosy Autumn Garden Party: 12 Ideas for an Outdoor Family Gathering

Summer parties get all the attention, but I have a soft spot for an autumn gathering in the garden.

Why hold an autumn party outside? Because we get to connect with nature right when it's at its most colourful. Because it's a really memorable event, the kind your family will still be talking about years later. And because with a few simple touches, it can be made so beautiful.

Here are my 12 ideas for a cosy outdoor autumn party. None of them need you to buy anything new, and none of them need to be perfect.

1. Find a sheltered spot

I love to hold summer parties on the open lawn, where there's lots of space for croquet, dancing and children running around. For autumn, I look for a more sheltered spot in the garden, somewhere that feels cosy and enclosed.

I set up between a large viburnum bush and an apple tree. It gives the party a defined, cosy space, and it's far less windy, should the day decide to be breezy. Look for a corner of your garden framed by a hedge, a wall, a big shrub or a tree.

2. Mix and match your chairs

Nothing matching at all. The best look, I think, comes from bringing out a few posh chairs, like a pretty upholstered vintage chair that really should never go outside for practical reasons, and pairing them with simple garden furniture.

That contrast makes the whole table look inviting, casual and cosy. It's just for one day, the chair will survive.

3. Hang a blanket on every chair

Autumn days can turn breezy and cold, so I hang a blanket over almost every chair. If everyone has a blanket to wrap around their shoulders, nobody needs to head home early because they're cold. It also saves me hunting for blankets later when I spot people slowly turning blue.

Choose soft, cosy blankets, freshly washed so they smell of that lovely scent you add to your washing. It's a small thing, but people notice.

4. Layer your tablecloths

Layered tablecloths give the cosiest look of all. You don't need to match them or be very selective. As long as you have three tablecloths to layer, and they hang down off the edges of the table, it looks casual, inviting and relaxed rather than formal.

5. Swap fine china for thick, colourful pottery

For summer parties I love mismatched china cups. For autumn, I reach for thick pottery and tableware that holds the heat and looks cosy. Le Creuset mugs might be the cliché, but to me they're also the perfect autumn party tableware.

Go for colour. Autumn, to me, isn't about freshness, it's about deep, cosy colours. You don't need to buy anything new: look through your cupboards, and you'll find pieces that fit this style.

6. Use your best plates (or paper ones)

I like to get out my best plates and bowls, because I don't believe in saving them for a special occasion. An autumn party is a special occasion anyway.

That said, paper plates and bowls are completely fine. They give people that casual feeling that nothing here is too precious, and they save a mountain of washing up.

7. Keep the tea and food warm

A teapot on a stand with a tea light underneath keeps tea warm all afternoon. Large food warmers or warming plates are great too, if you have them. Not everyone does, and that's fine: simply choosing tableware that holds its heat makes a big difference.

8. Serve shareable food that looks beautiful

Food obviously needs to taste good, but as an artist, I want it to look good too. I think about textures, colours and how things sit together on the plate.

I always choose shareable food for a gathering like this. Put a big pot on the table and let everyone load their own plate. It's easier and far more relaxed. But it can still look special: if I'm serving tomato soup, I swirl cream through it and sprinkle poppy seeds over the top, so every bowl looks beautiful.

I'm always inspired by Tata, the painter in Lucy Steeds' novel The Artist, and how he sets up his feasts with the art they'll inspire in mind. It's a really good read, and I recommend it. (I share books like this, and whatever else is inspiring me, in my handwritten letters.)

9. Put out card games and board games

People are in a good mood, and nothing brings them closer than a card game or a board game. I don't like a structured programme at a party. I just make games available, and people always reach for them.

10. Create a soft soundtrack

Sound is super important, and it makes the whole day feel special. I like to give the party a gentle soundtrack, whether that comes from soft music or from the garden itself.

Soft jazz on a hidden speaker. I always have a Bluetooth speaker outside, hidden somewhere in the bushes, playing soft jazz. This one is my favourite - amazing sound. That's my autumn go-to, and Harry Connick Jr. is my number one choice. Any easy-listening music works, as long as it sits gently in the background.

Wind chimes. I have two Wind River chimes that are tuned to go together. In autumn you hear them almost all the time, because there's usually a little breeze or a draught, and when they're hung in the right place they make the most beautiful soundtrack to the day.

11. Burn incense away from the table

For me, incense is a must for an autumn gathering. Burn it somewhere away from the table, like a drinks station, so it spreads a beautiful fragrance through the air without the smoke bothering anyone or getting in the way of eating. My go-to for autumn is Nag Champa.

12. Go for the clichés

Hot chocolate. S'mores. Autumn plants and flowers on the table and all around. Pumpkins everywhere. This is the time to go for it.

It will never be too much, because this is the one event your guests are going to remember, and they'll remember it through those details: how you took care to set it all up. That memory is what stays.

Your cosy autumn garden party checklist

• A sheltered spot in the garden

• Mismatched chairs, with one or two posh ones

• A blanket on every chair

• Three layered tablecloths

• Thick, colourful pottery and your best plates (or paper ones)

• A teapot warmer or food warmers

• Shareable food that looks as good as it tastes

• Card games and board games

• A soft soundtrack: jazz on a hidden speaker, or wind chimes

• Incense at the drinks station

• Hot chocolate, s'mores, autumn flowers and pumpkins

Now go and gather your people. I hope it's a day they remember for years.

And if you loved these ideas, I'd love to send you my letters. About once a month, I sit down with pen and paper and write a real letter, the kind you'd write to a friend, about what's happening in my studio, the books I'm reading and the little moments that make a creative life feel full. They're free, and they arrive straight in your inbox. Get my handwritten letters here.

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