Skye McAlpine on Hosting, Christmas & the Myth of Perfection at Home

For a special Christmas episode of Homing , I was invited into the home of cookery writer and ultimate host, Skye McAlpine. Skye is like a modern-day “Mother Christmas”. She was raised between London and Venice by parents who were great bon viveurs , and her childhood home was an open house, filled with guests, conversation and celebration. It’s there that she absorbed the idea that a home is meant for sharing – a philosophy she has carried into both her life and her work. If you follow Skye online, you’ll see that her kitchen is at the heart of everything she does; a space to cook and gather those she loves around one long table. For Skye, hosting is an expression of love, and choosing a favourite event is, in her words, “like choosing a favourite child”. The glamorous version of her life is only one side of the story. Skye also shows me the unseen, everyday moments of life at home. During our tour, she laughs about the dust that gathers on every surface, which makes her cough. We talk about insomnia, doomscrolling, introversion, and the importance of not letting the pressure to appear perfect stop you from putting yourself out there. This is an episode about place, belonging, childhood, and what it really means to make people feel at home. So before your Christmas dinners, I hope you give this episode a listen and absorb Skye’s wisdom for creating a table full of love . This episode was filmed in person at Skye’s London Victorian townhouse. – Matt To hear more from us: YouTube:

You can listen to Skye McAlpine on Hosting, Christmas & the Myth of Perfection at Home online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Skye McAlpine on Hosting, Christmas & the Myth of Perfection at Home is an episode from The Modern House Podcast by Matt Gibberd.

This episode is 71:35 long.

This episode was published on Dec 11, 2025.

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