December is festive time: with HTSI receiving is setting stories

What is the secret to a successful birthday party? The choice of guests, a menu that cannot be taken for granted, the right soundtrack and an atmosphere that connects and gives everyone a special place. The December issue of HTSI, on newsstands from Friday 12, is dedicated to that multitude of small personal details that make the difference and turn a convivial moment, a dinner with friends, a family reunion, a work party, into a memorable occasion unlike any other.

It starts with setting the table. There is no need to overdo it: just one strong idea and then everything can revolve around it, plates, glasses, cutlery, decorations, flowers, in a harmonious and coherent whole. There are three proposals: a white tablecloth that preserves the calligraphic imprint of its guests by making them the protagonists of an embroidery that is completed thanks to their participation, a vintage piece purchased at a memorabilia auction that recounts epochs of great hotels and historic receptions, or a centrepiece animated by fantastic creatures or decorated like a blown glass garden. For those who prefer to focus on floral decorations, a complete map of the best nurserymen, ateliers, studios and galleries all over the world, from Rome to Sydney, to find rare varieties,ikebana arrangements, evergreens and handmade vases.

From the mise en place to the indispensable ingredients of a celebration, wine and bubbles selected by a sommelier's expertise among this year's novelties. Big celebrations call for big formats: from the monumental melchizedec to the primat to the more manageable magnum, even the size of the bottles favours a different, extrasize toast. There are also bottles so beautiful that it is almost a shame to uncork them: better to collect them or choose them as a precious gift idea. In this issue of HTSI, we explore the auction market for legendary vintages and artist labels, limited edition reds and whites and jewel boxes. And always among the connoisseur gift ideas, there is the strong trend of the analogue comeback. There is something extraordinarily poetic and precious about a 1950s Rolleiflex or a Leica that survived two wars. Or of a legendary Voigtlander with its tobacco-coloured leather case. In the world of cameras, vintage continues to attract enthusiasts and investments are revalued over time.

Not to be missed is the HTSI Watch Special, a fixture at the end of the year that reviews the most interesting new developments, for men and women, in the world of fine timepieces.

Finally, with holidays in mind, a focus on the sports wardrobe and the most beautiful adventures to plan at altitude. Not only skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and all the more traditional activities on the snow, but the story of an extraordinary experience, lived live, of ice diving, a scuba dive in frozen mountain lakes. To discover how far the body and mind can be pushed.