Sir Cliff Richard was delighted to be hosting his 6th Christmas Celebration at Hampton Court Palace, where the theme this time was "A Christmas Tree" inspired by Charles Dickens who popularised this iconic symbol of Christmas.

The whole of the great rooms of the Palace were decorated with our theme in mind, and as they entered the Palace, the 250 guests were filled with the spirit of Christmas by the wonderful singing of Cardinal's Musick the highly successful and innovative ensemble. Moving through the Queens Apartments it was then time to be greeted at the entrance to the Cartoon Gallery by Sir Cliff himself, who was standing by three large adorned themed Christmas Trees. The ceiling of the room had been lit with wonderful Victorian Christmas decorations and guests enjoyed a glass of champagne and some delicious canapés, provided by the evening's caterer's, Alison Price & Company.

Soon all the guests had arrived and the toastmaster invited Sir Cliff to take his partner, who happened to be Cilla Black, and lead everyone behind the Regimental Piper from the Coldstream Guards in to the Great hall for dinner. As the Trumpeters heralded everyone to their tables, the guests couldn't help noticing the magnificence of the room they were about to eat in, from the tapestries on the walls to the image of Henry VIII depicted in the marvellous stained glass window above the minstrel's gallery.

Cardinal's Musick welcomed everyone into the Great Hall with a traditional carol, and after grace, led by Sir Cliff, it was time to sit back and enjoy the fare. Throughout dinner it was a chance for guests to chat and get to know each other but also some of the celebrity guests take time to wander round the tables between courses, so everyone began to feel they were at Sir Cliff's very special private party!

Once dinner was over there was a surprise performance from Swing Incognito, one of whom came into the room incognito as a waitress, who at first was encourage to sing on stage - rather badly! - and then finally she joined with two other members of the band and their cover was relieved and they filled the room with some delicious sounds, a great hit with everyone!

Gloria Hunniford, a great supporter of the charity then asked Cliff & Sue Mappin to join her on stage to outline the new work of the Cliff Richard Tennis Foundation, which this year has begun introducing tennis to children with disabilities. This new venture has meant that all the coaching staff who work for the charity have been trained to work specifically with children with both mental and physical disabilities. The guests were treated to a very emotional film which showed some of the work carried out in this area in 2005, which moved the audience so much that they were very generous when it was time for the auction, which raised over £95,000.

The auction was due to be conducted by Jimmy Tarbuck OBE but unfortunately on the morning of the function he was too ill with flu to attend, so a few of the celebrity guests, led by Mike Read, agreed to auction a couple of items each. This proved to be hugely successful with Jasper Carrott, Bobby Davro and Ainsley Harriott entertaining the guests each in their own unique way. A great big thank you to them, plus Annabel Croft, Gloria Hunniford and Geoff Sewell who all came to the rescue at the last moment. Let's hope Jimmy makes it in 2006!

The highlight of the evening was introduced by Gloria, a great friend of the star of the evening, Sir James Galway OBE, the man with the golden flute. He brought the hall alive with his magical playing, and we were delighted that he was joined by his wife Lady Jeanne Galway, who is also a fine flutist. Sir James then asked Sir Cliff to join him and they performed Miss You Nights, one of Cliff's many hits, beautifully.

For the first time we then welcomed the Regimental Band of the Coldstream Guards, led by their Director of Music Major G O Jones MBE, to complete a perfect evening. These Regimental Bands always sound tremendous in the Great Hall and are a great favourite with everyone, especially Cliff, who with the help of the celebrity guests, led the guests with some familiar carols accompanied by the Coldstream Guards to bring the evening to a close.

All that remained was for Sir Cliff to thank everyone for coming and to wish everyone a Very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year.

The Cliff Richard Tennis Foundation would like to thank all those individuals who supported the event which raised in excess of £130,000 for the charity.