Plan Your Christmas Dinner And Reduce Your Stress

Christmas is the most magical time of the yearwithin 2 days of purchase to avoid food poisoning.
for both young and old alike. The Christmas dinner6) Prepare Your Table
is the main event for getting together with familyThe table linen needs to be ironed.
and friends that you may not have seen sinceBuy your table decorations; there are lots of
last Christmas. This time it is your turn to cookbeautiful ones on sale in the stores.
and entertain everyone. If you have not cateredBorrow chairs if you do not have enough for the
for this many people before you may be in neednumber of guests.
of a little helping hand. In this article I aim to give7) Timings
you the low down on planning and preparing yourDevise a to do list so that everything comes
Christmas dinner to perfection and reducing yourtogether at the same time. This should include
stress along the way; ensuring that you arehow long each item takes to cook and what oven
ready in time to go to the ball.setting it needs to be on, if applicable.
1) Decide on the number of people you are goingDecide on what time you want everyone to sit
to invite.down and eat and what time you want your
Make sure that you have enough room toguests to start arriving. You do not want your
accommodate the number of people you areguests to start arriving too early unless of course
inviting otherwise it could be a bit cramped aroundthey can help you prepare food.
the table and you may find that you do not haveThe turkey will take the longest cooking time.
enough chairs to seat everyone. Write a list ofWork out how long your turkey will take to cook.
who you are going to invite and then send yourIn general, calculate 40 minutes roasting time per
invitations out approximately 2 weeks before thekilo of meat. It will take slightly longer if stuffed.
day and make sure that you have put a reply byTo work out the exact cooking time you will need
date on. Update your list with replies when youto multiply the weight in kilos by 40 minutes. If
receive them.the turkey juices are not clear when you take it
2) Buy in or prepare in advance.out of the oven, put it back in for another 20
Christmas puddings, cakes, mince pies, candy andminutes and then recheck.
cookies can be prepared up to several months inRoast potatoes. I usually par boil mine so that
advance and frozen ready for use.they come out of the oven nice and crispy after
Christmas puddings take approximately 1 hour tocooking. Allow 10minutes to boil and 1hour in the
prepare and 6 hours to cook. They areoven to roast (They come up a treat in goose
traditionally made on the last Sunday beforefat but if you want a healthier option they taste
Advent and everyone in the household gives thejust as good when cooked in sunflower oil.) Roast
mixture a stir and makes a wish.parsnips. Allow 10 minutes to boil and 30minutes in
Christmas cake takes 30-45 minutes to preparethe oven to roast.
and 4 hours to cook.Traditionally carrots and sprouts are served but
Mince pies take 30-45 minutes to prepare and 20you can serve other vegetables like broccoli and
minutes to cook.cauliflower as well. Fill pans with boiling water for
Candy preparation and cooking time variesyour vegetables. Add them to the pan 15 minutes
dependent on which candy you are making.before you are ready to serve the dinner, that
Cookies take 20 minutes to prepare and 20way they will come out nice and hot and you will
minutes to cook.not have to keep them warming whilst you serve
Cranberry sauce can be made and frozen up to athe rest of the meal.
year in advance.If you are eating out, book now to avoid
However, you can reduce your stress by buyingdisappointment.
from your local grocery store. Just think howThe popular restaurants get booked up early. You
much time you will save.can provisionally book for your party and finalise
3) Delegatethe numbers on the day. However, some
Are there any jobs that can be done by otherrestaurants will ask you for a non refundable
members of the family? You could ask someonedeposit per head.
to clean out the fridge for you so that it is readyDo not overindulge try to moderate your eating
for you to fill with all of your christmas goodies.and drinking
There are a lot of vegetables to be peeled andLots of people over indulge at Christmas time. It
prepared.is not necessary to eat and drink too much. Eat in
You could ask guests to bring a starter or amoderation to avoid the familiar bloated feeling
pudding. This will help reduce the time you spendand pain you get with stomach discomfort.
in preparing plus a cold starter would be ideal as itMake sure that you have a glass of water in
would free up some oven space.between each alcoholic beverage so that you do
Remember, it is your Christmas too.not become dehydrated.
4) Buy Non Perishable items earlierDo not drink and drive, nominate a driver or take
All of your tins, packets, jars and frozen food canit in turns or else:-
be bought in advance. Make sure that you buy*You risk points on your drivers licence. Some
some cartons of milk to store in your freezer incountries actually withdraw your licence for a
case of an emergency.period of time.
5) Order your turkey well in advance*You could receive a hefty fine.
How big does your turkey need to be? Allow*If you cause an accident or kill another road user
1-2lbs of meat per person, so if there will be 8or pedestrian you will get a custodial sentence.
people at your table you need to have a15-20lb*Nominate a driver for the evening. If there are a
(6.75-9kg) turkey. I tend to buy slightly largerfew of you who drive you could each take a turn
because not all guests eat the same amounts,in driving one day or night over the festive
some eat more and some eat less.season.
A frozen turkey must be thoroughly defrostedHopefully, if you follow my guidelines this will make
before cooking; it will take approximately 48it an enjoyable Christmas dinner for you. Enjoy
hours to defrost. Fresh turkeys can be orderedyour festivities.
from your local butcher. They must be cooked