Christmas is the most magical time of the year for both young and old alike.
The Christmas dinner is the main event for getting together with family and friends that you may not have seen since last Christmas.
This time it is your turn to cook and entertain everyone.
If you have not catered for this many people before you may be in need of a little helping hand.
In this article I aim to give you the low down on planning and preparing your Christmas dinner to perfection and reducing your stress along the way; ensuring that you are ready in time to go to the ball.
1) Decide on the number of people you are going to invite.
Make sure that you have enough room to accommodate the number of people you are inviting otherwise it could be a bit cramped around the table and you may find that you do not have enough chairs to seat everyone.
Write a list of who you are going to invite and then send your invitations out approximately 2 weeks before the day and make sure that you have put a reply by date on.
Update your list with replies when you receive them.
2) Buy in or prepare in advance.
Christmas puddings, cakes, mince pies, candy and cookies can be prepared up to several months in advance and frozen ready for use.
Christmas puddings take approximately 1 hour to prepare and 6 hours to cook.
They are traditionally made on the last Sunday before Advent and everyone in the household gives the mixture a stir and makes a wish.
Christmas cake takes 30-45 minutes to prepare and 4 hours to cook.
Mince pies take 30-45 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
Candy preparation and cooking time varies dependent on which candy you are making.
Cookies take 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
Cranberry sauce can be made and frozen up to a year in advance.
However, you can reduce your stress by buying from your local grocery store.
Just think how much time you will save.
3) Delegate Are there any jobs that can be done by other members of the family?You could ask someone to clean out the fridge for you so that it is ready for you to fill with all of your christmas goodies.
There are a lot of vegetables to be peeled and prepared.
You could ask guests to bring a starter or a pudding.
This will help reduce the time you spend in preparing plus a cold starter would be ideal as it would free up some oven space.
Remember, it is your Christmas too.
4) Buy Non Perishable items earlier All of your tins, packets, jars and frozen food can be bought in advance.
Make sure that you buy some cartons of milk to store in your freezer in case of an emergency.
5) Order your turkey well in advance How big does your turkey need to be?Allow 1-2lbs of meat per person, so if there will be 8 people at your table you need to have a15-20lb (6.
75-9kg) turkey.
I tend to buy slightly larger because not all guests eat the same amounts, some eat more and some eat less.
A frozen turkey must be thoroughly defrosted before cooking; it will take approximately 48 hours to defrost.
Fresh turkeys can be ordered from your local butcher.
They must be cooked within 2 days of purchase to avoid food poisoning.
6) Prepare Your Table The table linen needs to be ironed.
Buy your table decorations; there are lots of beautiful ones on sale in the stores.
Borrow chairs if you do not have enough for the number of guests.
7) Timings Devise a to do list so that everything comes together at the same time.
This should include how long each item takes to cook and what oven setting it needs to be on, if applicable.
Decide on what time you want everyone to sit down and eat and what time you want your guests to start arriving.
You do not want your guests to start arriving too early unless of course they can help you prepare food.
The turkey will take the longest cooking time.
Work out how long your turkey will take to cook.
In general, calculate 40 minutes roasting time per kilo of meat.
It will take slightly longer if stuffed.
To work out the exact cooking time you will need to multiply the weight in kilos by 40 minutes.
If the turkey juices are not clear when you take it out of the oven, put it back in for another 20 minutes and then recheck.
Roast potatoes.
I usually par boil mine so that they come out of the oven nice and crispy after cooking.
Allow 10minutes to boil and 1hour in the oven to roast (They come up a treat in goose fat but if you want a healthier option they taste just as good when cooked in sunflower oil.
)Roast parsnips.
Allow 10 minutes to boil and 30minutes in the oven to roast.
Traditionally carrots and sprouts are served but you can serve other vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower as well.
Fill pans with boiling water for your vegetables.
Add them to the pan 15 minutes before you are ready to serve the dinner, that way they will come out nice and hot and you will not have to keep them warming whilst you serve the rest of the meal.
If you are eating out, book now to avoid disappointment.
The popular restaurants get booked up early.
You can provisionally book for your party and finalise the numbers on the day.
However, some restaurants will ask you for a non refundable deposit per head.
Do not overindulge try to moderate your eating and drinking Lots of people over indulge at Christmas time.
It is not necessary to eat and drink too much.
Eat in moderation to avoid the familiar bloated feeling and pain you get with stomach discomfort.
Make sure that you have a glass of water in between each alcoholic beverage so that you do not become dehydrated.
Do not drink and drive, nominate a driver or take it in turns or else:- *You risk points on your drivers licence.
Some countries actually withdraw your licence for a period of time.
*You could receive a hefty fine.
*If you cause an accident or kill another road user or pedestrian you will get a custodial sentence.
*Nominate a driver for the evening.
If there are a few of you who drive you could each take a turn in driving one day or night over the festive season.
Hopefully, if you follow my guidelines this will make it an enjoyable Christmas dinner for you.
Enjoy your festivities.