Glow

As everyone is well aware, Christmas should be a time of celebration, happiness and family bonding. That said, preparing a Christmas meal for the whole family is often none of these things, and is instead very stressful as the chef of the family will testify to. Having to make sure portions are correct, everything finishes cooking at exactly the same time, and keeping it all warm are just some of the challenges. Lets take a look at some effective ways to reduce Xmas meal time stress.

Prepare Food Early. You’d be amazed at just how much of the food can be prepared well before the meal, without compromising on quality. All the vegetables can be cooked hours in advance and then simply kept in cold water until you serve the food up. Add to hot water for 3 minutes and its ready to serve. If you have a microwave you can make your sauces up early doors and then just heat them up again with a bit of added water when you need them. Don’t try this with the potatoes or turkey however, as these don’t taste so good reheated.

Lay Table Early. This can be done at the very beginning of the day and saves a lot of hassle. You can lay all the place settings, cutlery and champagne flutes as long as you know how many people you are expecting. You can even place the crackers in position and add decorations such as poinsettias in glass vases.Getting all this sorted as early as possible just gives you less to think about later.

Self Serve. If you let people plate up themselves from dishes in the kitchen you save a lot of time and effort. This allows for much more room at the dinner table as its not taken up with serving dishes, and people can choose exactly what they want to eat, without grandma loading your plate up with sprouts. It’s advisable to keep the wine glasses on the table however as trying to juggle food and drink never ends well.

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