Sitting down to a festive dinner with the family surrounded by sparkling Christmas decorations is a beloved tradition.
This is the easy part though – the hard bit is actually preparing the meal. If you follow these handy tips, however, you can enjoy Christmas dinner with less stress this year.
Always plan ahead
As it gets closer to the Christmas period, you should be checking you have all necessary ingredients for the meal. This can mean simple seasonings like salt, pepper and oil, as well as the actual turkey. Aim to have everything ready to go by 22 December.
Prep the turkey and vegetables
Both the turkey (or vegetarian alterative) and the vegetables should be prepared the night before cooking. The turkey will be best if it has been brined for roughly 12 hours in advance, to prevent dryness.
Prepare the vegetables the night before too, by peeling and chopping. Then, leave them in saucepans of water.
Time the cooking
Work out ahead of the day how long each part of the meal will need for cooking. Then, you can schedule everything accordingly, beginning with the turkey going into the oven early on Christmas morning. Having those times figured out in advance will enable the whole thing to run like clockwork.
Wash up on the go
Christmas dinner involves a lot of different pans and utensils. Wash things up as you go along, as nothing will spoil the mood like the prospect of a mountain of washing up awaiting you afterwards.
These few simple steps should help make the preparation of this year’s festive meal a straightforward one.
