Best - worst Christmas hacks

I bought two recyclable roasting trays. Had two joints, a gammon joint and a turkey crown. They both took the same time to cook, and once done i rested them in a warm top oven while i did the veg etc

The trays i simply washed up and stuck in the recycling while the veg was cooking. Horrible meat greasy baking tray gone bah boom. It was a big win for me

@anothernamechangeagainsndagain Do you just cook your stuffing balls according to the packet directions? I have leftover Paxo and sausagemeat and bubble to be made tomorrow from Christmas 2 today!

I also ( maybe sadly…) keep a note book.

At the end of each Christmas I look at what worked well and any good ideas or those than can be dropped going forward.

I often use the sales, just now to buy anything we may have needed ( a Christmas apron last year, vintage meat forks another) so that I don't have to run around at the last minute next year.

I roast a chicken a few weeks beforehand and use the meat for salads etc but I make gravy from the juices and freeze it. Come Christmas Day, I mix in the Turkey juices and we have chicken and Turkey gravy. Tastes great and is one less thing to do on the day of cooking.

Bulk buy paper gift bags and tissue. Loose wrapping of gifts in tissue.

We reuse the bags year on year, colour coded for each person ( no labels on Santa gifts)

I also have a tool box with scissors, tissue, labels, and an assortment of ribbons.

I did :
chicken for DS
Quorn roast for the rest of us
once cooked these are wrapped in foil+ teatowels to rest
Roast potatoes and roast parsnips in the oven then set aside to finish in the airfryer for the last 5 minutes
Carrot , sprouts,turnip in to steam
Cauli cheese cooks while the Yorkshire Pudding tins heat then it goes in the top oven
We watch the wonder that is Yorkshire Puddings through the glass oven door while the gravy cooks

Great minds! 😂

I strongly recommend being properly poorly fit the entire Christmas period, so DH has to step up. He actually seemed to enjoy not being overlooked and micromanaged, so I think I'll leave him to do all the Christmas food next year too.

My best thing was to section off the food in the fridge that was available for lunches and snacks at any time . Put them on top shelf .
i then put a note on the fridge door saying take what you want from the top shelf but mitts off the rest.

it really helped as there was no .. mum cN i have .. ?? and id have to think what was for what day..

with three 20 year olds who eat n eat … it really helped and i knew that id not have missing ingredients!

i also arranged for guests to look a meal on one of the days . Whilst i drank wine and put my feet up . Just knowing id get a day off was bliss

we also colour coded the gifts

I made homemade ice cream for my gluten free/ Christmas pudding hating guests - 1 tub of ready made custard, 1 tub of double cream whipped together then add maple syrup and freeze (need to whip twice whilst it’s freezing) .To serve, take out of freezer for about 20 mins then pour Baileys or rum or other alcohol of choice over. Was a big hit.

I bought a cooked side of salmon from M&S. it was bloody lovely and everyone enjoyed it. Job done!

I also spent hours on Jamie’s get ahead gravy one year. Chucked the whole lot away it was so awful.

This sounds like a brilliant idea. Definitely trying this next year

Christmas stockings - for our two, I bought four identical Christmas stockings years ago, and they each hung one on the end of their bed. The other empty two were in my wardrobe, where I filled them with little bits and bobs I picked up when shopping. By Christmas Eve they were ready to go, and all I had to do was swap over the stockings while they were sleeping. It just saves a bit of faff on the night when all you want to do is sleep.

We’ve done this for several years. Christmas dinner as our evening meal on Christmas Eve, then leftovers/treats/party food on the day itself (although we actually went out for a curry this year on Christmas Day!).

It’s SO relaxing. Also makes Christmas Eve feel extra Christmassy.

Amazing, thank you so much. Going to check that out now.

My best hack is to buy two sets of identical stockings. Hang the empty one, then when everyone is asleep swap for the pre loaded one. Saves messing around stuffing it in the dark.

I also use paper striped sweet bags to quickly wrap small stocking filler items, seal with a sticker.

Finally never, ever suggest that the stockings should be hung in the child’s room. Door handle at a minimum, ideally downstairs and well out of the way of restless babies.

Now is the time to buy them - quite a lot on ebay and etsy that are reduced. I made mine as I was on more of an eco drive so wanted to use reclaimed fabrics (mainly old clothes - jeans legs make fab bottle bags). If you want to go more for a colour theme than Christmassy fabrics then The Clever Baggers is brilliant for stockings and drawstring bottle and tote bags in a range of plain colours - eg go for red and jazz up with green ribbons or blue and silver etc. The Ribbon Room is also a fantastic website - it does printed hessian Christmas Bags and a range of gingham and polka dot ones and sells matching ribbons etc for far less than the shops.

Clear every possible surface in the kitchen then do one thing at a time eg veg prep. The air fryer was a revelation for roast parsnips, under 15 minutes, tossed in oil and salt first. Saved room in the oven.

We did this last year due to Boxing Day work commitments of some family. We'll be going back to that next year. It was just so much easier and more relaxed on Christmas Day and got everyone so excited for Christmas Day.

@londonmummy1966 fabric gift bags is a genius idea.
Wish I could save this thread for next year!

Second the M&S gravy added the meat juices to it and it was lovely. I'm lazy so I used Aunty Bessies yorkshires. Preprepped all the veg the day before. My best hack is to par boil the potatoes when the turkey goes in the oven. Then strain and shake and put on a baking rack covered with a couple of clean tea towels so that they are bone dry when they go in the oven (when the turkey comes out).

This year's innovation was fabric gift bags - saved hours on the present wrapping and no paper to throw out.

I would also always get a turkey crown if we were having turkey - but recently we've ditched turkey and tend to have beef or pork.

(a) like others, I parboil all veg the night before and leave it in its tray and with oil for roasting the next day.

(b) Oven space can be complicated so I sit down the night before and write out my oven/cooking rota, working back from when I want to serve up and including resting time for meat.

(c) Clear all surfaces I will want to leave food on in kitchen, utility and dining areas the night before and run the dishwasher last thing before bed.

I don't really have any hacks for presents but I love adults buying and wrapping their own, and wrapping the batteries in with gifts that need them!

We don't bother with traditional dinner, we don't love it that much. If it's my turn, I only do make-aheads on Christmas Eve for Christmas Day. So puddings that need chilling time and main meal things that sit happily on the hob or in the fridge and can be heated back up for a few min whilst fresh pasta or rice etc get prepped. Might try picky bits next year as although it's more faff on the day, it's relatively easy to sort.

Similarly dinner on Christmas eve is a charcuterie board type spread with a couple of bought Spanish omelettes and thrn a plate of german Christmas biscuits as it's quick- just dump it all out of packets. I actually like cooking, I just refuse to spend more of Christmas Day working than I need to.