Best Christmas Tips - all in one place

[Kirst26]

I thought we could have a tips thread where we could share tips relating to Christmas budget, planning, food, household things etc all in one place that help remove stress and hassle!

Mine would be:

• Parboil the potatoes a day or 2 before Christmas and then keep them uncovered in the fridge, they develop a starchy crust that roasts up beautifully
• Stock up on bin bags, toilet roll, ibuprofen, ketchup etc before December, its an expensive enough month without having to get too many basics in as well
• Sign up for newsletters for places like Clinton Cards and you usually get 10% off your first order
• Start buying things like peanuts etc before the Christmas stuff hits the shops, it'll be cheaper if they aren't in Christmas packaging
• If you start buying non-perishable food early make sure to have a list where it can easily be ticked off so you don't end up duplicating things
• Plan the Christmas dinner out as soon as you know the weight of your turkey with resting time factored in - you'll soon notice if that would mean getting up at 4am and would be able to move eating time to later on in the day with no fuss. I have a full timetable typed up that I just amend the time I need to start putting things in depending on the turkey size - keeps me calm :)
• Check how long the meat will need to defrost as it always takes way longer than I think it will
• if gifting choccies etc, best tell the recipient not to keep it next to the fire/radiator

If anyone has any other top tips please share them here!

This is a really useful thread, thanks so much everyone for posting.

I don’t live in the UK about save the equivalent of club care points all year to use at Christmas, I usually end up with several hundred pounds worth which covers most of the Christmas food shopping and some presents.

On the opposite end of the scale I have discovered the ultimate Christmas indulgence which I will never again be without. A 5* hotel in Zurich (15 mins drive away) does turkey takeaway. Basically cooked turkey with stuffing and gravy (you can also order sides although we don’t) hot in a thermal box. We order it for 30 mins prior to dinner on the table time, DH goes to pick it up whilst I finalize everything else. It’s such an amazing turkey and no faffing around preparing it myself. I have vowed to never again cook a turkey for Christmas. So, Park Hyatt, you need to keep doing this for many many years!

I do the sainsburys/nectar double up for crackers and wine!

I sometimes parboil potatoes then lightly roast til a bit crisp but not browned. I do that in foil trays then freeze them ready to just finish off.

We also do colour coded wrapping for the DC so their presents don't need tags and are easily identifiable.

The one I wish I'd thought of when my DC were small was to buy 2 identical stockings so I could have one already stuffed and just swap them over on their bed. Would have saved loads of faffing once they were asleep.

@guffaux

I try to get everything ordered/bought, cards written and gifts wrapped by 30th November- then I can relax and really engage with Advent and any Christmas events, without being distracted by a 'to do' list running round my head-

-it took me 30 plus years to get this organised but the difference its made is immeasurable!

yay! to people mentioning lists/spreadsheets- I'd be utterly lost without mine- have kept one for a few years now, all on one document,so I can scroll down to previous years and avoid repeats where necessary - and include repeats where they've been a success

I try to do this too.

Greater that turkey sounds amazing!

I used to buy some stuff like cards, crackers and paper for the following year in the sales. Partly for the savings but also for the feeling of being a bit organised. Don't bother any more as the sales aren't so good and over really quickly. I do an 'advent' box in the loft though that has the refillable calendar and everything left over from the previous year so I can see what cards etc I need to get without rooting through all my Christmas stuff.

We have pared back our gifts to edible gifts for the adults and money/Amazon vouchers for my DD’s (both are teens). Leaves more money for food and booze!

I always try to find out well in advance when the supermarket Xmas delivery slots open for booking so I am ready to grab an Xmas Eve slot.

Cloth bags in appropriate fabric make life very easy.

Computer chips are in very short supply this year. Loads of industries are having supply chain problems. Buy anything with a chip early!

I have 3 kids, so when it comes to wrapping their Father Christmas presents, each child has their own colour wrapping paper. No need for any labels. I wrap and store all together, but it makes Christmas Eve a doddle, eg DD elder is red, DD younger is blue. Doesn't matter if you run out of a roll, just buy that colour. That paper is not used for any other Christmas presents, to keep the magic going. They are in their teens now but we still keep this system!

Start planning now. Do your research too.

We have always had a colour wrap per person in the household to save on tags. I buy paper with no glitter so it can be recycled.

Keep a list of who I need to buy for, add things as I buy them and tick once that person is completed.

Aim to have all shopping done by Halloween and wrapped by the end of November. Both so I can enjoy December around work and because there are always plenty of colds etc circling then and I’ve had to wrap when ill before and won’t again.

Pick up treats whenever we do a food shop and ensure food delivery is booked as soon as slots open.

I used to buy the big rolls from Costco ( excellent quality , grids on the back) use one for DS and one for DD
Pair of big sharp scissors , tape on a roll with the cutting blade .
Set up the ironing board to wrap on , good height and space , saves my back .

sticky sellotape circles for present wrapping- save so much time and aggravation. Called Transparent Wrap fixers from Lakeland (nearer Christmas) 400 on roll - yes you have the backing paper to dispose of but it's worth it - seriously. I'd be lost without them.

A heavy duty sellotape dispenser - saw this on a Christmas thread years ago and love it!

@MeredithMae - YY to tape dispenser. I bought 2 similar (one lives in the kitchen, one upstairs in the study) and it makes wrapping so much easier!

I book my tree delivery in October and try to get all presents bought and sent by end of Oct/early Nov. I'm just starting to buy some nuts and crackers and sweets, adding a little to my shopping each week. Pounce on supermarket Christmas week slots as soon as they go up (last year I was there on the stroke on midnight and was still lucky to get a slot on the 21st!)

Interparcel website to book a courier to collect parcels I'm sending to family elsewhere - less hassle than Royal Mail and mostly cheaper too. I bought a parcel scale last year as you need to do your own weighing and measuring for this service.

I won a 500 pound voucher for Aldi the other day, I'm saving it all for Christmas, I realise that's not a tip but I am just so happy about it 😊😊😊

@Cheeeeislifenow that is a stroke of luck! Enjoy

@meredithmae that's the exact tape dispenser I have and it's brilliant. I buy the biodegradable tape and it also fits and works perfectly.

Especially if you’re new to cooking a trad dinner, make a timings list, working backwards from when you want to sit down to eat. Write everything down, from when to put the spuds on to parboil, to switching the oven on. And then write it out again, in time order.
Stick it on the front of the fridge, or anywhere else it won’t get lost or spattered with oil or gravy.

A turkey or other large roast is better if rested for at least 15 minutes, and a turkey will keep hot for an hour, if wrapped in foil with a couple of tea towels on top.
That leaves plenty of time for veg and making proper gravy, assuming you want to. Simmering the turkey giblets the day before, with onion etc., makes a lovely stock for gravy.

If you want to flame the pud, 50/50 brandy and vodka works very well -about a good eggcup full of each. Have the hot pud ready on a plate, and put the plate on a tray. Heat the booze until it’s really hot in a small frying pan, and just tilt it to ignite (I’m assuming gas, you might need a ‘spill’ if electric or induction) pour immediately over pud and straight to the table. If poss get someone to turn the lights off just before.

Make lists in Excel/on your phone/on an app. There's a lot of repetition each year so no need to start from scratch each time, even if you add/delete/change some things

Have separate lists by topic:
Eg what you will need for the table (crackers, candles, napkins etc)

Food to pre-buy: I have a couple of these, stuff that can be bought months ahead; others that can be bought a few weeks ahead

Fresh food for last shop

Stocking fillers

Christmas presents

Etc

Keep your stocking filler/present lists - some of the present ideas for my own children have been reused for younger nieces/nephews and now for great nieces/nephews

Thanks for all the contributions everyone!

My top tip really is to plan early - my OH complains but I think if you plan early for a stress-free Christmas you have a better chance of it happening! The earlier I plan the better. It may seem like overkill but it really helps me to stay sane and reduces stress. I usually start planning around my birthday at the end of August but I have started even earlier this year.

When I plan early it means I can tackle bite-sized pieces instead of having a really long to-do list closer to the time. It also means my budget takes less of a hit at one time and there is more time to shop for sales.

Take children swimming on Christmas Eve. Just the perfect way to calm them down and go off to sleep like angels. Fingers crossed.

This tape dispenser: www.amazon.co.uk/Tape-Dispenser-Cutting-Options-PURPLE/dp/B00C2QLBKS/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&crid=3GWD37KUPKT8P&keywords=tape+dispenser+purple&sprefix=tape+dispenser+p%2Caps%2C177&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1630418074&sr=8-15

It basically makes wrapping presents a million times easier because you get precut slices of tape.

Also I bought bulk gift tags in plain colours on amazon, like these: www.amazon.co.uk/Colourful-Meters-Wedding-Favours-Colours/dp/B07TLSVQC6/ref=sr_1_19_sspa?dchild=1&psc=1&keywords=gift+tags&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFSSUtETEVPVjNBQzImZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAyNDE0ODVFQ0lRRU1KR1dUQjImZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDA0Mjg0NTJBTVo2OTE1RTBYQjQmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1630418444&sr=8-19-spons they work for birthday and christmas presents I think.

@BikeRunSki

You can freeze parboiled peeled potatoes, then roast as usuaI. I do mine a few weeks in advance, before the chaos of Christmas starts.

I've never been able to roast potatoes properly, so I deep-fry Aunt Bessie's frozen ones.

@Kirst26

Thanks for all the contributions everyone!

My top tip really is to plan early - my OH complains but I think if you plan early for a stress-free Christmas you have a better chance of it happening! The earlier I plan the better. It may seem like overkill but it really helps me to stay sane and reduces stress. I usually start planning around my birthday at the end of August but I have started even earlier this year.

When I plan early it means I can tackle bite-sized pieces instead of having a really long to-do list closer to the time. It also means my budget takes less of a hit at one time and there is more time to shop for sales.

I agree with this.

@SummerHouse

Take children swimming on Christmas Eve. Just the perfect way to calm them down and go off to sleep like angels. Fingers crossed.

Our local pool doesn't open on Christmas Eve! I ring and asked them a couple of years ago. It would have been so perfect! They could have put some christmas music on, the lifeguards could have worn santa hats - it would have been awesome.