Tips for a relaxing Christmas

[CactusLemonSpice]

I really want to relax and enjoy the day with the kids (baby, 2 and 9), but I also don't want to completely forgoe nice traditions.

As a child I found Christmas stressful as my mum was very overbearing and everything had to be 'just so'.

How do you have a lovely relaxing family Christmas, while still keeping it 'special', and not stressing myself and everyone else out in the process?

On a tight maternity budget so needs to be low cost... can't buy in a ready made dinner etc.

Quite liked our lockdown xmas last year - we did roast for tea instead of at lunch. This meant we has the morning doing presents etc and relaxing, and then sorted cooking when both DS were doing lego. Doing a smaller bird was also nice as less time to cook it. Also - doing present wrapping earlier in the month and not in one eve until 1am helped! Start getting bits now so not needing to get so much on a mega food shop. If you have a butcher and veg shop that you can pre order at, that reduces stress if you know you have what you want to have guaranteed. Or just have frozen pizza on the day if you aren't bothered! Are you having more people over for the day, or is it just your family unit?

We did duck. Was a roast in the bag which kept it moist. Was about £17 from tesco - not sure if was a bit cheaper than turkey or not.

Plan ahead as much as possible.

1. prepare veg and freeze/par cook
2. Wrap pressies etc good and early. Make sure name labels are securely attached.

3 Write card soon

1. Write a plan for the day to make sure everything is cooked/ready at more or less the same time.
2. Plan/prepare for activities you want to develop as 'traditions' for your family. Collect any bits and bobs now while there's still time to change plans if bits aren't available.

If it’s only yourselves for dinner then it should be quite easy to keep it relaxed.

Just prep ahead in as much as you can and lidl do some lovely frozen desserts

If it's just 5 of you then a large chicken rather than a turkey or buy a rolled breast joint which can be wrapped in foil and left in the bottom of the oven for ever without drying out.

DH has to share some of the work - either by doing it himself or by taking the DC out to the park for a minimum of 2 hours to give you time to wrap presents undisturbed.

When DC were little DH had them one morning and I got to go to a cafe and have a quiet coffee whilst writing the Christmas cards.

Prepare and freeze as much ahead as possible if you like homemade stuff. I prepare stuffing, cranberry sauce, red cabbage, Parmesan parsnips and bacon wrapped sausage rounds throughout December and freeze.
Pudding and cake I make in November usually.
As PP said, have the main meal later in the day so you can enjoy present opening. We have the main course about 2 with a break before pud at about 4 then something like cheese and crackers later, usually watching a film if we don't have visitors. Anyone hungry for more than that can make a turkey sandwich.
Christmas Day is magical in itself so don't overdo the stressing about making it 'perfect'.
Make a time plan, so you know exactly what needs cooking when, write it down, tick off as you go, adjust timing as you go if necessary (thank you O'level Domestic Science for possibly the most useful practical skill I took away from school!)
Personally, with everything going on, I have plain sprouts, carrots and mashed swede - I think you can overdo the flavours if you try to do something special with all the veg.
Enjoy the whole run up to Christmas so that the day itself isn't the be all and end all.
Don't drink too much until the food is well under control!

Our Christmas is very low key. Food focussed, because we're a somewhat food focussed family!

When everyone's awake, we get mimosas and cups of tea, and do santa sacks with everyone on our bed.

Once that's all done, we have brunch - usually eggs benedict - but doesn't have to be that!

Everyone (that doesn't run fast enough, so it's usually just me and DH), then cleans up.

Then everyone chills, until, by common consent, it's time to do the tree.

Everyone helps themselves to drinks etc through the day.

We all chill again. . . we usually go for a walk, girls may or may not come with us - their choice.

Late afternoon, we prep the traditional roast chook, and veges, and bung it in the oven. We'll have premade the desserts.

We have dinner when we feel like it - I love setting the table, so that's fun for me.

Then again, whoever hasn't run fast enough, or wants access to some parental favour, helps clear up.

No set time table, just doing what we want, when we want.

We do ensure now (finally), that we've got presents all wrapped and ready to go before Christmas Eve.

Wrap all the presents early. I normally wrap in November. Nothing is worse that having to wrap on Xmas eve.

If any toys need building, do this in plenty of time.

Prep veg for dinner on Christmas eve (we have a christmas eve hamper which contains an activity to keep the dc busy while we do this).

We've skipped a starter and bought a pudding some years.

The biggie is making sure your partner is doing half the work.

@RockingMyFiftiesNot

All those recipes sound yum - I am determined to freeze some stuff this year.

I seem to have too many dishes and not enough oven space!

When mine were younger we went with the flow a bit. Stockings in our bed. Presents when we were organised to do it, a couple of hours later. Dinner later than most, starting around 3 most years. Turkey, but prepping potatoes the night before and keeping the sides to manageable proportions, plus veg. As kids became teens, they did (and do) the potatoes! Also, having a meal in the freezer or slow cooker for Christmas Eve.

Money wise keep it simple (as said above lidl is fantastic- they have lovely snowmen ice cream desserts that our kids love)

Buy something with each weekly shop eg sauces or whatever.

I peel and leave the veg in ice cold water overnight. Do that christmas eve and go to the cinema then after with the kids to chill

Christmas was always a movable feast for us as my husband worked shifts and now one of my DD's does. But over the years what I've really enjoyed is the full Christmas meal on Christmas Eve by candlelight then on Christmas day we have a very relaxed day with a nice breakfast - bacon and cheese croissants, coffee, etc followed by on on-going buffet lunch that continues throughout the day into the evening. Everyone helps themselves when they want and no-one feels obliged to be 'on-duty'. My DH is the one who cooks and I got so fed up of not seeing him all day that this really is the perfect Christmas for me.

If you want to make stockings a tradition, make sure you buy two identical ones for each kid. One for the bed and the other with the gifts in, so much easier than trying to sneak out an empty one to fill and return to the bedroom!

We’ve bought desert in the past, but just never eat it. I’m not buying it this year and I’m not buying everything ready made as wasn’t impressed with M&S. Do only buy what you need and I second with prepping the meal in advance - I’m rubbish at that!

@Topbird29

Quite liked our lockdown xmas last year - we did roast for tea instead of at lunch. This meant we has the morning doing presents etc and relaxing, and then sorted cooking when both DS were doing lego. Doing a smaller bird was also nice as less time to cook it. Also - doing present wrapping earlier in the month and not in one eve until 1am helped! Start getting bits now so not needing to get so much on a mega food shop. If you have a butcher and veg shop that you can pre order at, that reduces stress if you know you have what you want to have guaranteed. Or just have frozen pizza on the day if you aren't bothered! Are you having more people over for the day, or is it just your family unit?

Yeah it's just us, I would personally be up for pizza but don't want to be a scrooge if everyone else wants a roast.

Thanks for the advice so far. I am thinking - wrap everything early.

I like the idea about having the main meal in the evening.

I will parboil and freeze potatoes, prepare and freeze sauces, pigs in blankets, stuffing. Will definitely check out Lidl's frozen puddings!

Great idea about sending DH out with the kids so I can wrap. I actually enjoy wrapping gifts so would be lovely to watch a film and do it myself with no 'help' from toddler 😂

Definitely no drinking, or I won't have the energy. Maybe some nice soft drinks for me.

I will need a coffee and breakfast to get through it, how does anyone manage a breakfast? Prepare some salmon and cream cheese bagels the night before? Or chocolate for breakfast then bagels for lunch?

I’m separated so it’s just me and my DC. We do frozen sausage rolls and pastries for breakfast - just bing them in and then everyone can pick ( although I do make myself a smoked salmon bagel!). Then have ‘party food’ for lunch as the DC find this more exciting - don’t need much and Lidl/Aldi/Tesco do some nice stuff. I then forgot Xmas dinner for the early evening - get a rolled breast usually, or a crown so quick to cook and keep accompaniments simple. Kids play with toys whilst I put things in the oven. I but in a simple pudding that the kids like. I do dress the table and make it all sparkly and we have candles with the evening meal. I worry sometimes it is a bit downbeat but the kids seem to enjoy it! I also grew up with Xmas being very stressful and my mum prepared a perfect dinner so always wanted to avoid that whilst having a few traditions!

*prepare not forgot

It's all in the preparation - I've found it far less stressful to spend xmas eve afternoon making sure all the veg is prepped, I also make the gravy a week or two ahead and freeze it, then add the meat juices on the day. Mash I make the day before and microwave it.

This would free me up on Christmas Day to play with the kids and their toys as all I had to do was put the turkey and roasties in the oven/steamer on for the veg. It's only a Sunday roast with a few extra bits after all.

For breakfast I buy the just rol chocolate croissants/danish pastries and pop them in the oven, feels a bit more special than toast and cereal!

@Lallybroch

Christmas was always a movable feast for us as my husband worked shifts and now one of my DD's does. But over the years what I've really enjoyed is the full Christmas meal on Christmas Eve by candlelight then on Christmas day we have a very relaxed day with a nice breakfast - bacon and cheese croissants, coffee, etc followed by on on-going buffet lunch that continues throughout the day into the evening. Everyone helps themselves when they want and no-one feels obliged to be 'on-duty'. My DH is the one who cooks and I got so fed up of not seeing him all day that this really is the perfect Christmas for me.

Maybe I could do dinner buffet style so that everyone can take what they like and eat informally. I can make a million roast potatoes etc, and have leftovers on boxing day!

Yes! We're spending this Christmas at the inlaws and they'll cook (have 1 year and 3 year so I'm relieved not to be hosting!) but when I do host, I'll be doing just this - the main traditional Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve, and an easy buffet on Christmas day! I remember I was always too full of chocolate to properly enjoy Christmas lunch anyway when I was a kid.

Christmas is a period of time not one day. Last years we had spag bol which had already been batch cooked for Christmas day (child’s request) and we had Christmas dinner on the 27th. Try not to over pack on day.

The things we do that really help with keeping it relaxed are:

Buy and wrap presents early, all wrapped by early December so can just enjoy the festivities.

Ditto with Christmas cards. Write end of November ready to post at start of December and that's another job done. I love a PP's idea of going to a café to do it and have a quiet coffee at the same time.

No travelling on Christmas Day. I am happy to host people, or see them on Christmas Eve or on Boxing Day but Christmas Day is for the DC to spend at home not getting dragged around relatives' houses (I hated that when I was a child.)

Breakfast is toasted bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon. No hassle and minimal washing up.

For the main meal I keep things simple and really just do a roast with a couple of extras. I pre make stuffing balls, pigs in blankets and red cabbage then have that in the freezer ready to go. The turkey I just buy a small frozen turkey crown as there's not loads of us and it has the cooking instructions on the packet so that's easy. I par boil the carrots and parsnips with the potatoes and roast together (Jamie Oliver tip) which is really easy. It would be great having loads of extras for Christmas lunch (Yorkshire's, cauliflower cheese etc) but I can't be bothered with the added hassle and it's still lovely without. Gravy is "posh" shop bought, maybe with some meat juices added on the day.

We do lunch quite early, about 1pm then have a walk and spend the rest of the afternoon and evening lazing around. We do Christmas pudding around 4pm as we're always too full after lunch.

We have fond the main meal
In the evening since my school were little and it suited their schedules better! It suited everyone else much better too so we stuck with it!

Definitely agree with wrapping gifts early. I keep gift-wrap in a drawer in the dining room with sellotape, scissors etc, then wrap on the kitchen as we buy things. During the school day. It's too daunting to leave it till Xmas eve. There are always 101 other things to do then, anyway.

Think about easy makes Christmas special for you and focus on that.

We have 3 children and realised whilst we had a fun run up to Christmas the actual day was either spent rushing to see other people or cooking. So new plan the last few years has been a special Christmas Eve meal with grandparents, Christmas Day present opening, building presents etc with a lazy but special breakfast, croissants, bacon eggs salmon etc

Followed by lots of chocolate and mince pies.

Tea is ham or Turkey sandwiches, with pigs on blanket, stuffing, potato smiley faces, naice nibbles, cheese and crackers etc. And this means we have space for dessert. Everyone can stay in PJs if they want.

Boxing Day we have a full Christmas lunch and invite family

We decided that Christmas Day is about the children and that's our focus.