Talk to Homebase about your Christmas hosting top tips and/or nightmares and you could win a £300 Homebase voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

As Christmas approaches and planning for Christmas events begins, Homebase is keen to hear about Mumsnetters' best and worst experiences of Christmas hosting - whether it's Christmas parties, having relatives to stay or even hosting the big day itself.

Homebase says: "Christmas is all about getting together with the most important people in our lives. It's a great feeling when loved ones come round to enjoy the fun and festivities- but it can be hard work sometimes too. Preparing food, getting your home looking fabulous, making sure everyone's having a good time ... the festive season comes with its own challenges and things don't always go to plan. We'd love to hear your stories of 'hosting heaven' and 'hosting hell'. Tell us about your Christmas disasters and triumphs, share your tips, fill us in on the fun times and let us know what you're planning this year."

Do you have any top tips to make Christmas hosting go as smoothly as possible? Maybe you create a time plan to make sure everything's done on schedule? Or have you had a nightmare that's put you off Christmas hosting for life?

Share your stories - good and bad - on this thread and we'll enter you into a prize draw where one MNer will win a Homebase voucher worth 300 pounds.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Always have a gift or two wrapped but not labelled , incase of those unexpected visitors.

Usually quite organised, with cards written papers wrapped by 1st Dec

We have all the family round but everyone contributes and brings bits of food which helps to reduce the stress of preparing dinner and also means that we're not struggling for space on the hob and in the oven.

Last year, i didnt have a dining table as i hadnt been in my house long and as i had the turkey dinner at my family's house, i offered to host the teatime buffet..using a pasting table.....!!
Yes, a pasting table, dressing with a table cloth (or 2) of course....and it worked wonderfully! It was much longer than a dining table anyway, got loads of goodies on it.

Was quite a triumph! xx

best hosting tips i can give is prepare everything before hand so your not so stressed and have time to relax a bit more! x

A happy Christmas for us is all about having a good time as a family. Preparation is the key and my hubby and I work well together as a team making sure as much as possible is prepared beforehand. Presents are bought and wrapped now. At the moment we are in the process of deep cleaning and decluttering every room in the house so we can get the decorations up on December 1st. We will then have a couple of weeks respite for writing cards and visiting and enjoying Christmas attractions before organising food in the final build up. This combines to ensure both of us can spend most of the big day with the most important people in our lives..... our family

We always seem to host the masses. Direct family plus extras. My two tips are first delegate. Make sure each subgroup (families, the men, kids) has a task (puddings, cleaning, serving etc) and let them know in advance what it will be. Second if new people are coming find out something to make them feel welcome individual to them and add it into the day to make them feel welcome.

Start shopping in the January sales and throughout the year. If you have a small oven and lots of people wrap the turkey in silver foil then cover with a towel to keep it warm, whilst you cook the rest.

The one time I tried to cook a family Christmas dinner was a disaster, I bought a huge turkey which buckled the tin when I lifted it out of the oven. Consequently it went sliding across the kitchen floor leaving a greasy mess so when everyone came into the kitchen to see what was happening they ended up slipping over. I eventually saw the funny side and we had a nice dinner with the bits I could save but I haven't attempted to do it again!

I think it's all about preparation. Don't leave things to the last minute (doesn't matter if presents or food). With the Christmas dinner preparation either do as much as you can the night before (peeling veg etc) or "cheat" by buying some frozen veg, jars of cranberry sauce etc so you have more time to play with the kids

IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO KEEP CALM

I've only hosted Christmas a couple of time but I found the trick was to plan ahead and do as much in advance as possible. The last thing I wanted to do was spend the whole of Christmas morning in the kitchen!

I never had a chance to host Christmas! But would really love it, I'm quiet organised so hopefully everything would go smoothly :)

My top tip is to get an invite to someone else's house for Christmas dinner! Less hassle, cheaper, no washing up, and you can leave when you're ready instead of waiting for guests that have outstayed their welcome to get the hint nod clear off!

Ask for help, accept that its not going to be perfect (nothing is) and have lots of fun... so what if the turkey's dry and the yorkies burn? As long as there's tea and cake you'll be fine :)

My family share the cooking so there is no pressure on one person.

Christmas day in our house would be a nightmare. Not enough space! We always open our tree presents and head over to Nannies house for an amazing dinner.

We do however do a very good drunken buffet on Christmas eve when we don't mind being cosy.

The worst one we had was a power cut on Christmas Day, I had to run round to a friend's house with the turkey to cook it in her oven. Then back with it, steaming hot. It was only a few streets away but it seemed like miles!

my tip is to get invited to someone else's home, no stress at all

I'm not very organised but I find running around like a headless chicken at the last minute works wonders!

i am always prepared early for xmas! and im always up for being the host as i love to cook and experiment with new recipes.. my husband is only in charge of wrapping the pressies :P beacuse im too scared to assign him to anything more challenging. lol
this year i will be expecting about 18 people over for christmas close family and friends :) cant wait)

I never drink before the guests arrive! did before and I did everything wrong and ruined it for myself

It would be my idea of hell....my only advice would be if your stressing....accept help....many hands make light work. Let the mother in law peel the spuds whilst you slug wine in the corner!

ALWAYS put labels on present!
Prepare food the night before.

If all else fails, there are always mince pies.

Write a list for Christmas day showing times and temperatures and cooking times for Christmas Dinner and prepare as much as you can the day before.