Easy Christmas Party food: please share your top tips with Lidl #SchoolofChristmas: chance to win one of 5 £50 vouchers NOW CLOSED

[ZaneMumsnet]

Ahead of the festive season the Lidl team at #SchoolofChristmas would love to hear your top tips for tip top Christmas party food - what lessons have you learnt for hosting parties at Christmas that you can share with Lidl and MN?

VDd28

Please share your tips which can help make hosting a Christmas party (for kids or adults) a dream - whether an amazing recipe, short-cut, or your nod-and-a-wink trick to ensure you get to spend less time in the kitchen, and more time enjoying the party.

Everyone who posts their tip on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where 5 Mumsnetters will each win a £50 Lidl voucher.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Most folk spend more than usual on food at Christmas time. So use the money wisely and don't just plump for overpriced, over-rated turkey. Try something different this year. Go on, get out the cook books!

Buy things in advance and then prepare early, saves the panic!

We make sure all the veg is prepared on Christmas eve and therefore less to do on Christmas day. Making your own mulled wine is also fun and tastes great.

This year, I'm going to allocate jobs to the kids to do the day before wherever possible): peel vegetables; ensure dishwasher is emptied; etc. I will rely on frozen roast potatoes and possibly a pre-made bought dessert (none of us like xmas pudding). Gravy will be made from the veg water and supplemented with juices from the meat.

I dont know about easy but I would say less. However much you think you are going to need, always ,make it less

Be well prepared, and have as much stuff cold as you can

make sure you prepare well in advance & cater for the vegetarians as well as the meat eaters

Buy readymade all the time. After a few drinks no-one minds or remembers!

DH and DS are taking part in the annual boxing day dip in the sea then our friends are coming back to ours for food and drinks.
To keep it easy I always make a marmalade roast ham, large cheese board, breads, crackers, fruit, jalapeno jam and lots of ale, wine and cranberry fizz to warm everyone up.

I make individual Yorkshire puddings in a muffin tray two weeks before and freeze the best looking ones for Christmas Day. (The ugly ones are fed to the family with sausages and gravy for everyday evening meals.)

chocolate foundue is always a great hit

prepare everything in advance! bruschetta is always easy to make and everybody likes it to for a good starter!

I like a good spread of hot and cold food that people can pick and choose.

Not for Christmas Day - just for other pre and post Christmas get togethers. Half the fun of the festive season is having special food and the excuse to celebrate.
We live quite frugally food wise for the vast majority of the year. Also will be sticking to a budget this December. It's all in the presentation

Keep it simple and with things that can be prepared well in advance. You don't want to spend all night stuck in the kitchen

I do xmas dinner in a bun at our xmas party. I do a four bird roast, sausages , bacon and stuffing and guests pop it all in a bread roll. I even did sprouts on sticks last year to go with it!

Don' make it too complicated, some good pork sausages cut up and put on sticks, mini mozzarella, half a cherry tomato and a basil leaf on a stick, a roasted ham joint with a knife s they can cut there own, all equally delicious!

Buy what you can as early as you can so it doesnt hit your budget!! I like to keep it simple and easy to do, I buy things like Bakewells and apple pies early. The freezer will be full of everything that is easy to pop in the oven like the mini sausage rolls etc, leaving just the fresh stuff to get near to the day. Keep it simple on the sandwiches - why not just slice and butter the rolls and then have meat platters so everyone can choose what they want - less waste that way. I always have a family member round to help me get it all done, and tray up the frozen stuff an hour before and stack it (it wont squash its frozen) ready to go in with the longest to bake on the top. Buy paper plates - especially if you are having over 20 guests it just makes life a lot easier. Make a punch then your drinks will last longer. Put additional bins round your home - saves finding something under your sofa in a months time! Put the kids stuff at the front so they can reach it without making a mess of everything else! Top tip for the kids is to put a pop up tent in a corner for them, they can eat in there (less crumbs on your carpet) and they can have their own mini party without getting under feet of any adults who may be, well, a little merry on the sherry!

Boxing day we always go to my parents house to meet up with all the family that we dont see through the year and we all bring/or make food. i usually make corn and rice salad, ham and cheese cold pasta along with a toffee cheesecake these are all quick and easy recipes that i do on the morning of the party. They have always been a hit at every party not just family events

Buy things that you can just stick in the oven-much less hassle!

A Gammon cooked in the slow cooker goes a long way sliced thinly.

I like to make big items like a gammon cooked in cider with lots of spices, then serve with bread and home made pickles and chutneys. I prefer to be able to sit down and talk, and food like this obliges you to do so.

This will be our third year hosting Christmas for all the family and we are hoping that by keeping a list of what we bought last year and what ended up in the bin we can cut down on wasting food and money.

I buy lots of 3 for 2 items of party food, but we make our own coleslaw and other salads much cheaper, we buy turkey beef and boil our ham this makes up a big amount of our party food to eat for Christmas day and boxing Day

Buy your vegetables for Christmas dinner ready prepared so you can just put them in the oven on the day.

little things like sausage rolls come in handy