Christmas Dinner tips and tricks: share them with Aunt Bessie's - chance to win £300

[AnnMumsnet]

The team at Aunt Bessie's would love to know all about your Christmas Dinner tips and tricks - what makes your festive roast dinner go down well with your family? Do you prepare in advance? What really makes it special in your household? What's the main dish - do you have a turkey or goose? Or something else? What about vegetarian dishes? What about accompaniments like bread sauce, cranberry sauce and stuffing - do you make your own following family recipes, buy it in or something else?

Aunt Bessie's say "Christmas Dinner is about more than just great food – it’s about gathering the family around the table and enjoying the moments that we have together. So we’d love to hear how you make the most of this time by telling us your quick tips and tricks that make room for the important things."

Add your tips for the best Christmas Dinner below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one person will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions Apply

I cook our turkey on Christmas Eve night before we go to Midnight Mass, so it goes in the oven at about 8pm. We then have hot turkey sandwiches when we come back from Mass. A tasty treat after we've come in from the dark and the cold. Plus it's one less thing to do in Christmas Day.

On Christmas morning early I peel all veg and soak in water. I clean up all the peel to keep the kitchen tidy in between tasks. This makes cleaning up after dinner easier. I use foil trays to roast the veg and the other meat (beef or ham) to save on washing up.

I buy premade sauces and gravy that can be heated in their containers in the microwave to save on saucepans and job space. Juices from the meats roasting tray can always be stirred into a premade gravy to enhance it.

I keep a spare foil tray ready to put all leftovers in.

I don't do starters as we have enough breakfast (always simple things like croissants and fruits) and chocolates to keep us going until dinner. Dessert is always a no cooking affair so I just have to arrange it (mini meringue nests topped with bought coulis and fruit).

I have a Christmas cupboard which I start putting things into from October so
I know I'll have all the special things for the table in one place .

Always par boil the potatoes first, day before even better! Fluff the edges up for crunch roast potatoes.

My tip is to buy as much pre made stuff as possible so you can just bung it all in the oven and enjoy the day.

Tastes exactly the same, better in some cases, like aunt Bessie's yorkies and saves loads of stress.

My top tip would be not to worry if it's not perfect. I've not had a 'perfect' Christmas dinner yet, whether it's been cooked by me, others or in a restaurant. Just smile and bluff it out.

Have a chicken(s) instead of a turkey. Cooks much quicker and you don't have to get up at stupid o' clock to get it in the oven (and also avoid the "my turkey is too big for my oven" conundrum).

Make as much as possible in advance (or prepare in advance eg veg prep) and buy most desserts eg range of ice cream, strudel, and just have the Christmas pudding (microwaved) to go with it.

I do as much in advance as I can - the braised red cabbage, the apple sauce, the stock for the gravy and the breadcrumbs for the stuffing and bread sauce are in the freezer already - and I have bought ready prepared frozen chestnuts to go with the sprouts, so I don't have the annual burning of the fingers whilst I blanch and peel the damn things.

I have a to-do list, that I saved on the computer last year, and will be dusting off again, and I will be doing as much as possible on Christmas Eve - peeling the potatoes, sprouts and parsnips, making the gravy and bread sauce, making the stuffing and stuffing the goose, so Christmas dinner will just mean shuffling things in and out of the oven/boiling water, and dishing up.

It usually works reasonably well, and isn't too stressful.

Bread sauce and cranberry sauce - these are what turns it from any old roast dinner into Christmas dinner. Oh and a couple of sprouts of course, but only because we have to!

I use my back porch as an extra fridge in winter.

Oh yeah and obviously I've got two ovens. Don't know how others cope doing it all in one.

Talking of which, I do my parsnips in my Air Fryer thing not the oven, they come out lovely.

My final tip is don't do turkey - it's really not nice. We have chicken, lamb or beef.

Spiced red cabbage, if that's your thing, actually tastes better for a spell in the freezer. Sadly not had chance to make any, this year.

We just have me, dh and two children at home. There's no stress and no time limits, we just play it by ear and see how we feel. Always have ready done yorkshires though!

I've already wrapped my pigs in blankets and put them on foil trays in the freezer. I used to prep my spuds and parsnips but just bung some Aunt Bessies in now. I make bacon wrapped stuffing but always buy Aunt Bessies stuffing balls as they are now veggie and go down well with my in laws.

Oh and I always do a big gammon joint in the slow cooker overnight on Xmas eve. We have it for sandwiches on Xmas morning and then for dinner.

We always have roast dinner for Christmas with surely Aunt Bessies roast potato and Turquey with carrots,peas and cranberry sauce.
I used to buy non perishable Christmas things all year round and keep aside.Foods for our dinner i'd order online nearly to the big date.I'd do a lot of preps too so that i don't have so much to do,can relax and having great times with the kids.Hubby always help in every chores,so i've got another pair of hands handy in the kitchen preparing and serving our Christmas dinner.We always do the cleaning as we go so everything is under control in our home 😉

On the day We share the cooking DH does roast potatoes, turkey, pigs in blankets & stuffing, I do the sides & sauces.
The kids are allowed to pick one vegetable they like on condition that they will at least try all the rest.
I make my own cranberry sauce in advance, we have a trifle (homemade in advance) and easy tea on Christmas Eve (this year it's spag Bol)
Christmas Day food is spread through the day with nibbles from 11, lunch at 2 and Christmas pudding at 4, cheese course after that... everyone does a little bit whether that's helping with food, looking after little ones / 95yo granny or doing the dishes (dishwasher ends up doing a few loads through the day)

I make the cake, stuffing and pudding in advance and keep everything else easy. Slow cooker for the meat and use frozen veg to save on Christmas Day meal prep.

Split the work between several people- less resentment and it adds to the festive spirit.

I used to get so worried about Christmas dinner untill my husband pointed out it's just a like massive chicken roast. Suddenly its not so daunting

Don’t stress too much and don’t put on more pressure by having to have lunch at 1 in the dot!

If you never do roast potatoes yourself, why change the habit of a lifetime and make them yourself at Christmas?

You can microwave sprouts, and they turn out great. That was a revelation!

The spreadsheet idea from gazelda sounds amazing. Anyone know where I could find a copy or something similar?

I just discovered a tip.

When I ice my cake I never know how far to roll out the icing. It just occurred to me how to do it.

I measured the cake and double the depth (roughly!!) and then the best bit; I drew a circle that size in the icing sugar that I had dusted the surface with. I rolled out my icing to that circle and it fitted perfectly onto my cake.

I buy the turkey at the start is December and freeze it. Then prepare everything yhenight before

Last year it was the smoothest day as I made ahead everything apart from the turkey. All the veg and stuffing in freezer labelled. Cranberry sauce made and in fridge. No stress on the day whatsoever!

Before kids I used to make everything from scratch. Now I buy most things ready made! That would be my main tip. That and get kids to help with veg prep.