Christmas is nearly upon us and I assume that you have
everything organised and you are relaxing and waiting for
the special day. Yeah right, me too. Food plays a huge part
in the Holiday Seasons activities. The main Christmas Day
meal and desserts are the highlight and you might find
yourself worrying about how you are going to make it
special this time around. The fact is that it can be a very
stressful time, and if you don't get it organised right you
will not be able to relax and enjoy the day itself.
Now is the time to start planning exactly what you are
going to do. Sit down and make out a list of what
you would like to have for the meal. Just write out the
different types of food items that come to mind. Don't try
to make your menu exact, include whatever comes to mind
initially. Then over the coming days you will revise and
adjust your list until you have the core idea about what
you want to do. In this way new and different ideas will
spring to mind as you look at your initial list and the
food groups on it, and a basic plan will form in your mind.
Now is also the time to involve other members of the
family. Maybe someone would love to take on the task of
preparing the desserts for you. Everyone loves desserts and
lots of ideas could spring up while looking at the items on
your list. Possibly someone would like the idea of
preparing something really exotic and would relish the
challenge. There are literally hundreds of dessert dishes
from pies to fruit and everything in between. Check out the
Internet for recipes and ideas. The same applies for
starters such as soups or prawn cocktails. Involving other
members of the family at this early stage will get the
ideas rolling, and maybe even result in different dishes
for everyone if they are willing to have a go themselves.
Think about how you will organise your kitchen area also.
See in your mind's eye where you will prepare your raw
ingredients and what you will use to store them in. Be as
specific as you can when you do this. It can be a great
time saver and take away a lot of stress on the day. You
will not be caught by surprise when you suddenly find you
actually needed another pot for instance or another
roasting dish. Make a list now of all the stuff you could
prepare in advance the previous day. Make sure you will
have enough room to store items in your fridge overnight
by careful planning. Stuffing and dressings can
be prepared in advance too, so do not underestimate the
advantages of writing out your list and then ordering it
logically. Leave it all until the day itself and you will
be inviting a lot to go wrong, and I am sure you can
remember previous holidays all too vividly.
It is also a good idea to plan and write out your seating
arrangements, and where you will store dishes and utensils
as they come back from the table.
If elderly persons are present you may want to sit them
nearer to the kitchen so that you can easily serve them
first. No more trying to negotiate around the kids who are
sitting on the wrong side of the table for instance. All
these little tips add up to taking away a lot of the stress
that can be experienced. The trick is to write everything
down and do not trust to chance. When you know you are
prepared and organised, you will really look forward to the
occasion as will any others who opted to give you a hand
and know exactly what they have to do. Start now and enjoy
the experience.
