Tis the season to eat, drink and be merry, but things can quickly get out of hand when you’re the hostess with the mostess. Say no to last-minute ham-prep at 2am on Christmas Eve and throw a stress-fress affair with our top tips for the entertainer.
1. Plan ahead
Let’s face it, room in the fridge is always at a premium. Give it a good old fashioned clear out before you do the big Christmas shop. Throw out food that’s out of date and obviously anything you don’t recognise. Speaking of fridge space or lack thereof, get all your rellies to BYO eskies to store the bevies you’ll inevitably be knocking back. After all, we could be in for an absolute scorcher – you just never know (amirite Melbourne!?).
The oven’s hot property too. If you’re going down the hot meal road, check that your bird fits in the oven and don’t forget to leave enough time for stuffing, potato bake, roast veggies and whatever other trimmings you’re planning. Timing is everything here, nobody likes a raw turkey. Work back from your intended serving time and leave plenty of time for potential stuff ups. Seriously, it’s rare that everything will go off without a hitch. If you can, make as many dishes as you can ahead of time. Whether it be Christmas Cake, leaving the Pav to rest in the oven overnight or prepping salads, every minute counts.
One more that you definitely don’t want to forget… If you’ve got new partners rocking up to Christmas lunch for the first time, be sure to check if there are any dietary requirements and plan your menu accordingly.
2. Divide and conquer
The key here is delegating folks. You don’t have to do it all, menu-wise or physically speaking. Christmas is a family affair for a reason so share the load with your family members. Seriously, people expect to bring something these days. Give everyone a designated dish like nibbles, cheese platter, dessert, starters etc. but pick wisely, you want to play to people’s strengths! I for one know a thing or two about whipping up a dessert so I’m flattered when the fambam throw me that bone.
On the day, you can divvy up duties too. If your aunt likes a good ol’ chinwag, give her some peeling duties to test her multi-tasking skills. If your brother-in-law likes washing up (it’s a thing, I swear), then let him do the darn dishes. Get the fellas engineering the eskies with bags of ice, every beverage needs to be ice-cold thank you very much.
3. Decorate
Don’t forget to spread the Christmas cheer! String up some tinsel, hang a few fairy lights and if time is on your side, check out our co-founder Lucy’s DIY Christmas Tree Decoration Ideas. These are all Xmas decorations you can do ahead of time so you can save your sanity.
On the day, get the creative kids to decorate the table with Christmas crackers and any other bits and bobs you want to display. And don’t you dare forget the Christmas Carols! We’ve assembled a bangin’ Christmas playlist for sincere holiday cheer that’s sure to get all your rellies up and about.
4. Don’t skimp on the gravy!
Need I explain myself?!
5. Take a chill pill
This has got to be the most important of them all. As a self-proclaimed perfectionist, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that the festive season can be a stressful time. Plan ahead, delegate and be realistic. You’re not Wonder Woman so lower your expectations just a tad. At the end of the day, Christmas is about spending time with your family and friends. If things start to get stressful, pour yourself the strongest G&T imaginable and I promise, everything will be a-okay.
Enough chit chat, here are a couple of our top party season picks perfect for entertaining, but you can check out plenty more here. Have yourself a merry little Christmas folks!