How to get your home organised for Christmas day
Follow our 5 simple steps to ensure a relaxed, stress-free festive season
We don’t want to alarm but, as of today, there are just 17 more sleeps until the big man arrives! That’s less than 401 hours (depending on when you read this newsletter) left to prepare your menu, declutter your house, get the decs up, sort out the house for guests and wrap all your presents. If the panic is starting to kick in, stop…take a breath, grab a cuppa and put your feet up before you start reading this week’s newsletter. We’ve put together the ultimate guide to help streamline your preparations so you can spend less time worrying and more time enjoying the festive season with your little ones – hopefully with a mince pie and a Christmas tipple in hand!
1. CREATE A CHECKLIST
It might sound simple, but a checklist will go a long way in alleviating some of the stresses that come with planning Christmas Day. Writing out all the tasks you need to do beforehand, such as who you need to buy presents for and what ingredients you will need to be able to feed all your guests will ensure you never miss a trick, no matter how small. Things to consider, aside from the above, are writing and sending Christmas cards, making sure gifts for UK and overseas are sent before the cut-off date (you can find details on the Royal Mail’s website here), booking an online food delivery slot, as well writing a list of ingredients you need for baking, and planning out which rooms need to be cleaned ready for your guests’ arrival.
2. PREP YOUR CHRISTMAS DINNER
We caught up with BBC’s Saturday Kitchen chef Matt Tebbutt, who has recently teamed up with kitchenware brand Procook, asking him to share his top tips for getting ahead for Christmas in the kitchen. “There’s so much you can do weeks in advance to ensure a stress-free kitchen this festive season,” says Matt. “Stock can be made weeks in advance and popped in the freezer until Christmas day. A couple of days before, cut your veg to size and store in a tupperware container under a wet cloth. You can also prep your bird a couple of days before, too, rubbing butter and herbs all over and underneath the skin and then covering and refrigerating it until Christmas morning.”
“If you’re got kids at home tugging at your legs while you’re hoping to get ahead in the kitchen, give them some pastry to play with. It will hopefully keep them occupied while you can crack on with the task at hand. Or give them a minor job where it won’t matter if it all goes wrong,” says Matt.
3. DECLUTTER & ORGANISE
Christmas, although lovely, is often ridiculously hectic. If your home is cluttered, like ours are most of the time (kid’s right?), it can really add to the chaos – and that’s before you add all the new presents and decorations to the mix. Before you put up your tree – if you haven’t done so already – go through your children’s toys and work out what they no longer want or need. Anything that is salvageable and in good condition sell on second-hand online sites such as Vinted or Facebook Marketplace, or donate them to your local charity shops. Make sure you check all your Christmas decorations and throw away or recycle, where possible, any that are broken or damaged. Go through all your kitchen cupboards and dispose, charity shop or sell any crockery, appliances and out-of-date food that you no longer want, need or are broken. And lastly, if you’ve got guests coming to stay, check the bed linen and towels for tears and stains and re-organise and label what you’re keeping so that you know exactly where everything is and what bed and room it belongs to!
4. WRAP PRESENTS IN ADVANCE
There’s nothing worse than staying up late to wrap a mound of gifts on Christmas Eve when you could be snuggled up in bed. Co-editor Sophie’s husband Charlie can attest to that when three years ago he was still painstakingly building their eldest daughter’s Barbie Dreamhouse at 1am, only to realise he still had to attach all the stickers! Let’s just say it was frosty on Christmas morning – and we don’t mean the weather!
Try to wrap gifts as you go along. Wrapping one or two every day is so much easier and more enjoyable than finding a spare evening to wrap everything in one go!
5. BE PREPARED
We’ve all been there, you’re getting ready for a relaxed family Christmas, and then the phone rings. An unexpected family member or friend is now popping in or coming to stay over for the Christmas holidays. Astonishingly, it happens to 50% of us according to a recent study by online gift voucher company One4All. To ensure you’re the perfect host, have a couple of stock gifts wrapped and hidden in a sideboard, such as socks, chocolate or a candle, ready to hand out for anyone who arrives unannounced. Also make sure you have dry non-perishables in the cupboards for impromptu nibbles. Matt Tebbutt recommends stocking your fridge and cupboards with some nice cheeses, salami and pitta breads ready to pull out when unexpected guests pop by!
And, if all else fails, simply remember: Just. Have. Fun. Your kids are only young once, they won’t really care if you’ve forgotten the bread sauce or you’ve not had time to adorn every gift with a bow. Give yourself a break, grab a canapé, drink and be merry!