You know the scenario, it surely plays the same in your house.
The calendar is filling up with dates and parties to go to. All family members have outings, need transport, need to bring some sort of seasonal food. There are gifts and cards to sort, and then.....the holiday meal.
I have a plan, a back up plan and a disaster plan.
The plan is simply a menu for the whole month of December and first week of January. Rest assured that you will only have to work on this once, each year it just needs tweaking with new and different styles but the backbone of your holiday season will be sorted.
Buy the big items such as turkey, gammon and anything that can be frozen as soon as possible, prices go up and choice diminishes at the end of the month. The Christmas Cake and Pudding are made already and getting mature with sherry by the week.
Stock up on wines and drinks if you must!
The back up plan, is a couple of frozen or canned homemade standbys such as Chili Con carne, Spaghetti Sauce and Soup.
The disaster plan is 1 hour of rest with some nice music and a simple smoked salmon and scrambled egg dish with nice toasted bread.
I also parboil my potatoes and freeze them so all I need do is pop them in the oven when needed and if your family is like mine and you have a good 10 people to lunch, sorting the potatoes out will save your sanity.
The first week of January I always book myself in for a bodymassage as by then I usually have a stiff neck, tense muscles and could do with giving myself some me time.( its on my wishlist for the holiday season each year).
There are lots of holiday organisation tips on flylady and organised home links in the side bar.
Most importantly, if you still have time...sit down with everyone in your family and find out what makes their holiday special. I did this last year and had a lot less work and stress....no more brussels sprouts in this house. I made this for 10 years, had to then think of what to do with them when no-one ate them. Why continue traditions that no one likes in your family, reassess and create your own individual holiday meal, if you fancy duck, chicken or goose, then have that...be individual and enjoy the process.
The calendar is filling up with dates and parties to go to. All family members have outings, need transport, need to bring some sort of seasonal food. There are gifts and cards to sort, and then.....the holiday meal.
I have a plan, a back up plan and a disaster plan.
The plan is simply a menu for the whole month of December and first week of January. Rest assured that you will only have to work on this once, each year it just needs tweaking with new and different styles but the backbone of your holiday season will be sorted.
Buy the big items such as turkey, gammon and anything that can be frozen as soon as possible, prices go up and choice diminishes at the end of the month. The Christmas Cake and Pudding are made already and getting mature with sherry by the week.
Stock up on wines and drinks if you must!
The back up plan, is a couple of frozen or canned homemade standbys such as Chili Con carne, Spaghetti Sauce and Soup.
The disaster plan is 1 hour of rest with some nice music and a simple smoked salmon and scrambled egg dish with nice toasted bread.
I also parboil my potatoes and freeze them so all I need do is pop them in the oven when needed and if your family is like mine and you have a good 10 people to lunch, sorting the potatoes out will save your sanity.
The first week of January I always book myself in for a bodymassage as by then I usually have a stiff neck, tense muscles and could do with giving myself some me time.( its on my wishlist for the holiday season each year).
There are lots of holiday organisation tips on flylady and organised home links in the side bar.
Most importantly, if you still have time...sit down with everyone in your family and find out what makes their holiday special. I did this last year and had a lot less work and stress....no more brussels sprouts in this house. I made this for 10 years, had to then think of what to do with them when no-one ate them. Why continue traditions that no one likes in your family, reassess and create your own individual holiday meal, if you fancy duck, chicken or goose, then have that...be individual and enjoy the process.
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