Organised?

By this point in December we usually have an idea of who we’ll see at Christmas and when they will be with us. All this has to be slightly flexible though – the pandemic taught us not to take anything for granted, didn’t it? We delivered turkey etc to a young friend who had Covid and then ate Christmas dinner “together” through the wonders of technology and Skype! As usual I have several lists on the go – our young people all have favourites and expect certain foods to be on the table. We have to have carrots as well as Special Sprouts and red Cabbage. No Yorkshire puddings for us, but chestnut stuffing and plenty of pigs in blankets. Dessert isn’t a big deal as we’re usually too full for that, but my mother always made a fresh fruit salad so this year I’m going to reprise that, but they don’t know, so don’t let on, will you? If you’re stuck for ideas there’s quite a selection of recipes on the website, including chocolate log and reindeer cupcakes, mince pies and mincemeat Eccles cakes as well as stuffing and vegetable suggestions too. And Brownie-in-a-jar is a great gift idea for the budding cook as it looks lovely with the layers of brown and white with a useful jar when it’s been made. The instructions are available to download to add to a personalised gift tag. I hope this might be of use, but if you feel a bit overwhelmed just keep it simple. It’s only a day and the people you are with are the most important ingredient xx