How to organize Christmas meals without stress

How to organize yourself at Christmas. 

If your house is the chosen one … surely you want to have it organized, the table set or have everything at hand for the guests to help you. But if you are going to be cooking … will you be able to answer “where is it” for everything they ask you for?

Set aside time to get organized . Your freezer and fridge will be full of prepared dishes and the house tables will have trays to serve, plus the dishes that you have to finish on the spot and those that you will have to tie.

Surely you want to dress up and let’s hope you don’t work that day, because the chaos can be very big. The best thing is to plan your Christmas lunch or dinner .

And if you are going to someone else’s house and you have to bring a plate … you will have no choice but to go ahead and have everything ready. If you go directly from work, the best thing is that you take care of something that does not break down in the car or that does not tip over. Surely you want your recipe to be in perfect condition at the time of serving.

Of course you can order the ingredients from the homeowner and finish your recipe before serving it. 

The guests do not arrive at the same time

If the celebration is at your house, remember that not all guests arrive on time and there are traffic jams, so have different snack options on hand, while everyone arrives. Hummus , guacamoles , are usually good options. You can even change them to taste, to give it that Christmas touch. This same month I have tried hummus of lentils, beans … even peas.

What to do 15 days before

• Confirm the number of guests.
• Ask for special tastes or requirements (allergies, intolerances, trends such as vegetarian or vegan dishes, lactose-free … etc).
• Determine the menu.
• Make the shopping list, taking into account:
  • Products that you are going to order or order online (remember that the order may suffer delays these days). Drinks, for example, you can order them on some website and you save the burden of them.
  • Total amount of ingredients. The total amount of flour, eggs, milk … etc.
    • Sort those that you have to order, freeze and buy fresh … or that you need to go to the specialized store to get them.
  • Do you have all the pots, pans, pans and utensils you need?
  • Do you have enough chairs and trays to serve?
  • The most normal thing is that each one takes care of something. So spread responsibilities.
  • Be aware of drinks and sweets.
  • Consider the children … and how to entertain them.

Four days before

If you are going to cook legumes , it is time to soak them. Doughs, like puff pastry , can also be made now. Everything else should already be in your refrigerator or in the one that helps you.

Three days before

• It is the day of pasta like Hummus or Baba Ganoush . You can also prepare sauce, dressings and foods that you are going to marinate.
• If there are cold salads on your menu … you can prepare the rice or quinoa and leave them perfectly stored in the fridge.

A day or two before

• Desserts , soups , stews and those dishes that you are going to reheat at the last minute.
• The decoration and the last touch of heat are made before serving them.

Make the to-do list and get organized

Post it in a conspicuous place in the kitchen and include detailed information and in order to do the things you want to do, like the following:

1. Put drinks in the fridge.
2. Cut sausages and cheeses and reserve.
3. Organize plates, glasses and cutlery.
4. Make sure there is enough ice.
5. Start oven.
6. Heat soups.
7. Refill drinks in the fridge.
8. Dress and serve salad.
9. Put dish in the oven.
10. Serve soup or cream.
11. Remove food from the oven. Temper.
12. Serve second.
13. Plating dessert.
14. Clear table.
15. Serve dessert.
16. Prepare coffee and teas.
17. The moment of the cups.

The same day…

Make sure that the day of the celebration you have time for yourself and enjoy.

Merry Christmas!