Here are our top 10 tips to make Christmas easy:
- It’s all about making lists. So get a pen and paper ready, or a note section on your mobile phone and make some lists.
- Make a list of all of those presents you want to buy, and who for. If you haven’t started ordering yet, we recommend doing so right away! Leaving anything to the last minute is always stressful. Mark off when you have bought something, and if you need to go to a shop, put a diary note to go to the exact shop, or to go on a browsing trip, so it doesn’t get forgotten.
- Once you’ve ordered a present online, make a note of where you ordered it from, how they are sending it, and when you expect it to arrive. Also keep a folder in your emails for all of the email order confirmations. Then you can follow up if it doesn’t arrive when you’re expecting it to.
- Check last posting dates https://www.royalmail.com/christmas/last-posting-dates to make sure if you are sending internationally you won’t miss it.
- Make a time to wrap presents and write cards. Again, put this in your diary. Put Post-its on the front of envelopes of any cards of people you are going to see in person, with the date you’ll see them and put them in order by the front door, so you can take them with you when you are seeing them.
- Do the same with presents, so you can save on postage.
- If you need to post presents, try to go to the post office first thing in the morning and not on a Saturday, to avoid lengthy queues.
- If you are hosting people over Christmas, start making a menu and a shopping list now. Know and diarise when you are going to put in an online shopping order or go to the shops. If catering makes you stressed, ask people now to make and bring something so it’s less stressful for you.
- Prep as much as you can the day before – you can peel veg and store them in containers or bags in the fridge the day before. You can even pre-roast potatoes and other root veg, so you can then pop them back in the oven to crisp up, when the meat (if you have meat), is resting. We love a Delia Smith Parsnip Roulade at One Stop, but we still cook a bird for the rest of the family!
- Get other people to help with the clear up so you can rest and enjoy the remainder of the festive season!
