Five hacks to avoid a Christmas dinner meltdown

Christmas Day is supposed to be a magical time, but having to cook for a party of hungry mouths can be stressful to say the least.

In fact, for the person in charge of whipping up the festive spread, it can be an incredibly demanding time – not the most wonderful time of the year.

Signe Svanfeldt, a lead nutritionist from Lifesum, explains why it can be difficult for a few reasons.

He says: ‘We can feel a pressure to make it all perfect and put too high expectations on what we should achieve.

‘It can also be challenging meeting everyone’s food preferences and food restrictions. If we are having plenty of guests over, it can be a lot of people to cook for – which, for many, also can cause stress.’

However, it doesn’t need to be this way.

He’s suggested a few things to help avoid a Christmas dinner cooking meltdown, as well as how to keep your cool in the kitchen.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

‘Prepare all food and dishes that you can ahead of time, to avoid the stress in the kitchen on Christmas Day,’ explains Signe.

Remember, lots of food can be cooked ahead and reheated – especially things like sauces and gravy. Plus, desserts can stay in the fridge for a couple of days.

Dish out responsibility

‘You don’t need to do everything yourself – don’t be afraid of asking for help,’ adds Signe.

Divide up the responsibilities of cooking, to make it a whole lot less stressful for one single person.

Also, you could always ask your guests to bring a dish to be reheated, to help out.

Keep it simple

Having too many things going on at once, and lots of different dishes, can cause Christmas stress, explains Signe.

The solution to this is to keep it simple and strip things back – your bank balance will thank you, too.

So instead of seven different sides for your turkey dinner, why not just have two great ones?

Be mindful of drink

‘Drink alcoholic beverages in moderation – an excessive intake of alcohol can make us lose control and might cause conflicts with our loved ones,’ explains Signe.

If you’re anxious or worried about certain parts of Christmas Day, drinking may only exacerbate this – so be mindful of this.

Enjoy it

‘When you sit down to have your meal, try to take a breath, focus on the food and eat slowly,’ adds Signe.

‘Don’t rush the meal just because you felt stressed preparing it. Enjoy the magic you have created in the kitchen.’

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