Something I try to get on top of is doing as much food prep in advance as possible. Pudding and cake are cooked by mid-November, because they just improve with age. I try to cook the meat a day or two before Christmas so that it only needs to be heated up on the day.
I'm not good at sharing the load re. cooking... we've got a small fridge and small oven, so part of my planning includes working out how everything is going to jigsaw into place. One baking tray or plate of pav that's oversized, and it won't all fit... My sister usually brings nice drinks. Maybe I should outsource some of the nibblies too.
I would love to get other things done in advance too, but that's usually a big "fail". Often the clutter is being cleared off the table on Christmas Day, while the vegs are cooking... and too often I've still had pressies to wrap Christmas Day too. Sometimes the decorations haven't gone up until the 24th....
This year, once again I'm running behind schedule on the clear up and decorate parts of it. I do want to get on to those, both because it means Christmas Day is more relaxed, and because I'd really like the house (or at least the dining room) to look cheerful and reasonably tidy.
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13 YARN