Everything You Need For A Lazy Christmas Day

Everything You Need For A Lazy Christmas

"I am not a domestic goddess!"

There, I've said it.

Now don't get me wrong; I can cook up a storm with the best of them and I have done lots of really fantastic Christmas dinners.

I have been a slave to every Christmas food TV show that Sky TV or the BBC have ever broadcast.

Hubby has gasped in dismay at our Sky Plus box being filled up with Nigella, Gordon and Jamie when he wants to be filling it up with Top Gear (always on Dave TV and I HATE Jeremy Clarkson).

I've done it all - I have embraced the 'tradition' of Christmas and you know what - I'm exhausted with it!

And I am tired of being judged every Christmas Day for how I serve my turkey - in my humble opinion, one of the driest, blandest meats known to cooks!

But there is an Aternative To Traditional Christmas - Lazy Christmas!!

Last year, I had my outlaws for Christmas lunch so I had no alternative but to do the traditional thing and serve up a delicious turkey lunch.

Well this year, I'm doing my best to have a lazy Christmas Day.

I don't want to be in and out of the kitchen for four and a half hours basting and buttering, roasting, mashing and peeling. And I don't want to be getting up really early to take the turkey out of the fridge so that it is at room temperature before I roast it.

So here is my plan for a lazier Christmas Day.

The Magic Word for A Lazy Christmas Day - BUFFET

I am serving a buffet this year.

I am not making gravy!

I am not making Yorkshire puddings!

I am not making Christmas puddings!

I am cooking my turkey in a roasting bag (they're brilliant-the best find ever!), no basting needed, shove it in the oven and bring it out when it's cooked.

I am buying a pre-cooked gammon, I will carve it myself.

I am raiding all of my local supermarkets for the best of each of their fresh and frozen buffet foods. I know my family, I know what they like and don't like.

My family are not unusual, I'm sure, in their indifference to healthy, seasonal vegetables so I won't bother with those at all, save for a bag of good quality, ready-made frozen roast potatoes.

No, I am not 'out' shopping - I am doing all of my shopping online. It will be delivered right to my door along with a few bottles of cheap fizz and the cheapest Christmas crackers I can find.

Some Preparation for A Lazy Christmas Day

Get your freezer emptied.

I usually start raiding the freezer a few weeks before Christmas. I usually manage to cook everything in there in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day. And, it gives you an excuse to throw out some of those impulse buys you made earlier in the year (faggots, quorn sausages, frozen mixed vegetables - why? We never eat any of those things).

Once emptied, give your freezer a rare treat....defrost it! Go on admit it, you never do it until you need an ice-pick to get rid of the ice!  Oh, that's just me, sorry!

"But a Buffet Won't Look 'Christmassy'"

Au contraire - we are now going to our favourite two sites in the known universe to get some lazy Christmas Day 'finery'. Amazon has become our go-to place for everything we need for a perfect table setting, crockery, cutlery, crackers, serving platters, etc etc and E-Bay might provide us with some cheap ways to get what we need when we can't get them on Amazon.

Am I spending hours setting, polishing, cleaning and planning the perfect Christmas table?

Nah!

Lazy Christmas Day - A Woman's Viewpoint

Now please don't judge me!

If you've gotten this far and thought to yourself - 'this is not a proper Christmas', I hope you'll reconsider.

On other days of the year, I work full-time and when I'm not at work, I'm looking after my home and family - sometimes, I refuse to be swallowed up by the whole 'tradition' because I work hard all of the time - I want Christmas to be a holiday for me as well.

I am the only person in my house who cooks and in general, I do all of the shopping, I choose the turkey, I choose the ham, I pick the tableware, the table-cloth, the wine, the dessert, I make the stuffing, I peel the vegetables, I trail around supermarkets and other more refined stores all on my own, in the pursuit of what?

All for one meal in the whole year of this magnitude, which is usually eaten within half an hour, leaving the kitchen like a bombsite and me the image of a frazzled harpie.

I have anxiety for weeks before making and checking lists and ensuring I make this day perfect.

Well, two years ago I just told my loved ones I fancies a change and I did a buffet.

Yes, there were disconcerted murmurings, 'it won't be a proper Christmas'

Well - it was. It was one of the best Christmas Day celebrations we've ever had because I got to spend all morning with the rest of my family. I wasn't all alone, hot and bothered in the kitchen or laying out the table or chopping,peeling,basting,stirring and shrieking.

We still had turkey, I even bought some fancy stuffing and we also enjoyed:

Baked Ham with pineapple rings on the side

Roast potatoes (frozen, quality brand)

Vol-au-Vents

Sausage Rolls,

A variety of cheeses & crackers

Chips & Dips

Filo Parcels filled with brie & cranberry

Indian Kebabs, Pakoras & Samosas

Fresh Crusty Bread

Tiger Prawns with Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce

A selection of Chinese Foods including duck spring rolls, won tons and dim sum

And there was lots,lots more, all washed down with either soda or a lovely Italian fizz called Asti Spumante. I served lemon roulade with ice cream and then sweet mince pies for 'afters'.

When we had finished eating (we didn't sit at the table, in general we milled around or sat with food on our knee and watched TV with the children). We played board-games and cards, we watched old home movies.

We grazed for hours, we relaxed, we laughed, some of us even had a nap at different points during the day.

When all is cleared away (put the leftovers in containers you already have or wrap in foil or clingfilm) tip everything else into the garbage bags and husbands or significant others do their only piece of work all day - they take it out to the bin.

No dishes to wash, no cutlery to wash, no glasses and cups to wash - perfect, a real lazy Christmas Day....bring it on!

However you celebrate your own Christmas - I hope you truly get to enjoy spending time with your loved ones. Let your Christmas Day, lazy or not, be a great one!