It's probably the biggest meal you'll cook all year, and it's all too easy to get completely stressed out. But don't panic, Amy Willcock's Christmas dinner timetable reduces everything down to manageable chunks. Print this out, tick off steps as you complete them, and before you know it you'll have cooked up a veritable feast for family and friends
Early December
Order your turkey or buy a frozen one now. To work out what size you need, count on serving 450g per person. A frozen turkey will need 4–5 days to thaw. Make and freeze your mince pies. Think about the tabletop decorations if you're planning something special.
One week before Christmas
- Start to defrost the turkey at the back of the fridge.
- Write your shopping list and purchase all non-perishables (don’t forget pet food).
- Buy milk in cartons and freeze in case of emergency.
- Make cranberry sauce and store in the fridge.
- For stuffings and bread sauce you will need stale bread. Cut and cube it now and lay it out on a baking tray in a single layer.
- Make sure all napkins and tablecloths are washed and ironed.
- Wash or polish cutlery, glasses, serving dishes and china.
- Pick up the flowers you ordered for the table.
- Arrange flowers and water well.
- If possible, wait until Christmas Eve to buy vegetables, salads and fish. If not, buy them now.
- Pick up fresh turkey.
- Do last-minute shopping.
- Prepare turkey gravy.
- Defrost mince pies.
- Prepare your chosen pudding and refrigerate. If you’re serving a traditional pudding, make brandy butter and refrigerate.
- Prepare stuffings. Don’t refrigerate, but leave covered in a cool place. The stuffings should not be too cold when you stuff the turkey.
- Prepare the vegetables. Peel potatoes and put in cold water in the fridge. Prepare other vegetables and store in plastic bags in the fridge.
- Make bread sauce. Cover tightly with cling film and store in the fridge.
- Set the table, leaving the flowers until the morning.
Christmas Eve evening
Take the turkey out of the fridge, cover with foil and allow it to come to room temperature. Do the same with the stuffing and butter so that it softens for the morning. With all the newly-created space, fill up the fridge with wines, mineral water and fresh juice.
Christmas day: lunch to be served at 2:00pm
7.30am
- Preheat the oven and prepare the turkey. Refer to our Guide to Christmas Turkey if necessary.
8.15am
- Make the bread sauce if you haven’t already.
- If you are using a warming oven, put in the required plates and serving dishes.
- Set up coffee and tea trays for later.
11:30am
- Prepare sausages and bacon rolls for cooking. Reheat Bread Sauce and place it in a jug with butter on top to melt over the surface, and keep warm.
Noon:
- Start steaming the Christmas pudding. (Make a traditional recipe or a low-calorie version.)
- If you’re drinking red wine with your meal, you may want to give it time to breathe. Open now.
- You've survived the morning, well done! Pour yourself a glass of bucks fizz to celebrate.
12:45pm:
- Make the roast potatoes and prepare saucepans of boiling water for sprouts and any other vegetables.
1:15pm:
- Remove turkey from oven, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest.
1:30pm:
- Check bacon rolls, remove and keep warm.
1:45pm:
- Put sprouts on to cook and gravy on to heat. While they are cooking, dish up food into serving dishes and carve the turkey.
- Check Christmas pudding.
2:00pm:
Tuck in!
For all festive recipes and step-by-step guides to homemade decorations and activities for the kids, check out our definitive guide to a homemade Christmas.