We know the feeling, all you want to do is catch up with friends and family over chocolate and wine, and all you’re actually doing is stirring a bucket of gravy while trying to peel the potatoes simultaneously. Well this Christmas it will be different, and with a few helpful hints, this year it will be you sipping on ‘secco with the in-laws.

Get some use out of your freezer

One of the most crucial elements of the Christmas dinner – stuffing! Usually it’s served in an unfortunately small ratio to the rest of our dinner but for the day that’s in it, let’s make enough for once! Fortunately for us, stuffing freezes well! So you can prepare it days, even weeks in advance, and on the day just pop the dish straight into the oven and voila – that’s an extra half an hour you can spend listening to Fairytail of New York on repeat.

‘Get ahead’ gravy

The gravy - another vital piece to the Christmas dinner puzzle, and again, this freezes perfectly! Simply make your gravy in advance, freeze it in a container and defrost on the day (or as you’re climbing to bed on Christmas eve). To make it that much tastier – add the juices from your Christmas turkey before serving.

Don’t spend your Christmas day with a bunch of potatoes

There’s so much of the Christmas dinner we can prep in advance and luckily for us – the potatoes are another! If you get the chance on the day before, simply chop your potatoes, rinse them and pop into a water-filled container. They will keep overnight and the water will stop the potatoes from turning brown – another twenty minutes you have to spend pulling crackers and reading their terrible jokes.

What we’ve all been waiting for..

Dessert! While the famous Christmas Pudding is time-consuming to make, you can literally make it months in advance. All you have to do on Christmas day is steam it for a few hours until it’s reheated. The rest of your desserts can be simple and/or cold dishes which won’t take up much oven space (we recommend getting your hands on a festive Bailey’s cheesecake – because you really can’t beat a Bailey’s cheesecake).

Remember, whatever you’re doing this holiday season – be safe, be happy and have a very Merry Christmas, from all of us at 123.ie.