Preparing holiday meals three times a day is not easy. Moreover, you have to plan, shop, and prepare the meals and perform the cleaning job afterward. The whole process is time consuming and when it comes to prepare festive meal with all the trimmings, you have to allot even more times to it.

Perfectly cooked turkey, mouth-watering gravy, and delicious roast potatoes do not appear by magic. However, that does not mean that the cooking will take up hours of your day. Follow these tips to save time on cooking and to enjoy this festive season with your dear ones instead of slaving over a hot stove all day.

Image via: Apartment Therapy

[ad#co-1]

Make a Plan for Cooking:

Stop becoming experimental with cooking when it is Christmas time. Make a plan for preparing those dishes that you can cook well. Otherwise, you will end up spending your Christmas in the kitchen. Plus, sort out what items are essential for the lunch and what you can exclude from the list. Just for instance, people eat lots of nuts and chocolates during Christmas, so you do not really need to serve starters.

Work in Advance:

In order to lessen the workload, you can prepare some items in advance. It is a better option than getting up at 6 a.m. to start cooking so that you can serve at lunchtime. Organize all the utensils in a manner so that you can have them within your reach when needed. Sort out plates, glasses, bowls, and cutlery, wash them, and put them to one side. Check if the carving knives are sharp enough and if the jugs are ready for cream, bread sauce, and gravy. You can peel and chop carrots and sprouts the day before Christmas and store them in the fridge.

Image via: BHG

Save Time on Turkey:

You can save time by using one or two peeled onion for stuffing turkey and then cooking the stuffing in a different side dish. You can also prepare roast potatoes from raw beside turkey. It will take more time but will give you space for doing other necessary chores in the meantime. Another way to save time is to buy a ready-stuffed turkey.

Image via: The Grocer

Roast Vegetables:

Consider roasting vegetables as it will give you space for doing other things. You can put them in, put them out of your mind, and save on washing up. Parsnips, sprouts, and carrots can be roasted for Christmas meal.

This season keep yourself sane with these Christmas tips to save time and energy! Happy holidays to you.

For more holiday ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

For more kitchen & bath ideas on Stagetecture, click here.