The Christmas Day Party

Christmas Day is very close now and I am hoping that you are on target with your plans and preparations for entertaining your guests on that day. With so many different traditions around this time of year I thought it was worth revisiting the reasons behind some of them.

The Tradition of Turkey...

Why do the majority of families eat turkey on Christmas Day? It hasn’t always been traditional to eat it and before the turkey was introduced to Britain, geese, peacocks and even boars’ head were eaten as a Christmas day treat. It is thought that Henry Vlll was the first person to eat turkey on Christmas day but it was only the middle of the 20th century that the turkey overtook the goose in popularity. Turkeys have the advantage of being large enough to feed big family gatherings and today there is a huge range of different options in fresh and frozen. On this point either make sure you have ordered your turkey or that you buy before the shops run out.

The Tradition of Decorating...

No Christmas day party would be complete without plenty of decorations in and outside the house and a splendid tree. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband made the tree popular as he first brought a Christmas tree over to Windsor castle in 1841. Initially Christmas trees were decorated with candles and sweets and cakes hung from ribbons. To avoid the fire hazard of candles we now use coloured electric lights and the first manufactured tree decorations appeared over 130 years ago. It is still traditional to put a star or angel at the top of the tree as reminders of the angels and stars in the sky at the birth of Jesus Christ.

Christmas Crackers...

When setting the Christmas dinner table a popular tradition is the addition of crackers to each place. I love crackers mainly because a number of years ago I gave up on shop-bought crackers and started filling my own. It means that you can actually give extra thoughtful little gifts within a cracker labelled with names. A well-known clothes and food shops has been selling a “make your own cracker kit” for some time now and I love the challenge each year of finding suitable gifts with that personal touch for each family member and friend attending the Christmas meal and best of all finding gifts that fit within the 9cm or so of the main barrel of the cracker! The kits I have bought come ready decorated but for the more adventurous craft shops stock everything from the cores, the actual snaps and a huge range of different papers, ribbons and other embellishments.

Being A Great Host...

So how can you be a great Christmas Day party host giving your guests a great experience and also enjoy it yourself? Consider what your guests are like, are there any with dietary restrictions who would appreciate a little alternative snack or food item? Enjoy using any special Christmas plates and dishes you own and use simple colour themes for the table settings.

As we have shown you over the last few months it pays to be organised in advance and again when planning for Christmas day I feel you can’t have enough lists! Lists of what to do with 4 weeks to go, with 2 weeks to go, one week left, the day before and on the day. Listing what you need to buy, from Christmas tableware to food that can be bought in advance and nearer the day. Time management on the day is crucial so ensure your lists include who? What? When? Where? And how? In other words, who and how many are coming as guests and family, what food are you serving, what time are you aiming to eat, where are you eating (is the usual table big enough, do you have enough chairs?) and how that all comes together! When considering the menu it is always worth including items and dishes that can be prepared in part of wholly in advance to avoid too much work on the day.

Make sure you also plan breakfast, as simple as you like, but I have always found it important for everyone to eat something early in the day. It can easily get overlooked with the excitement of opening presents and playing with new games but it helps keep everyone going and maintains a bit more balance till the main meal of the day which is often later than a usual lunch time.

Festive Fun for kids...

If there are a number of children consider whether you need to plan any entertainment. Here are a few simple ideas for some games for a range of ages. Using a small tree create a Christmas memory tree with a variety of small decorations on it. After letting the children look carefully at the tree then cover it and remove one or two items. The children must correctly guess what decoration has been removed. Another simple idea is to “Pin the nose on Rudolph”, a good old traditional game that you play blindfolded. Another variation on a traditional game of following the orders of what “Simon says..” would be “Santa says...” with anyone following instructions without “Santa says” being out.

A fun game that can be played in teams against the clock but can be a bit messy is a “Wrapping challenge”. Each team has a range of supplies for wrapping presents and five different (and preferably awkward shaped) parcels or boxes. Set some criteria of how the parcels should be wrapped and decorated and a time limit.

A variation on a wrapped present game is one where the group take it in turns to roll a dice. The game needs to be played at pace. If you roll a 6 then you have to quickly put on a Christmas hat and a pair of gloves and start to unwrap a parcel wrapped with many layers. The dice must carry on being rolled in turn by everyone else. As soon as someone else rolls a 6 they take over, wearing the hat and gloves etc — this chaos continues until the parcel is completely unwrapped and the last person receives it as a prize.

Being A Great Guest...

It may be that this Christmas you are not hosting any party or meal on the day but that you are a fortunate guest at someone else’s house so here are a few tips on being a great guest! Take a thoughtful gift for your host; a bottle of wine, some chocolates or flowers or a small personal gift that you know your host will appreciate. Consider how long you should stay and try not to outstay your welcome. Offer help, I know some hosts genuinely prefer to rule in the kitchen alone, but others may really like some help, even if it’s just with clearing the table. The host's may not have time to spend with everyone so caring guests may try to engage a quiet or apparently shy person in conversation. This can be a great opportunity for making a new friend.

I hope these ideas will help your Christmas plans and enable you to enjoy the fun and festivities of the season.

A very happy Christmas party to you all!