At some point in December, usually in front of a Christmas supermarket advert, I forget that Christmas dinner is just… well… dinner. A roast with fairy lights on if you will. Just a plate of hot food that will be eaten in minutes, however long I have fretted over it. Yet every year the stress starts. The perfect turkey. The clever sides. The pudding that must be flamed, photographed and adored.

A Stress Free Christmas Dinner begins to sound like a myth don’t you think? I used to believe that the only way to earn Christmas was to cook absolutely everything from scratch. Now I am not so sure…

Remembering It’s Just Dinner

When I strip the day back after many years of doing it after all. It is simply a meal with people I care about, plus a few paper crowns and a messy table filled with love.

Turkey is, if we are honest, just a very eager chicken. Vegetables are still vegetables, even if they arrive wonky or frozen. Gravy can come from a jar and be quietly improved with pan juices, and nobody at the table will complain. In fact I guarantee you they won’t even know.

So, when I think about a Stress Free Christmas Dinner, I try to talk to myself the way I would talk to a friend. You are allowed shortcuts. You are allowed help and you are allowed to sit down while the food is still hot to enjoy it with everyone else!

Shortcuts That Still Feel Special

Of course, I still want it all to feel like Christmas. I want the table to look inviting, even if the behind-the-scenes reality is less than serene.

This is where the shortcuts become allies rather than cheats. A good pastry from the fridge. Stock from a carton. Pigs in blankets with yorkshires bought in a bag They let me focus on the parts I actually enjoy, instead of punishing myself with a purist’s list.

Because, and this is the truth, no one remembers whether you painstakingly made the Yorkshires or the gravy from scratch. They remember being welcomed, being fed, and being allowed to unbutton their trousers later without judgement.

My Idea of a Stress Free Christmas Dinner

This year, my idea of a Stress Free Christmas Dinner starts gently. I like the thought of a smoked salmon puff pastry tarts, all flaky edges and silky pink slices, carried to the table in rounds. People can eat it standing up, still half in their slippers, with a glass of fizz in hand. What a wonderful way to start things off…

If the day is cold, I love a small bowl of celeriac soup as a warm, amuse bouche. It feels soothing and satiating, especially when you drizzle something nutty and peppery over the top.

For the main event, instead of a bird that takes over the oven and my mood, I am leaning towards pork and stuffing roast bombs. They have all the flavour and satisfaction of a proper roast, but in tidy, golden parcels that cook more quickly and carve themselves. Add a tray of crisp potatoes, some greens that people will actually eat, and I am already calmer.

And then there are the pigs in blankets. I will never give those up. They are the thing I happily over-cater, purely so there are a few left later for cold picking. There is nothing quite like sneaking one from the fridge in the quiet of the evening, when the day has finally exhaled.

Letting Ease Be the Tradition

The older I get, the more it feels that the real luxury is not the food, but the mood in the room. I want to be part of that, not hovering at the stove, resentful and exhausted.

So, this is the promise I am making to myself. This year, a Stress Free Christmas Dinner means choosing ease wherever I reasonably can. It means accepting help, saying yes to frozen peas, and refusing to apologise for gravy granules. It means sitting down, plate full, glass topped up, and letting “good enough” be gloriously and generously enough.

The recipes for my smoked salmon puff pastry tart, celeriac soup, pork and stuffing roast bombs and pigs in blankets can be found by clicking on the links above in blue, ready when you are!

Merry Christmas!