If you read my post last week about getting organised for Christmas you are now well aware of how close it is. If you've still got you head stuck in the sand well I'm sorry to say it's time to remove said head from the sand and start looking around.... Christmas is coming, whether you like it or not!

However it's not time to panic, not at all. It's time to get organised and be stress free in the lead up to Christmas. My last post I talked about organising a budget for Christmas and setting up a Christmas club account to place money into over the year. So once you have your finances organised it's now onto the food planning side of things.

The Christmas menu can sometimes be turned into a HUGE deal, a traditional hot roast meal with all the trimmings can be quite overwhelming especially if it's left up to one person. Plus trying to cook a hot meal on a humid, hot, 40 degree Christmas day really isn't fun for anyone! However if that's your tradition then go for it, just remember to turn the air con on!

Some of you may think that I am mad already talking and planning the Christmas menu. If you want a stress free Christmas I implore you to start thinking and planning now. Sit down with your family and talk about what foods you would like, drinks and dessert. Use this handy menu planner I made up especially for you guys to use for your Christmas menu planning. If you have quite a large family coming for Christmas divvy up the menu among the members so everyone is in charge of making something, reducing the stress on the hostess and making it an enjoyable day for everyone. I had added an column for this in the menu planner below.

{Download & Print Here}

One reason for planning your menu now is to give you a head start by buying a little bit each week in your weekly grocery shop, reducing that last minute rush shop on Christmas Eve. Scour the supermarket catalogues and pick up your main meats and high priced items on sale where you can and freezing/storing them for Christmas. Prawns are a biggy in our family and we find that we can get more for our money by getting them when they're on special a few weeks before. We place them in the freezer and defrost them on the day by placing them in a bag in a bowl of iced, salted water.

A sneak peak of our family Christmas Menu is below. We have a variety of main meal food items because my sister-in-laws family from Holland is coming to have an "aussie" Christmas with us. We thought a variety of foods would be nice for them to try.

If your into making Christmas sweets now would be the time to plan and bake those as well. I generally make our Christmas fruit cake back in July. This gives it time to mature and develop a rich flavour. I give it a "bath" in alcohol every couple of months to keep it moist and make it tasty! However not all of us are quite fanatically organised to have made there Christmas cake that early. I would recommend sitting down and planning what you want to make and writing a list of ingredients and make one to two things a week until completed. Most goodies can be frozen or stored in a dark cupboard.

So I hope that has helped some in your Menu Planning for Christmas, if your stuck for ideas of what to have for your Christmas meal then I have a great giveaway which will just fix that problem. Australian Good Taste has released a wonderful "mook" (magazine/book) filled with every imaginable menu you could think of. This helped me in my Christmas planning and would be a great asset to any hostess.

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Instore Now

You can pick up a copy of Entertain! in store at Woolworths supermarkets nationally (RRP $9.95).

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To celebrate the release of ENTERTAIN! I have a copy to giveaway to one of my lucky readers. All you have to do is visit me on Facebook or become a follower (right hand side) of the blog and.....

Leave a comment on why you need this magazine!

Entries Close Wednesday 23rd November 12pm.
The winner will be announced next Thursdary 24th November.

(Australian Residents Only)

Happy menu planning......