JOURNAL

Everything you need for a stress-free day

The ultimate Christmas checklist to make your celebrations festive rather than frantic. Get organised with our handy planner, helping you make sure you have everything you need for a stress-free Christmas Day.

The build up to Christmas is the best bit. The menu is planned, gifts are chosen, carefully wrapped and hidden, favourite songs are sung, cards written, and houses decorated, as the scent of spice and possibility hang in the air.

Here we have pulled together a list to help you prepare for your own Christmas Day. Follow the links for inspiration, from favourite recipes to useful products, how-to guides and tips and tricks from across our website.

Peace, joy & organisation – all in one place!

Stir-up Sunday: the traditional time to make your pudding or Christmas Cake was a few weeks ago now, but there is still time to whip up a quick Christmas Pud if you didn’t manage it on the 26th November. This Christmas Pudding recipe makes a light flavourful take on the classic, bursting with juicy carrots, fruits, nuts and a spike of citrus.

Preserve the Season: Jars of pickles, jams or chutneys make thoughtful homemade Christmas gifts. Perfect for a cheese lover, this warmly spiced Festive Fig Chutney recipe would be the perfect gift alongside our gourmet cheese set, but also makes a great accompaniment to most Christmas leftovers!

Christmas Liqueur: We have a few recipes for you to try, just give them enough time to steep so that the flavours develop. It’s a little late for the Sloe Gin which needs a good 2/3 months to mature, but you can easily buy some to try this Winter Bramble cocktail. The Christmas Pudding Vodka for this tasty Mince Pie Martini is harder to come by in the supermarket… luckily it only needs a week to make. Top off your finished cocktail with one of our Drink Stirrers, available in three sizes in sets of 8 or as a mixed set of 12.

Setting the Scene: Whatever the size of the party you’re planning for there will be many things to consider – centrepieces, candlelight and décor – but when setting the Christmas table, surely the unsung hero of every meal has to be the cutlery? In a recent blog article we share 5 ways to get your cutlery set for Christmas to help you to get your knives, forks & spoons ready for their busiest time of the year.

Decorate the Tree! There is nothing more exciting than beginning to decorate the home for Christmas, whether that is making a wreath for the door or decorating a tree. Have you collected a full set of our 12 Days of Christmas decorations yet? This year you can buy all 12 in a gift box or buy sets of 3 to add to your own collection.

Make a List, Check it Twice: Our Christmas gift-guide features inspiration for thoughtful gifts. We hope you enjoy browsing to gather inspiration and ideas for your Christmas gifting.

Throwing a Gathering? The perfect sharing platter should be just as much a feast for the eyes as the tastebuds; learn how to create delicious grazing boards so that every mouthful is lip-smacking! If you are having friends round, have you seen our selection of sharing board sets? We offer a Smorgasbord Set, a Charcuterie Set and a Butter Board Set.

Festive Baking: It’s always fun to bake a few sweet treats over Christmas. These edible Gingerbread Biscuit Decorations are great to make as a family and double up as tree ornaments to mix amongst your favourite baubles.

Christmas Meal Planning: We are passionate about cooking and entertaining, so in the build up to Christmas we are excitedly collecting ingredients, finding favourite recipes and looking back at all the moments we’ve shared over great food in the last year. Our collection of seasonal recipes offers classic flavours, alternative options, twists on the traditional and treats to delight your guests. Tuck in!

All Present & Correct: Once you have all your gifts in place, our gift wrap guides created with Jane Means will help you wrap them to impress!

For the Chef: Those with cooking duties on the horizon, make sure you’re equipped with dependable, high-performing tools in your kitchen. Our ranges of finest quality kitchen knives, cookware and utensils will help with the preparations and bring a sense of calm to Christmas - everything we design keeps you organised and efficient with uncompromising style. And, if you already own everything you need, make sure everything is in tip top condition. Sharpen your knives, clean your cutlery and fill your salt & pepper mills ready for the big day.

Laying up: The Christmas meal, whatever form it takes, is unmistakeably the main event in most festive celebrations. The cutlery you choose and the art of setting the table are important parts of the Christmas dining experience, but around every table there is a story. Bring it to life by including treasured family heirlooms, nostalgic tokens and some fresh foliage. With a few simple flourishes, you can create imaginative table-settings that everyone will want to linger over long after the meal has ended.

Santa’s Been! Start the day off with the sounds and smells of Christmas, and a platter of smoked salmon tartines whilst finalising the food or unwrapping a present or two. We’ll leave it up to you as to whether you have a sip of one of these festive tipples before the bird is done, but here’s a guide to how to carve the turkey should you need it!

Bang tidy: Finally, let us take care of the washing up with this handy video on how to look after your Campden cookware. After all, it has looked after you today, so why wouldn’t you look after it?