Preparing Christmas dinner

Do you want to prepare well? The search often starts on the internet. Looking for great tips and inspiration. Search for tasty snacks and recipes. Search for inspiring ideas for setting the table. We have already done this search for you! On this page you will find everything you need to know about the preparation of Christmas dinner and we have listed the nicest, tastiest and most inspiring tips. This way you no longer have to spend time searching and you can check most items off your checklist.

Checklist

The main topics for the Christmas dinner:

*The guests

*The Christmas menu

*Table cover

*Christmas style table styles

*Do shopping

*Tips

The guests

Verdiep je in de gasten

It is important that you know what your guests like or don't like, whether there are allergies, or maybe vegetarian. It would be a pain to find out over dinner and have to disappoint a guest. It is no problem to ask your guests this in advance. The type of guests also determines further choices. Should it be chic and formal or should it be relaxed and informal? This is important in determining what type of Christmas dinner you will be hosting, how you will set the table, etc.

The Christmas menu

Chic or Casual?

Want a more chic and formal Christmas dinner? In any case, opt for several courses. A three-course menu (starter, main course and dessert) is fine. You can add more courses by inserting some smaller dishes.

Tip: Do you opt for a multi-course menu? Don't make it difficult for yourself and also vary with small cold snacks, which you can prepare well in advance.

Would you like to have a casual, cozy meal with friends and family? Something different than a Christmas dinner? Then there are plenty of options and ideas. If you opt for a multi-course menu, it is nice to ask other guests to prepare the starter and/or dessert. Make sure to agree in advance what the guests need. It would be annoying if the main course had to go in the oven for a while, and the guest making the starter also needed the oven or microwave. It is also wise to coordinate whether the main course is meat or fish, French or Italian cuisine, etc. This way the guests can tailor their dishes to this. Keep in mind the size of the different corridors. Make small and tasty dishes, otherwise you have the chance that everyone at the main course is already full!

Tip: If other guests provide part of the dinner, agree on a theme, so that the dishes are well coordinated.

It will be completely relaxed if you opt for tapas or small snacks from the shelf. There is no formal meal time. At a certain point you prepare the first snacks and the guests can enjoy delicious (prepared) tapas throughout the afternoon and evening during a drink. The big advantage is that you can enjoy the afternoon and evening much more yourself. You can buy the small snacks ready-made or prepare them well in advance. You can also ask the guests to provide a small tapas snack and take it with them. Please indicate for how many guests.

Tip: Replace the Christmas dinner for a pleasant tapas evening. This way you have plenty of time to enjoy a cozy Christmas Eve as much as your guests.

View our range of tapas cutlery here.

Christmas recipes

There are plenty of nice websites on the internet with tasty recipes for Christmas dinner.

Start preparing the Christmas dinner 2 to 3 days in advance. What you can already do is, for example, cutting ingredients, preparing dishes that you can easily heat up, for example the soup or sauce, or maybe even the dessert. Don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on the day itself? Then choose dishes that you only need to heat up at the last minute.

Tip: Are you unsure about a Christmas recipe? Try it yourself first. This way you can see whether the taste is satisfactory, or whether you want to adjust something, but also where you can prepare the dish and how much time it takes.

Setting the table for Christmas dinner

Crockery, cutlery and glasses

Often you do not think about this in advance and you are suddenly confronted with the question while setting the table. How is it again? In this article we look at the classic way of hedging.

The board – You start with the bottom board. On this plate you place the plate that you want to use for the starter, main course or dessert. The number of plates depends of course on the dinner and the number of courses. At the top left of the bottom plate, place a small plate for the bread. You can put a butter knife on it.

The cutlery – You put a butter knife on the so-called 'bread plate'. The forks are on the left of the plate, the knives on the right and next to the knives is the soup spoon. Place the cutlery for dessert (a small fork or dessert spoon) above your plate. You use the cutlery from the outside in. So put the fork and knife that you should use last, closest to the plate.

The glass – Place the necessary glasses at the top right of the plates. The glass that is used first is on the far right, the glass that is last to be used is on the far left.

Table styles Christmas atmosphere

Christmas decoration

Once the table is set, you can start decorating. Nice elements and accents that enhance the Christmas atmosphere. Align the tablecloth, napkins, cutlery, and crockery. This creates unity and surprising contrasts. Don't overcrowd the table. After all, there is already a lot on the table.

Of course you can also add extra accents with your crockery or cutlery. How nice is it to put cutlery on the table just for this occasion? Nice to combine colored cutlery with your crockery and the atmosphere on the table. During the holidays, red cutlery, green cutlery and mother-of-pearl cutlery are especially popular. Napoleon cutlery has different cutlery sets with colored handles. It is very nice that you can also buy the cutlery separately. EME Napoleon is cutlery with a vintage look. For example, you can also order your serving spoon or butter knives or your dessert spoons in a different color. You can easily and endlessly vary the cutlery and combine it with your existing cutlery set. This also brings a little contrast and extra atmosphere to the table.

Tip: Complete the set table with, for example, nice Christmas branches, beautiful candles, pine cones, and other Christmas accessories. And of course don't forget the Christmas music   in the background!

Christmas shopping

Tips

Make a shopping list and organize it conveniently. Put the type of product together in categories: for example: meat, fish, vegetables, dairy, sweet, etc.)

Don't forget to write down how many (grams/pieces) you need of each ingredient!

Get the non-perishable groceries at home at least a week in advance.

1-2 days before Christmas you can buy the last fresh ingredients such as fresh herbs.

Don't forget to check that you have enough crockery, cutlery and glasses for the guests you are expecting. Also check whether everyone fits at the table and whether you have enough chairs.

Tip: Do you want to do it all easy? Order your groceries online: no long queues and no busy supermarket. Do this on time because you are certainly not the only one! Reserve your delivery time in advance. You can often complete your shopping list shortly before delivery.