Tips on Preparing a Wonderful Christmas Dinner

Imagine people in your home getting up early to the market to buy the fresh ingredients. Remember how all kinds of delicious smells permeate every room at home on the day before Christmas. And how busy the kitchen gets on that day, which is off-limits to children.

Filipinos love to prepare something special whenever there is an occasion or a cause for celebration. And preparing a Christmas dinner is something that many Filipinos look forward to doing because it's a tradition. Many use the time to have a small family reunion, a time to have something special, to honor the family's blessings throughout the year.

Christmas is a big occasion for Filipinos, and it is very evident, as the Philippines celebrate the longest Christmas season in the world. As soon as the ''ber'' month starts, meaning September, radio stations, malls, stores and shops start playing Christmas songs. Many stores begin selling gift items and Christmas décor.

In supermarkets and groceries, you'll find the appearance of traditional Christmas ham, Edam cheese (queso de bola) and others. Local tablea will again enjoy high demand. More noticeable will be the increase in pork, beef and chicken filling up supermarket shelves. The same is true in wet markets.

Preparing a wonderful Christmas dinner

Filipinos begin their preparations for their Christmas dinner early because they want to attend the midnight mass on Christmas Eve to enjoy their Christmas feast after church.

Traditionally, Filipinos want to use the best ingredients, especially for Christmas dinner, to be buying choice meat cuts. They tend to splurge during Christmas. Even people receiving lower incomes want to have something special, including ham, Edam cheese, steaks, and other food items they don't regularly eat. They often say that they want their families to eat something different from their ordinary fare, even if it's just once a year.

Making Christmas dinner preparation less stressful

Understandably, preparing the Christmas dinner will be hectic. For one thing, many people still try to put off the preparation until it's very close to the day. Others love to buy the freshest ingredients, from premium meat cuts to vegetables, as well as fruits. While it can be stressful, Filipinos would shrug their shoulders and say that it is all right because it's just for one day of the year.

Sounds familiar? Well, why choose to be stressed, which can affect your cooking, when you can prepare Christmas dinner without too much stress. We hope that you'll benefit from these tips.

1. One of the first things you should do is to plan your Christmas dinner menu. You should know how many people are coming, their food preferences, and food restrictions. We understand that having guests is not allowed right now due to the pandemic, but there's always next year.
2. If you are baking Christmas cookies, bake them in advance. If you're planning to serve dishes, such as steaks that go well with mashed potatoes, prepare the latter earlier and freeze it.
3. Don't make something individual. Even if you want to impress, do not think of a menu item that requires individual servings, such as prawn cocktails in glasses, mini tartlets or small chocolate puddings. Prepare dishes that can be served in big bowls or platters.
4. Choose your menu items carefully. Filipinos love to have soup, so that's a given. Think of serving two or three courses, plus salad and dessert. Or if you're like most Filipinos, it could be two desserts – fruit salad and leche flan (or purple yam/ halayang ube).
5. Include vegetables for a balanced meal. You can either have vegetable stir-fries or add vegetables to your meat, chicken or pork dishes.
6. Simplify your table setting so that you can have more space for the food and dinnerware. Do not consider anything grand. Choose one festive centerpiece and table runner. You can add more colors with the tablecloth, placemats, and colored water glasses.
7. Prepare as many things as possible in advance. Do the peeling and chopping of vegetables earlier. You can either freeze them or keep them in the vegetable crisper. Buy pre-cut meat for some of your dishes so that you do not have to cut your meat before you cook it. Have enough time to marinate your beef, pork, and chicken. 
8. Get other family members to help. If you are used to doing everything on your own, maybe it's time to rein in other family members to prepare. Even if they cannot do the actual cooking, they can cut the vegetables, wash and dry the fruits, or set the table.

Know your guests and plan the table arrangement

It is vital to know the guests who will join you on Christmas Eve. Some people have allergies to some ingredients, and others have dietary restrictions that you need to know. If the guest is unfamiliar to you, make sure that you inquire about their food preference, as some people cannot eat anything spicy or salty. Prepare a few additional dishes that guests with special preferences will appreciate. Likewise, serve child-friendly dishes, such as chicken lollipops, mini hotdogs on skewers, meatballs on sticks in bite-sized pieces.

Ensure that you keep the peace at the dinner table by planning your seating arrangement. Even if you only have relatives as guests, some people are not on good terms with one another. If this is the case, make sure that they are seated far apart from each other. If possible, keep them far apart but on the same side of the table so they can avoid seeing each other.

Do your shopping early 

One of the wisest things you can do when planning a Christmas dinner is to shop early. If you plan to serve beef, pork and poultry dishes, get the choice of meat cuts from Metro Manila's favorite online shop, E&L Faster Food Imports. With us, you can be sure that you are getting premium meat cuts from the best local and international meat suppliers.

We strictly adhere to government guidelines on handling and storing meat and poultry and follow strict health and safety measures to ensure that you get the highest-quality meat and poultry products at any time. What's more, you do not need to go out because you can order meat online. Choose the products you need, add them to your cart, process the payment, and we'll deliver your order to your door.