Ah Christmas. We love you, but we hate you. The line at Haigh’s gets too long for a 3.30pm chocolate hit. The crowds at the David Jones windows block the foot path. And the shops! Let’s not talk about how much present shopping we have left to do. But then there’s the Christmas parties. And the Christmas lights. And hey, who doesn’t love a good Bing Crosby Christmas Carol?
Okay so secretly we really love Christmas! If we had time, we’d Martha-the-Stewart out of Christmas! Handmade cards, napkin folding, eggnog, we’d go the whole shebang.
The good news is, with this handy Christmas cheat sheet, you can take the stress out of Christmas this year, and still put on a good show. Here’s our guide to a stress free Christmas:
Eat out and chill out:
It is not a sin if you don’t want to slave over a hot stove, or deal with the emotional maelstrom of your family all trying to cook. Save your energy and sanity by booking in for lunch at the likes of Fratelli Fresh, whose restaurants will be hosting a $75 pp set menu lunch of all your Fratelli favs. There are entrees to share (yes, the garlic butter dough balls make an appearance!), a choice of main (our pick is the lamb shoulder with sweet potato) and panettone for dessert. Pre-book now for lunch at Fratelli Fresh Potts Point, Walsh Bay, Alexandria and Crows Nest
Dine in but don’t do all the work:
If you’re putting on Christmas lunch, Marley Spoon’s Christmas menu, aka the Choose Your Own Christmas Adventure, will see you delivered a box full of everything you need to put on a beautiful spread. Mix and match from a series of breakfast, main and side dishes. Start the day with cranberry and ricotta pancakes before moving on to festive baked trout salad, roasted Brussels sprouts and Christmas sweets like brownies and blueberry cake. Sounds like a three course feast right? Don’t worry, each dish comes with an easy step by step guide, and the best part is all your ingredients have already been measured out. Menus start from $8.95 per portion, with 2 meals for 2 people costing $55.
Put on a spread:
An extravagant Christmas table doesn’t need to be a fine china affair, make the star of the show a magnificent ham – and it isn’t Christmas without a ham. Chef Jared Ingersoll’s Butcher and the Farmer at the new Glebe Tramsheds is dedicated to highlighting local producers and that includes a top notch Christmas ham. Pre-order your Christmas ham, and pick up a few extra goodies while you’re there – the Farmer Christmas hampers are a must.
