Preparing food before christmas

Blimey aren't you all good! I've got 40 emergency sausage rolls in the freezer. Well its a start!

I do most of my preparation on Christmas Eve, some of it along with Carols from King's on the radio, so that I can join in the fun on Christmas Day. Stuffings and sauces made, ready just to heat up, roasties parboiled, turkey in its tin with bacon rashers on top. Even the cheeseboard's set out and covered with clingfilm. It all goes down in the cellar in a big plastic storage box overnight. As I start on the sherry mid-morning (the only time I touch sherry, but it's a family tradition ), it's probably just as well I'm organised in advance!

I like to get as organised as I can so, in my freezer, I have pigs in blankets ready to cook, bread sauce, sausagemeat stuffing and a few mince pies. I peel the veg the day before.

Because we have people coming and going at various times, I have also got sausage casserole, pasta sauces and shepherds pies in various sizes in the freezer as well.