Summer is upon us and so is the party season. If you’re celebrating Christmas then now is the time to look at the big day and plan your time and budget, keeping in mind any plans you might have for new year’s celebrations. With five weeks to go, heres my top ten tips to make it a breeze.

1 There are plenty of things you know you’ll need, that will keep just fine. You can buy or make your cake any time, like-wise frozen goods, and vitamins (for boxing day). Make some biscuit dough or pastry and pop it in the freezer. Make sure you fill the gas bottle on the BBQ.

2 A lot of bottle stores offer a discount on 6 or more bottles of wine or spirits, so it pays to ask.  Otherwise, make the most of liquor specials over the next 4 weeks.

3 Keep some spare cards on hand and a couple of all-purpose gifts such as chocolates to avoid embarrassment when unexpected gift givers or surprise visitors call.

4 Finalise your menu and check you have all the plates, platters, cutlery and glasses you need. Plan to buy them over the coming weeks, or drop lead weighted hints to the right people.

5 If you haven’t already, befriend your local butcher, baker, grocer, fish monger and florist, they are the people who will look after you in these busy times. Return the favour by pre-ordering the things you are counting on having fresh. Consider this, Christmas this year falls on a Tuesday and nothing fresh is distributed in the weekend. Unless you relish the Christmas Eve chaos of ‘first in first served’ at the supermarket order your flowers, pastries meat and seafood by the 17th of December.

6 Two days to go. Start defrosting frozen foods, safely in the fridge.

7 Your fridge is probably working over-time, make sure it’s organised. To avoid cross contamination store the raw foods down the bottom, the ready to eat at the top and the vege and precooked items between.

8 Use a separate vessel for icing drinks, to prevent constant opening of the fridge door. This reduces the strain on the fridge and the risk of food spoilage.

9 Consider the things you might need as shop hours will be pretty irregular in the coming week. Eg; sunscreen, tissues, toilet paper, etc.

10 Chuck the checklist and relax. Time to reap the rewards of your planning and simply enjoy the company of family and friends. After you’ve put out the cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer of course!

You can’t beat the great Aussie barbie, but she can be a cruel mistress if mistreated.
bbq tips, Separate raw food from cooked, keeping it covered and fly free. Never use the plate or tongs that held the food raw to handle cooked items.

Brush a little oil on the food before grilling, instead of dousing the hotplate and you’ll reduce those nasty flare-ups.

If it’s out in the summer heat and uneaten in two hours bin it, it’s not worth the risk.
Wash fruit, vege, hands, grills, and tools as you use them. Work like dietary fibre, clean as you go!

Don’t feed garlic sausages to your dog, dog breath is bad enough.