On the seventh day of Xmas… ways to lay a festive table on a budget

Meal gatherings for family and friends over the holidays can be more anxious than delicious, especially if you are living alone. However, it doesn’t always have to be, if you have a plan in place.

Rule 1: Spend, don’t overspend

You don’t need all the sides that come with a roasting turkey, and you definitely don’t need to buy holiday cutlery – the ones you have will do just fine. Alternatively, if you really do not want to spend the night washing plates and other utensils, choose disposables.

It is quite natural to stock up on anything and everything that screams Xmas, but ask yourself – will everyone be using this, or eating this? Or are you going to end up eating it all alone until it goes stale? Yes, it would be good to have it on the table, but maybe not this year. Choose what you buy wisely.

Rule 2: Humble ingredients make scrumptious meals too

It’s time to make what you bought tasty. It may be a bag of potatoes, but there are many dishes you can make with it – French fries, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, wedges, fritters… need we go on further? The same goes for your other vegetables, your meats and even your desserts. For all you know a tub of ice cream would be just fine. Although we do have a few easy recipes to make at home, which we would highly recommend you try on your visit to the Cooking and Cuisines section.

We understand that time seems to run out faster during the year’s end, so we set up a little menu with the help of few chefs, so that you can enjoy your Xmas without having to worry too much about finances.

While you stay busy planning a holiday meal, it doesn’t mean that you have to prepare everything from scratch.

Rule 3: Setting up your dinner table

Now that there’s food on the table, it’s time to start making sure your tablescape is as good as the food you’ve cooked. And better yet, the festive season is the best time to get creative. So, here’s a quick tutorial (tried and tested by us) to help you set up your table. All you need are three things – napkins, a few candles and a centrepiece.

Moving on to candles. If you don’t want to buy candle stands, a few electric candles or lights from Amazon might help! So you don’t have to really worry about having the lights fully out with these.

Next comes in your centrepiece – if you’ve got a turkey on the table, stick to that. But if you don’t, maybe a few florals can help. Or even better, you can use all the Xmas tree ornaments that didn’t get used this year, to set up a centrepiece of your own and you can get as creative as you want for the holidays! Here's how you can set up a mini Xmas tree

Only 5 days to go... Feliz Navidad!

Do you want to share a few recipes with us? Email us on food@gulfnews.com