The BIG Day

From great to gritty – this is a collection of tips, treats and tactics. Some of our favourites and family traditions, to add to yours – enjoy!

From the Reeves family (thanks Chris):

“Fry off the bacon hardens in advance to mix with Brussels. They can stay in the fridge a few days and save you a job on the day, plus your Christmas Day jumper won’t smell of fried food 😝”Get most of your gravy done this weekend and pop it in the freezer. Then just take it out Christmas Eve. Heat up on Christmas Day and remember to add those turkey juices.

See also our ‘Best Gravy Ever‘ recipe – HERE.

Have a batch of homemade sausage rolls in the freezer too. When the unexpected family arrive, you can feed them within the hour.Watch and follow our Brie & Cranberry Sausage Rolls recipe HERE.

“Tip with our family is everyone brings a dish to the party to help the main house that’s holding Christmas with the cooking”. Soph 😊

Great idea Soph. Hope they all bring something different !!!

Here’s a great tip from MumsNet:

Try not to sweat the small stuff – as long as everyone has something to sit on, something to eat and somewhere (if necessary) to sleep, then you’re doing just fine.

Fighting Fairy LightsEvery year it’s a battle to untangle the fairy lights – grrr – well, not any more thanks to this wonderful tip:

“When it’s finally all over, wrap your fairy lights around a kitchen-roll holder, starting with opposite end to the plug, to keep them tidy when putting them away.” Brilliant, thank you Anon.

Technology v. Shopping:

“I have a Christmas shopping list on my computer that I use every year. I always revise it after Christmas so that if we don’t use anything, or run out of something else, the revision should avoid the problem. It saves re-thinking the whole affair every year.”

Gifts for the unexpected:“Have some spare jars or bottles of Stokes tucked away in case a neighbour pops over with an unexpected present.”

You can trump them on the quality of their gift as well as introducing the real, premium quality of ‘tasty‘ you enjoy in your house.

Good call Rosie – always makes a great gift.

Finally, from Rick (Founder, MD and animal lover): “I love it all – family, friends, the 300 or so rescue animals we look after at Rendlesham, and the wonderful food Annie always creates. Top tip … plenty of Stokes Real Tomato Ketchup. I love it, that’s why we make it.”

Christmas Shopping – The Farm Shop

The perfect place for last-minute gifts and tasty treats.

If you’re planning festive celebrations with show-stopping nibbles & drinks; exciting platters of British charcuterie & cheese; distinctive meats & roast joints; all wrapped in charming light shows of decorations and colour themes to leave guests in awe – then take a trip to your local Farm Shop and Garden Centre.This is one of the nicest times of the year to visit your Farm Shop. Most make a magical effort to display so many snacking, sharing, dining and decorative ideas to make your Christmas a special one.You’ll find charcuterie, olives, cheeses, pates, trinkets, gifts, stocking-fillers – all there in one place.

And, so many offer a good selection of Stokes jars of delicious joy.

FIND YOUR LOCAL FARM SHOP

This link will help you find your local (or not so local) Farm Shops, and everything you’ll need for very special ‘local’ Christmas fayre – HERE.So:

Deck your shelves with jars so tasty…

…tral la la la laaaa,

tra lal la laaaa.