After Bullet Journal, the Meal Planning and the Meal PreppingWe are sure that one of the next trends for planning lovers will be the Christmas Planning. Or rather: it certainly is already, but probably it will not be long before it becomes a fully recognized movement. It does not matter that you love the Christmas to the point of obsessively consult the various countdown sites since returning from summer holidays, or that for you is just the opportunity for a little 'rest and free time to devote to those most loved: spent Halloween and the feast of the Immaculate Conception, it is the moment of Christmas that, like every year, will test our creativity and, without a minimum of organization, even our strong nerves.

Christmas with friends (at your home)

The traditions are clear: "Christmas with yours", but nobody wants to give up celebrate with friends too. This is the time to find a date to do it, before everyone's agendas filled up with work aperitifs and kindergarten parties. Second step: where? If there are many in your circle of friends Aunts Scrooge and you are the host designated for this party, read on!

An aperitif or a party with friends are the perfect substitute of the most canonical (and sometimes problematic) Christmas present, as well as an opportunity to be together at a time of year in which often – if you have not organized it in time – even finding the time to say goodbye can be a titanic undertaking.

The perfect ingredients for the success of your party are only two: a beautiful one table he was born in good food. One possible inconvenience: your friends will never want to celebrate elsewhere!

How to set up the table

This evening is a party, and then no formalities – there is room for those in the next few days – and no tablecloth. If you have a table with a wooden top, it will suffice to give the room all the warmth it needs; a touch of color, then, add it with simple American placemats, better if red or in shades of forest green (if you do not have them at home you can buy a few scraps of fabric for a few euros in a haberdashery and cut it with a scissors in the shape and size you want). The center table? Eucalyptus branches resting directly on the table, illuminated by a thread of white battery lights, which serve as a base for candles of different height (a smart idea to avoid the candle holder without risking the wax on the table). Final touch, which will not go unnoticed, personalized place cards made with homemade cookies.

If instead this table does not reflect your style, here you can find others 50 tips to set it up.

What to cook

Premise: we're not talking about Christmas lunch or Christmas Eve dinner, but on an occasion that wants to be, more than anything else, a way to have fun and be together. And for both things the rule is valid as much as possible. For it to be so, it is important that you do not have to spend the evening at the stove, rather organizing it with dishes that can be strictly prepare in advance. Your perfect allies in this venture: appetizers and first courses, the latter are perfect even if your guests are children. In particular, choose one or more appetizers cold, so you can prepare and serve them before the arrival of your guests, and bet everything on the comfort food of a pan just out of the oven for the next course. First courses in the oven, in fact, not only can be prepared in advance, but to give the best of themselves they must be: prepare them the afternoon before, let them rest and bake them just in time to serve them!

5 baked first to prepare in advance

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