How to Shop for Christmas Dinner

Bells are ringing, holiday music is playing all around us; the Christmas season is drawing close. This is the time of the year most people look forward to, especially for the family gatherings over the dinner table. With all the holiday shopping and preparations, putting on a big Christmas dinner can be rather stressful. Follow these simple steps this year so you can relax and enjoy the Christmas spirit with your family and friends.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Decide on the Christmas dinner menu early on including any special diet considerations of your guests.

2. Determine how many people you are expecting including children.

3. Write a shopping list of ingredients that will be needed according to your menu and servings needed based on your guest list. Separate the list into perishable and non-perishable items. You can buy the non-perishables ahead of time.

4. Clean out your refrigerator and freezer to make space for the Christmas dinner ingredients you will be purchasing. You will need more room if you are getting a large turkey or ham.

5. Compare prices on grocery ads and look for sale items that are on your shopping lists. Buy them while on sale, especially the non-perishable items.

6. Pick a time of the day or night where it's not crowded at the grocery store so that you can shop peacefully without long lines at the check out register.

7. Place any special order items such as cooked ham, pies and so on ahead of time to get them out of your to do list. Put a sticky note on your refrigerator to remind yourself to pick up those items.

8. Put your shopping plan on the calendar to help you organize and keep on schedule. Following this plan diligently can help you avoid last minute stress.