Deck the Halls with Ease

Jennifer Dutton's thoughts on making Christmas with kids merry and light…on work!

I love Christmas. The smell of pine, the twinkle of tree lights, the joy of gift giving. I love the seasonal food and the family time. I hate, with the fire of a thousand suns, feeling like it's all too much work.

For me, there's a balancing act when it comes to special occasions: putting in enough effort to savour the payoff, but not taking on too much and robbing myself of enjoying it.

With small children, I've decided it's a season in my life where I'm cutting corners. There's already so much about creating a special family Christmas that requires a hefty mental and physical workload, so hubby and I decided we would take the fast track where we can. Here are my recommendations for an eas(ier) Christmas with young kids. All the fun with less of the stress.

In the lead-up, budget accordingly and order yourself some convenience food. Or make your seitan/star dish in advance, if that's how you roll. No one wants to be slaving away in the kitchen when instead one could have a glass in hand and be participating in the fun. Plan the food based on what requires the least input on the day.

On Christmas Eve, I love maximum magic activities that are actually very low-effort, like making reindeer food. Set up an (outdoor) station of dry pantry bits and bobs like stale cereal, dusty oats and glitter or sprinkles. Rebrand the ingredients buffet as Flying Dust, North Pole Powder, Nose Glow Glitter and so on. Give each mini a small ziplock bag and some spoons and away they mix.

Later, have the smalls set out on the lawn their reindeer food creations, a bowl filled with water and a whole carrot or two. I suggest also convincing your children that by the time Santa makes it down under, he is well sick of soy milk and cookies and actually, he appreciates a refreshing beer and cheeky bag of chips. Once the kids are asleep, don't forget to set up for gleeful morning discovery: theatrically kick the reindeer water bowl over, take huge chomps out of the carrot and crumple the empty beer can flat.

Every family does Christmas in their own way, but for us, it's a low-key morning warming up to a Main Event later in the day, as more family arrives. In years gone by, for breakfast I have done long cooking sessions of a mountain of fancy pancakes, but no more. Last year we enjoyed quick and simple Santa Faces, which are just toasted English muffins smeared with peanut butter and decorated with fruit to make a hat and beard. Donezo!

Come the big meal, lunch or dinner, you congratulate your former organised self for choosing something low-fuss that you just yank out of the oven, a Grater Goods roast or similar. Served with chilled sides sitting ready in the fridge to just whip out, say new herbed potatoes, seasonal green veg like asparagus and crunchy salads. Too easy.

In the past, I've gone full noise for dessert. Beautiful vegan trifles layered with custards, sponge cake and berries, aquafaba pavlova nests with whipped coconut cream and passionfruit, and dense fruit puddings doused in brandy set alight. But honestly, the stress of watching that aquafaba pav, holding my breath it didn't sink and crack and ensuring no one opened the oven for ages, just did my head in.

Nowadays for dessert, I decided if it took longer than 5 minutes I wasn't serving it. Last year we enjoyed a platter of sweet snacks all à la packet, directly from the shelves of Countdown. Think Whittakers peppermint, orange or almond & cranberry minibars. Nomo reindeer. Sweet William Santas. Rum bliss balls. Lincoln Bakery Vol Au Vent Pastry Cases, mini size, with Angel Food cream cheese. The Plantitude Vegan Belgian Dark Chocolate Brownie squares and Plantitude Petite Meringue Nests. Frazer Peppermint Pralines. Candy canes (mostly vegan, but just check the red dye isn't beetles). And of course, a generous scattering of all the plump, juicy, summery berries. Predictably, the Smalls loved choosing their own selection of treaty finger foods.

In previous Christmasses, we've gone all out and spraypainted a landing strip on the lawn for reindeer, made iced vegan ginger folk cookies for all the neighbours, and even one year baked and constructed an entire gingerbread house from scratch. It was all fabulous fun, but I started noticing I was running on fumes going into the holiday and decided on a temporary commitment to The Easy Way for a few years. While on the one hand, I think there is no limit to the deliberate cultivating of joy, for yourself, your children, and your family, I think there must be some reason in the season. If you've found yourself wanting a sign, seeking some permission or encouragement to take it easy this Christmas, here it is! I think that being a Mum or Dad putting on the Christmas magic is a full dance card as is, so make that list as short as possible. Now get online and order yourself a vegan roast so you can cheers to you, come the 25th.

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