A mum who cooks Christmas dinner in November says it saves her hours of hassle and still tastes “banging”.
Hannah Lumber has given herself a massive head start on the festive chaos by whipping up her festive feast a whole month early.
While most of us spend Christmas Day chained to the oven, the 38-year-old refuses to miss out on precious family time – so she cooks the entire meal weeks in advance, freezes it, then just defrosts and heats it on the big day.
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“I can’t say there are any drawbacks – I thought it wouldn’t taste the same with some items being frozen, but it still has the great taste,” Hannah told What’s The Jam.
Hannah has followed the same routine for the past couple of years and, for her, the biggest perk is soaking up every festive moment with her brood.
She said, “I absolutely love it.
“I don’t have any stress on Christmas Day.
“On Christmas Eve have traditions of a picky tea, movies and hot chocolates.
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“I do prep the beef wellington on Christmas Eve daytime, then finish it in the oven on Christmas Day.”
When it comes to the cooking itself, Hannah says she “totally wings it”.
On social media, she shared a clip showing how she preps her potatoes, carrots and parsnips, saying: “This will save you so much time on Christmas Day,” before demonstrating her veg-cooking method.
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She also revealed her top freezer-space hack – freeze the food on a tray first until solid, then transfer it to a bag later on.
On Christmas Eve, she simply lifts everything out to defrost.
She said, “Honestly, it saves me so much time. I’m not faffing around Christmas Day, I’m getting time to spend with the kids.”
And for anyone worried frozen food won’t hit the same? Hannah has one answer.
She said: “No, it doesn’t – it still tastes absolutely banging, so do not worry about that.”
Hannah, who’ll be cooking for her own family plus friends this year, shared her advice for anyone wanting to follow her plan.
She added, “My advice would be don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
“Also with freezer space, I tend to free up space in the lead up to Christmas and plan meals which don’t need the freezer.”
Prepping early has been particularly helpful for the busy mum-of-two to get ahead of the rush.
Hannah said: “I’ve always prepped mine ahead of Christmas – I’ve done it slightly early though, as I have a six-week-old baby who sleeps a lot, and I know once it’s closer to Christmas, she won’t
“I’m currently breastfeeding, so she’s totally reliant on just me.
“I also have a toddler along with four other kids and just wanted to make my life easier.”
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