Christmas Tips from Events Experts

The MEETinLEEDS team are all experts in the field of conferences and events, so we thought we would use our expertise to help you prepare for a perfect Christmas. So without further ado, we present our “Christmas Tips from Events Experts”…

Food

• Set the table, prepare all the vegetables and trimmings on Christmas Eve: this leaves plenty of time to have bubbles on the morning!
• Looking for a guilt free alternative to Mince Pies? Try this Baked Apple recipe: it’s yummy!
• Make sure you don’t overcook or undercook your turkey! Use a
  temperature probe between the thigh and the breast (the thickest part of the turkey) to get the internal temperature to a perfect 74 C. Don’t forget to rest it to distribute the juices.
• Stuffed yourself with turkey and sprouts and suffering from heartburn? No Rennies to hand? Eat a few Love Hearts – they contain Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Powder) and Calcium Carbonate (Chalk) which will give temporary and much needed relief. Get those Christmas stockings packed with them!
• Buy your Brussels sprouts still on the stalk. They will keep for longer and cut down on packaging.
• Or… have Christmas Lunch out: no preparation, cooking or clearing up – even more time for bubbles!

Gifts

• Are you doing a secret Santa? Use the Elfster app, it’s especially useful if you don’t live near each other.
• We love making lists (it’s one of the reasons why we are amazing event managers) and Christmas is the time of year you definitely need to be prepared. Make a: shopping list, present list, social calendar and to do list. The Christmas List app – Gift List –  is a great way to keep track on your progress using your mobile device.
• Framed photographs make excellent gifts. Get a favourite picture enlarged (make sure it is high resolution) at your local photgraph printer (or order online) and get it framed! You can pick up bargain frames at a charity shop, simply get your print sized appropriately.

Decorations

• Use tinfoil as wrapping paper – whoever receives a gift from you can use it for their turkey!
• Check your fairy lights before you put them on the tree. Make sure you have LED lights – they will save you money on electric bills.
• Make “pretend Santa snow footprints” to surprise the kids. Simply use a shake and vacuum product over a cardboard cut out of a shoe to create the trail – you will also be ready and prepared for the big clean up!
• Put on a video of a log fire while you open your presents for that traditional effect.
• Do you have allergies? Take an antihistamine before you unbox your Christmas Tree – it will have collected a lot of dust since last year!
• CD’s are so 90’s man, so string them up and use them as fancy baubles.
• Train your dog to play fetch with wrapping paper – you will have a clean-up helper on Christmas Day!