We are officially six days out from Christmas. In the words of festive icon Mariah Carey herself, it’s time. While you may have spent months poring over the perfect placemats, place settings, menu, and decorations, it's often the more practical hosting essentials that can be forgotten about until the last minute.
And let's be honest — it's hard to stay organized over Christmas. Things happen. You likely bought all your presents well ahead of time, but may have forgotten to replace the last of your tin foil (don't worry, you can still get a 300m roll from Amazon delivered before the big day).
But what else might you have missed? I've compiled a list of all the essential items that you won't want to be tasked with cooking a Christmas meal without. And most importantly, I've checked my list (twice) to ensure they'll all be delivered before the 25th.
Serving spoons are the one thing my family and I can never seem to have enough of. If you're planning on serving a turkey with all the trimmings, then the last thing you want is bits of cauliflower cheese in your Yorkshire pudding. Order next-day delivery by the 22nd of December to ensure delivery before Christmas.
Christmas without crackers would be just wrong! While stocks are running low in a lot of places, these beautifully festive crackers are still available, and still stylish. Order with next day delivery before the 22nd to arrive in time to decorate your table.
After spending hours, or even days, preparing a turkey you want you hard work to served correctly. Roughly chopped slices with a blunt aren't exactly the best way to do that. This carving fork and sharp knife set ensure that you can cut to the best of your ability with minimal effort.
To save yourself from handing out kitchen roll for guests at dinner, make sure you have enough napkins — and even better if you can get some that add an extra bit of style to your place settings. This set would look great with some Christmas foliage, but isn't overtly festive, so could be reused all year round.
While you may have considered wine glasses, champagne flutes tend to get a lot of use during the holidays. Whether it's for Christmas morning Buck's Fizz or New Year's Eve celebratory drinks, it's worth keeping the count of champagne flutes high. This lovely option is not only going to be functional, but will also look great on the table. Order next-day delivery before 5pm on the 22nd to have them delivered before Christmas.
Once cooked, your turkey is going to need somewhere to rest. Scrambling for a plate large enough while there's other things to squeze into the oven isn't exactly a position you want to be left in on Christmas day. This serving dish is 38.7cm long, enough to fit the average roast turkey.
Every good Christmas dinner should include lots of leftovers, and whether you keep these all for the week to come or give guests some to take home, having enough storage is essential. These glass containers from Amazon are airtight, microwaveable, and dishwasher safe, but most importantly, available for next-day delivery.
During the Christmas period, I think I must go through multiple entire packs of tealights. Buying a big pack like this is a necessity. You can style them on your table, across your mantel, or even lining your garden path to invite your guests in.
If you've left all your table decoration prep to the last minute, don't worry — there is still time. A simple garland can be enough to spruce up any table. This option comes with white LEDs built in, so there's little work to do beyond positioning.
If you have all your essentials sorted, but still haven't decided how to style your table, this stunning 'orange tree' table centerpiece is an easy DIY made using fruit and a bit of foam you can still pick up from Amazon.