The Lazy Smart Girl’s Guide To Christmas Lunch

This is how every of my Christmas Day has been in my adulthood; I’m in the kitchen, sweating it out by the oven, watching my guests chat, laugh, drink and have fun… while I prep, cook and get the food ready. Every. Single. Year. To be honest, I enjoy giving and bringing people together, so I 90% love it. There’s that 10% though, that just wants to be chilling out and having fun.

This year is the year. I am not turning on the oven. I am not missing out on the fun. I am going to have the most chilled out Christmas ever, and I’m asking you to do the same. I’ve teamed up with the lovely people at Woolworths to bring you a stress-free Christmas Day.

For those of you who are new here, a little back-story if I may: My mum has been with Woolworths for most of my life {ever since I was a teenager}, and when my little family walks into our local store… well we know most of the staff and it’s one of my favourite things. The team love my kids and have seen Lulu grow since she was a baby. I love that small town feel. So, I’m excited to be working with them to bring you some Christmas-y stuff.

Last week I held a little Christmas do at home, to test-drive my Christmas Day plan. I invited mum over and we whipped up this grazing table in less than an hour. No ovens were used. There was definitely no stressing and no missing out on the fun. I loved that it was put together in the most fun way possible, and it was just like creating an artwork. An edible artwork!

The Lazy Girl’s Guide To A Christmas Lunch Grazing Table

STEP ONE:

Stay in your PJs. Heck, don’t even get out of bed. Shop online and get the groceries delivered.

When it comes to choosing what you need, if you’re shopping online… you’ll need a good mix of meats, cheeses, dips, crackers, fruits, vegetables and then one really delicious dessert. The Woolworths Gold range has some amazing, decadent desserts. In the deli section you’ll find beautiful mud cakes, puddings or even trifles. I grabbed the decadent dark chocolate mud cake because it’s a family favourite.

If you decide to get dressed and shop in store, you can get the team at the deli to have anything sliced for you, so you can get the thickness that you want {which I prefer especially with prosciutto}. Pick up sliced Jarlsberg cheese too, olives, peppers and anything else that tickles your tastebuds.

These are a few of my favourite things: The chocolate mud cake {of course!}, Festive fruit cake {this one is amazing}, Sweet nut selection {top a circle of brie cheese with the fruit and nut mix!}, Fig and walnut paste {promise me you’ll try this – it’s amazing with a vintage cheddar}, reindeer decoration {these sell out really quickly so grab one when you see it}, Woolworths Camembert Cheese {everyone loves camembert and this is affordable, and delicious!}, Feta-filled green olives, Modern bon bons {How cool is this new shape?!} and Festive puff pastry savoury biscuits {a-mah-zing! They also have a sweet version}.

TIP: You’ll need around 50g of cheese per person if your grazing table is for a main meal.

STEP TWO: Put on your favourite music and make up the table. I laid down a tablecloth, and then covered with baking paper so that I could place the food straight on top. I used glasses to put the grissini sticks in, and little bowls to put the dips into. It was like an artwork. I just put things in and added layer upon layers, until the table was full. It took a little over 30 minutes to pull together, and a whole lot longer to eat.

TIP: Add between one and five cheeses, and crackers to match. Think about flavours with both the cheeses and the crackers, you don’t want them to overwhelm each other.

TIP: Take cheeses out of the fridge around 30 minutes before serving. Cheeses are better at room temperature.

TIP: Provide plates and napkins so that your guests can fill their plates and find a spot to sit and chill out, while munching.

TIP: Add fresh fruits and vegetables. They add great colour, and are a welcome lightness to the table.

I topped the mud cake with the tree-shaped marshmallows and fresh strawberries. It’s beautiful served with cream.

Here’s a little video I made with more details on how it all unfolded. And that’s my Christmas sorted. I’m going to ask everyone to bring something to add to the table – a cheese, a dip or something else, and we’ll make our own masterpiece together. A super, delicious masterpiece.

Happy grazing!

What’s your favourite thing to munch on from a grazing table?