KEY POINTS:
Oh joy, the nightmare of Christmas catering is on us. The family is descending on your home, bearing gifts, joie de vivre, and please Santa, not too much attitude after a few whisky eggnogs. If you're determined to have a stress-free Christmas, leave out complicated stuffings and intricate
desserts, no matter how much Grandma reminds you of hours she spent glazing the beast.
In the grand Kiwi tradition, throw some seafood on the barbecue before resorting to traditional turkey main and all the stuffing. Decide if you're having a hot or cold Christmas or brunch, lunch or an evening meal. Kate Fay from Cibo has some clever advice to keep it really simple on Christmas Day.
"Make life easy on yourself - get organised and do all the prep before people arrive. I'm a great list writer and prep-sheet writer.
"You don't want to miss out on all the fun, so have as much done as you possibly can to make it easy. Choose things to cook that you are comfortable with and that you know you can do well. If at all possible have a trial run," she says.
She recommends getting people involved so you're not having to do it all yourself.
"And if something goes horribly wrong just smile and pretend it is supposed to be crispy on the outside. Or ring for the nearest takeaways."
It's slightly more complicated when the relatives and friends stay for several days and expect to be fed - your bossy sister sauntering off for an shopping expedition leaving you to cater for the remaining, frequently hungover relatives. Indeed, it's a challenge to cater for your aged aunt and lacto-intolerant niece. Here's where you have to think like a drill sergeant.
In her book Assemble, Annabel Langbein's advice is that constructing food without having to think ahead requires an organised and well-stocked pantry. It doesn't mean buying a whole lot of ingredients that are never used, but rather thinking about the kind of food you like to eat and what you need to create interesting and appetising tastes.
Condiments can transform simple dishes, so stock up on interesting flavours and tastes: kaffir lime leaves, miso, semi-dried tomatoes.
Langbein says it is easy to give simple, everyday ingredients new life with zingy pastes and dressings: salsa verde, basil pesto, tapenade and wasabi lime mayo.
Not all your efforts should be wholly devoted to food, though. Dress the table in more than just place mats and suddenly, the food looks even better. A bunch of flowers and some candles are the obvious place to start.
Take it further and trail ivy along the table, or suspend some Christmas baubles over the table. But don't go overboard and heap so much on that no one can see round it.
You could always take an unorthodox approach and treat your table like a set. We asked the fashion label Lonely Hearts Club gang Helene Morris, Aimee McFarlane and Steve Ferguson to come up with a special Christmas table. They took a traditional white setting - although how conventional a white painted pineapple is, is anyone's guess - and took to it with blue, red and yellow paint.
"Christmas at our house has always been about colour, fun, the power of imagination and getting the gifts you never expected.
"We make the conventional unconventional," says Ferguson.
Probably best not to try this at home unless your mother's a conceptual artist and understands that blue paint on her best tablecloth is art.
For her Christmas table Kathleen Haimes from Uno did what many Kiwis will do and take it outdoors. She's put wooden apples crates to good use, turning them into low-slung talbes and storage and scattered colourful cushions about. The result makes for one lazy Christmas day.
