Woman Wants ‘No Stress’ Christmas But Her Planning Is Leaving Us Baffled

I'm a planner and a scheduler. Maybe it's because I'm a Capricorn and we like order and structure. Reducing stress, especially during the holidays, is a great idea, but this woman may be planning TOO early. There's a mom of two in the U.K. that began cooking Christmas dinner in September. Yup. 100 days before Christmas, and I'm questioning some of her choices.

According to Norfolk Live, Norfolk mom Tahnee Beck is looking forward to a 'no stress' Christmas Day. She wants to enjoy watching her two kids open their presents in the morning, and wants be happy while spending time with family. In order to eliminate stress, she began cooking food for Christmas Dinner in September and freezing the dishes.

Beck is hosting  seven people for the holiday feast at her home and wants to get ahead of the game. She started cooking dishes on September 16. But is it overkill? Beck says that in previous years she's been 'preoccupied' with cooking dinner and the day passed her by. Feeling sad, she decided to begin preparing really early so she can enjoy the day.

When reading this story, I was wondering what dishes she made ahead. There are lots of veggies you can cook ahead of time and freeze. But what else? Tahnee has already made meatballs with sweet and sour sauce and an orange and melon salad for Christmas Eve. In addition, she has her Christmas cake, mince pie filling and four kinds of cookies in the freezer for Christmas Day. All of that sounds great except for the orange and melon salad. Can you freeze melon? I'm thinking it would thaw and be mushy.

Although this is Tahnee's first time planning and cooking this far in advance, she does have help! She's getting her recipes from a vintage 1977 cookbook by Mary Berry called 'Freezing for Christmas'.  Tahnee says she's cooking some dishes she's never heard of until reading this cookbook. For instance, she's learning about new dishes such as mackerel pâté. UGH! I'm out on that one.

I must admit that this isn't a bad idea! I'm not sure I would start cooking as early as September for Christmas in December, but to each their own. Cakes, cookies, many appetizers and side dishes can be frozen, and will heat up well. Not sure about the fruits. That said, she's probably saving a ton of loot buying things early. As the holidays approach, many items used for holiday meals will go up in price.

Congrats to Beck for being proactive! Hopefully she'll enjoy her family and her Christmas Day this year. Tahnee aka 'Christmas Prepper' has her own You Tube channel which you can follow here.