Have yourself a very merry Minimas!

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There’s no doubt Christmas will be different this year, with the usual whirl of the party season impossible. Across the UK, it was announced last week, we’ll be able to form temporary ‘bubbles’ of three households from December 23 to 27 — in England, the advice is that they should be ‘as small as possible’, while in Scotland they will be eight maximum. No wonder food and drink retailers are dubbing this year’s festivities ‘Mini-mas’ — but mini doesn’t need to mean less magical. Whether swapping a giant turkey for a perfectly formed poussin, or embracing potted trees and petit champagne, small can still delight — as our celebrity experts show . . .

FOCUS ON THE SIMPLE DETAILS

By Rachel Khoo, cook, writer and broadcaster

For me, Christmas isn’t about putting on a massive banquet for all your relatives or cooking complicated dishes in a bid to impress.

This year, more than ever, it’s about doing what you love, with the people you love and making sure everyone — whether there’s two of you or a bigger ‘bubble’ — has delicious things to eat. And since I started my career cooking in a tiny kitchen in my Paris flat, testing out recipes for my first cookbook, The Little Paris Kitchen, on just two diners a night, I know how to make small-scale cooking feel special.

Small is beautiful; you can really find the pleasure in little things, like that first bite of pastry on a mince pie that melts in your mouth, or the snap of your favourite chocolate bar.

My tip is to spend less time in the kitchen, more time savouring the experience — and, when it comes to food, try doing things a little bit differently . . .

Downsize: swap your turkey for a poussin

We don’t like turkey in my family. Instead, we have poussin (a small spring chicken), which not only tastes better, but is far easier to cook.

You can do one poussin per person or larger ones between two, so it doesn’t matter how many people are coming for lunch; they each get their own festive bird.

Poussin is moister and more flavoursome than turkey and, rather than taking all day in the oven, it roasts in just 45 minutes. You’ll never want turkey again!

If there are any leftovers, make a Boxing Day curry and zing it up. Try pickling red onion in lime juice or red wine vinegar with salt and sugar until it turns a vibrant pink.

Ditch the sprouts for tasty trimmings

This year isn’t a traditional one, so it’s an excuse to ditch the boring trimmings — like sprouts. I prefer wilted greens.

Just melt some butter in a pan, add handfuls of spinach and watch it wilt. It’s vibrant, green and festive and you don’t have to bother with fiddly peeling.

Try making your stuffing with cubed parsnip, which lends a homely, sweet flavour. I also use pancetta cubes, which make it smoky and salty; the perfect accompaniment to your bird.

Forget plum pud — try eggnog on ice-cream

Not everyone likes plum pudding and if ever there was a year to steer away from big centrepiece desserts, this is it. Go for smaller, individual puddings instead. My aunt in Austria makes an amazing eggnog and I was inspired by her to make one with chocolate in it —it’s thick and indulgent, like a chocolate custard with a bit of booze in it. Or pour some eggnog over vanilla ice cream and crumble pieces of mince pie on top for a super-simple pud.

Mark Christmas Eve with a shellfish platter

With normality out the window, it’s time to embrace new rituals. In Sweden, where my husband’s from, Christmas Eve is our big celebration, when we all tuck into a big seafood platter, piled high with crab, prawns and oysters. There might be fewer of you, but a decadent platter helps to mark the occasion. And don’t forget canapés; little pastry rounds topped with smoked salmon and dill pair perfectly with bubbly.

Freeze mince pies and nibbles in advance

I make a double batch of chocolate pastry — which is buttery and rich with cocoa, but not too sweet — well ahead of Christmas and use it to whip up sausage rolls and mince pies.

It might sound strange, but the flavours, hearty sausage with bitter cocoa, work well together. You can freeze these and bake them directly from frozen.

The sausage rolls make a tasty starter on Christmas Day and the mince pies are so simple to make: just cranberries, cherries and chocolate in a pastry case. My tip is to cook things that don’t require much prep and do what you can in advance, so you can put your feet up with a glass of sherry!

Rachel Khoo: A Chocolate Christmas airs at 7pm on December 7 on Food Network. Also available to stream on Discovery+ from tomorrow.

BRING THE NATURAL WORLD TO YOU

By Nikki Tibbles, celebrity florist and owner of Wild at Heart (wildat heart.com)

My secret obsession is tacky outdoor Christmas lights. I must have 50 or 60 of them, including ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!’ signs and a flashing Santa. Come December, I normally cover my house in the country with them; my neighbours must hate me. But this year, the lights aren’t going up. Of course it’s a time for celebration — but, for me, this Christmas should be beautiful, natural and personalised. And there are fabulous ways of doing that . . .

Deck your hall with greens from the garden

Rather than clichéd poinsettia, I like a big vase of branches — a mass of holly, lichen, pine or something evergreen — in the entrance hall or on the kitchen table. You can forage for them yourself, or — if your local florist is open — buy them there and ask them to cut them to size. You don’t have to be an expert to arrange an armful; they’ll look naturally beautiful.

Add pops of colour with dried fruit

Bows on a tree can look stunning. Simply buy some coloured ribbon, choose whatever colour scheme you want and tie it into giant bows. You can even get a few metres of calico or tartan fabric and rip it up. It doesn’t have to be neat; Christmas this year will be simpler for many of us, so that’s the look you want.

Try drying your own oranges or limes; you can slice them or keep them whole and put them in a low oven for a day so they slowly dry out. These make lovely pops of colour for a tree or wreath, or you can put them in a decorative bowl with a handful of pine cones.

Buy a forever Christmas tree

Consider buying a potted tree rather than a cut one. Not only will it last longer (as it’s rooted and you can water it), but it’s also more sustainable; when Christmas is over you can put it on the terrace or plant it in the garden. Try rentalclaus.com (Gloucestershire) or london christmastreerental.com (London) or loveachristmastree.com (Leicestershire). We sell miniature potted trees with decorations (dried apple slices, lavender and red berries), which, when it gets warmer, can live on in your garden.

Don’t be afraid to do your own thing this Christmas — see it as a chance to celebrate the gorgeous natural world and bring the outside in! 

A Minimas table doesn’t mean minimalist, by Kelly Hoppen

We’ve all been programmed into having minimalist Christmases. But this year I think it’s important to go for it. Tinsel yourself into the stratosphere! And don’t feel you have to scale back if it’s just a few, or even the two of you — the more on the table the merrier . . .

Fairy light magic

Placing little battery-powered fairy lights (such as copper wire LED string lights, £14.95, graham andgreen.co.uk) in a clear glass vase on the table creates a cosy, intimate yet celebratory mood. Or, wrap fairy lights around a wreath. There’s something magical about a room that is lit by fairy lights or candles alone (K by Kelly Hoppen Signature Scent candle, £24, qvcuk.com).

Faux leaves last

So many people are starting Christmas early this year, and a faux wreath to decorate your table won’t look tired by the big day. I love a garland the length of a rectangular table, or a circular wreath if a table is round. If you prefer a natural one, as well as fir woods, eucalyptus is a great option because it dries well and lasts. (Try a festive garland from fresh foliage including pine and eucalyptus, £80, grapeandfig.com or faux succulent and eucalyptus wreath, £45, coxandcox.co.uk).

Dip into Quality Street

If young children are joining you, get them to help you spray branches in silver or gold to place underneath the table wreath. You can also buy freeze-dried flowers, sprayed in gold or silver, such as a palm spear gold stem (£3.99, daisyshop.co.uk). Make the table look fabulous with big bowls of Quality Street — the beauty of Christmas is that you can be as kitsch as you want and it’s still stylish. I wouldn’t bother with a tablecloth — it’s just another thing to worry about — but you could add little candles, too.

Colourful china

Plan your decoration around what you’ve got. I’d use plain china, and mix in odd glasses in different colours. Nothing has to match. I wouldn’t buy a whole new crockery set, but a new charger (service plate with gold leaf, £5.99, zarahome.com) will change the look of the table. Zara also has wonderful napkins at the moment, whether you want linens and creams, or more Christmassy colours (20 reusable paper napkins, £15.99, zarahome.com). Napkin holders are fun (sleigh bells napkin holders pack of four, £15.99, zarahome.com) and runners can make any table elegant (single stag table runner, £12.99, wayfair.co.uk).

Match table to tree

If your table is in the same room as your tree, coordinate the colour scheme so they work together — maybe add one more colour for the table. If you had white and silver and added purple, that would look beautiful, as would red and gold with white. There will also be loads of decorations from my grandson.

If you only make it look stylised so other people think it looks nice, that’s not a real Christmas is it?

The K by Kelly Hoppen home collection is available exclusively at qvcuk.com

Tiny treats tried and tested, by Rose Prince

This is the first time in many years when there is a chance to take Christmas off and relax, so instead of sweating over the stove, consider a ready-feast. The supermarkets have a selection of imaginative, super-festive ready-made dishes serving two to four…

Seafood starters

M&S Shellfish Puffs, £20 (serves four)

Served in a real scallop shell, you could almost pass off these elegant little shellfish pies as home-made. Underneath buttery pastry, you will find responsibly farmed king prawns and scallops. The sauce is thermidor-style: cream, brandy, white wine and a scattering of parmesan. Scrumptious.  4/5

Asda Extra Special Smoked Salmon and Trout Terrines, £3.25 (serves two)

A spot-on starter made of cream cheese, sour cream, smoked rainbow trout and lemon juice, with pieces of smoked salmon. The mousse is tangy and smoky, but not overly strong. Serve with a baby leaf salad and rye toast. 3/5

Delicious mains

Aldi Luxury Easy Carve Stuffed Duck, £14.99 (three to four servings)

The legs are left on, but the rest of this duck is boned and stuffed with pork, flavoured with clementine — with a sweetish glaze to add later. This looked stunning and was a breeze to carve. There’s a lot of stuffing, but overall it’s a treat, perfect for a smaller party. 3/5

Waitrose Number 1 British Partridges with Pear and Chestnut, £16 (serves two)

A perfect, extravagant feast for two. The breast bones have been removed, the legs left on, while inside there’s a rich, punchy stuffing. This is made with pork, pear, chestnuts and bacon, and has a pear and thyme glaze — altogether a big little Christmas hit. 5/5

M&S Plant Kitchen Vegan Festive Wreath, £10 (serves four)

This stunning ‘ring loaf’ is full of great flavours — chopped roasted chestnuts, mushrooms and pumpkin seeds with grains plus plenty of seasoning and herbs. It comes with a fruity sauce and will go beautifully with potatoes, parsnips and buttery sprouts. 4/5

Decadent puddings

Asda Extra Special 9 Months Matured Christmas Puddings, £1.50 each (100g, one serving)

A pudding with a lovely dark and soft texture, a tickle of cognac and spice in the flavour. However, the puddings begged for a little more fruit to equal the juiciness of granny’s home-made. Good, but could be better. 2/5

Co-Op Irresistible Festive Fruit Crumble, £4 (500g, serves two to three)

Fruit crumble brings the Christmas meal to a close in a lighter way, leaving plenty of space for chocolate and cheese. There’s a good amount of fruit filling, agreeably spiced, under the crisp crumble. Serve with brandy cream. 3.5/5

Mix any gathering into a party, by Fred Sirieix 

There’s no need to spend a fortune stocking up on booze this Christmas, only to be left with lots of half-finished bottles, says Fred Sirieix, Maitre D on Channel 4’s First Dates. Just make a few smart picks and everyone will feel spoilt for choice. No drinks trolley required!

Spruce up gin in a tin

Spirits last, so I would rather invest in a good bottle of gin and enjoy it — such as Adnams or BrewDog — though it will probably disappear more quickly than a bad one.

So many brands now do 20cl bottles (Signature Gin 20cl Hooting Owl Distillery, £16, hootingowldistillery.co.uk, or Gordon’s Gin 20cl, £5.89 drinksupermarket.com). You can also buy a ready-made gin and tonic. Put it in a nice glass, add ice cubes, a wedge of lemon, or some cranberries, or some pepper or rosemary. No need to tell your guest it came from a can.

Tiny bottles are a tonic

As well as minimising waste, small bottles of tonic are always better than full-sized ones. They look more elegant when served, and if you’re making a G&T you can let people add their own mixers. Usually they’ll pour in the whole bottle, but it’s a nice gesture. You don’t just drink with your mouth — you also drink with your eyes!

Quality not quantity

M&S does a full bottle of beautiful Crémant for £10 (M&S Cremant de Bourgogne NV, marksandspencer.com). You can drink it straight the first day, at lunch, and maybe the next day add some creme de cassis (De Kuyper Creme de Cassis Liqueur 35cl £9, ocado.com) to make a Kir Royale. It’s more important to buy quality than a lot. Life is too short to drink rubbish!

Red wine in the fridge

We have a saying in France: ‘Quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire’ — it means when the wine is open, you’ve got to drink it. But if this year you have a small gathering, and there is wine left over, it’s not wasted — remember, you can keep an opened red wine in the fridge as well as a white. Recently, I had a beautiful bottle of Beaujolais (M&S Classics No. 35 Beaujolais-Villages 2019, £8, marksandspencer.com). I had a couple of glasses for dinner, then a glass the next day, and it was just as good as when I first opened it. Alternatively, I like to put it on my kitchen windowsill. At the moment the temperature is ranging between 13, 14, 16 degrees — perfect to keep wine. I feel that I’m doing something natural and it makes the wine taste better.

But a spoon won’t stop fizz going flat!

Can you imagine — you just put a spoon in the bottle neck? I mean, seriously . . .! Do it if it makes you happy — but I have never, ever done it!

Fred is M&S’s wine ambassador and has his own Christmas Mixed Case at marksand spencer.com