I absolutely love Christmas and I find that many also share their love for Christmas in their own little ways, however watered down from the olde traditions.
Since the news that Christmas is going to star a lovely floral theme and outdoor projections, I can safely say that it is not me who is being too presumptuous and "kanchiong" in preparing for Christmas already.
Christmas is a time for enjoyment, a time for everyone to finally close a chapter of their lives and to look forward to the next one since it is so close to the end of the year.
Here are my Top 10 things to prepare for a Singaporean Christmas!
1. PLAN AN AMAZING CHRISTMAS MENU
The important thing to set first is whether one would want a lunch or dinner on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Both are fine, I've researched that both are fantastic either way as they all end up the same way with people feeling full and satisfied. There are a ton of great food blogs which have many ideas as to how to plan a Christmas meal.
I typically LOVE LOVE LOVE this website by Nagi, https://www.recipetineats.com/. Her recipes are super easy to make and my family members, who are notoriously picky, actually love it when I prepare food for them from this amazing woman. However, if it pleases you, dear reader, scrap that idea and go for a more budget friendly planning!
Buy our local chicken from our chicken rice shop but instead of the traditional chicken rice, be adventurous and make it a butter clove rice! Get some roasted chickens from Cold Storage (they typically sell it cheap after 9pm), some sausages, potatoes (which you can mash, bake, boil, fry) with some thyme and you've got yourself an easy Christmas dinner!
A lot of people usually wait until closer to December to start planning what to get. When that happens, Redmart, Shopee, Sheng Shiong, Giant, NTUC, and Prime's delivery slots get taken up and all the necessary food items which we don't usually use during the year are GONE. They fly off the shelves like nobody's business as everyone starts to get invested in cooking their own sumptuous Christmas meal.
I've noticed that the top favourites are turkey and ham. Why? Because last year when we tried to order cloves, it was all either sold out or at some ridiculous price. What is up with that?
Which brings me to my next point, pre-ordering!
2. PRE-ORDER, PRE-ORDER, PRE-ORDER
I can't stress how important this is. As Singaporeans, though we are kiasu, we still want to procrastinate and wait until the last minute before we grab the things that we need. I remember last Christmas when I was trying to get my husband off his sofa to get the Christmas ham, he said it was too early and waited until Christmas Eve. Of course, by then, everyone had already gotten their ham and was on their merry way to making the juiciest ham for their loved ones. After visiting multiple butcheries and shops, he got word from our friend that a certain shop still had stock of a SINGULAR ham left.
I mean, it is totally okay to get things last minute if you enjoy driving around Singapore in a fluster and trying to hit the right shops, find parking and then find the shop which you've tried to source for online. But no sir, not in my books! This year, I am pre-ordering all my big ticket meat items from this friendly butcher here, https://www.thebutcher.com.sg/ They have the best meats and my husband, being an avid barbecue fan, always goes there to get his chops on.
3. PREPARE COOKING TIMETABLE
Based on the amount of people that you will be serving (I have a family of 8 people with 2 fur babies), chances are that the amount of food would be massive. I'm talking enough to feed your family until the New Year 2022. Therefore it means that the oven will be precious real estate that you would need to time and plan which foods to put in together and also what time to take it out. It is absolute mayhem but I love the glorious chaos! Pull out the slow cookers, the Thermomixes, the steamers!
4. PREP YOUR ARMY OF SLAVES (I MEAN ELVES!)
As the kitchen will be practically Chernobyl, you will need tons of help, so don't be afraid to ask for it. Based on my timetable that I have done up a while ago, each food item was planned with the equipment that I currently have on hand. Don't be afraid to ask your "elves" to help you wash up after the delicious food that you have made together. It will be worth it!
5. PLAN SEATING ARRANGEMENT
Sometimes there will be guests whose plans have fallen through close to Christmas and the worse thing is to hang around looking for a place to sit while they've been invited last minute. Worst is if you have been invited a few months before and there are no seating arrangements, you will end up looking lost like a little lamb from Mary's flock, waiting for someone to give you a direction as to where to sit. This could take some time as the elves are all helping out in the kitchen.
Rough idea of a seating arrangement
In Singapore, we don't have the trend of seating arrangements, preferring a more casual, sit where you like, find a stool in the most ideal location (away from the entrance or the exit, lest you have to keep saying hello or good bye to people). Humans in general do not like change too, so if you are having a dinner party at home, change up seats so that people will be out of their comfort zones and ready to mingle with other people. Or they can start playing musical chairs, after all the hard work you have put in.
6. BUY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS EARLY
Spotlight and Daiso have already stocked up on their Christmas supplies. While Spotlight has very lovely varieties, Daiso offers a much more affordable alternative. It would work best if you have a theme in mind and go according to that theme!
7. BUY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS EARLY
Most of us are procrastinators, dragging things out to the latest possible moment in the event that a better deal comes up which they eventually do on Shopee or Lazada. But the thing about getting your Secret Santa gifts from these online brands are that they are largely from China. Therefore with shipping, it will take even longer to be sent over.
8. REUSE BOXES / CLOTHS AS WRAPPING
I am a huge advocator for eco-friendly solutions! It all started when my husband and I started living together and I hated taking out the trash. And you know, when the time of the month comes, the trash bag seems to be getting fuller by the minute and what an embarrassment if it's your partner's turn to take out the trash. So I've switched to period cups. BEST. DECISION.EVER. Anyway, will save that for another post.
I recently used a muslin cloth that I had bought for a friend's baby shower but I couldn't fit it into the gift that I was wrapping for her, so I reused the muslin cloth for another gift instead.
The great thing about cloth wrapping is that you don't have to get your hands sticky with sticky tape (Scotch tape) or get your fingerprints in the tape and someone who is techy enough will be able to lift those prints! Okay, thinking too much about this. It is what I would do. (HEHE.) And the gift will look amazing because it looks like one has put in a lot of thought into the gift.
9. START PLANNING WHAT TO WEAR
Plan what to wear on that day! Chances are that you will be too busy in the kitchen and preparing the table, so the best thing to do is to decide on what kind of vibe you might want at the Christmas table. Most of the time, especially now with COVID, our dinners are family affairs at home. So opt for an easy T-shirt with shorts combo (SHEIN has a ton of fabulous options) or go big and follow that amazing theme that you have decided months ago.
10. PLANNING GAMES
So planning games is a huge factor. Coming from a Singaporean Chinese family, our older generation usually will ask to sit out and let the younger generation play instead. Which doesn't seem very cohesive in my books because the older generation starts to get bored and then they don't follow the schedule that you have very kindly put together. It's really a baby boomer's thing, so don't worry. I've got you.
The Singaporean mindset is kiasu ("I want to win at all costs but I will not fight with my younger generation as I will win regardless"). So in order to capture a kiasu heart, offer incentives like money or if you're on a budget, offer an errand that they have been asking you to do forever. The hardest part to do is if they see right through you, in which trust me they will and all the excuses will come out. So best is you have a group of young, able-bodied people to start a protest. Of course, we will then respect their wishes if they still insist on not playing but remember Singaporeans have a herd mentality and if you can convince majority of them, it is already a HUGE win.
Speaking of games, Squid Game is a huge, global phenomenon which has taken the world by storm. Everyone who has Netflix that is, and is not living under a rock. The thing about Squid Game is that the games played by the characters may not have been played by everyone but rather a version of. It is cognizant of our childhood, how we used to play outside before we turned to the digital media. It is a fond memory that we almost all can relate to.
That being said, I am not suggesting tug-of-war with your elderly parents, or even giving them a cookie cut out (diabetes). Plan games that have meaning to you and your family, the idea is to create memories and a pleasant one at that. I am still currently searching for games to play with the family and it's been a headache because a lot of the games hold no meaning to us. Therefore as game master, I am tasked with the mammoth responsibility of the above and I will try my best to come up with some ideas. For now, these are my top 10 things to prep for a Singaporean Christmas. Hope you, dear reader, have enjoyed reading my post! More to come over the next few weeks xx
Kanchiong Spider xx
