With less than six weeks to go until Christmas Day, now is the time to get your menu in order.
That's according to celebrity chef Catherine Fulvio who shared some of her top tips for making the day special.
It comes as 'Stir-up Sunday' takes place next week which is a day traditionally dedicated to preparing Christmas cakes and puddings.
Speaking on The Home Show with Sinead Ryan, Catherine described growing up on a turkey farm and plucking hundreds of birds as a child each year.
She said: "I had a very interesting Christmas childhood in the sense that my mother was very busy and my Dad too as a farmer and running a B&B.
"But not enough for my mother, she wanted a turkey business.
"From Halloween onwards, our whole family emphasis was on the turkeys.
"This would continue on until I was one of the turkey pluckers in the run-up to Christmas from a young age of around six.
"It wasn't one of my favourite jobs.
"But it's lovely because its a family business...it was a big business for us.
"By the time Christmas day came, to be honest at the time, I didn't care to see another turkey."
Turkey alternatives
Catherine added that while turkey has always been seen as the centrepiece at Christmas dinner, people are moving towards other meats instead like goose or duck.
She said: "Goose is always a lovely tradition around Christmas and to be fair, the goose might be large but there's not as much meat on it as there would be on a turkey.
"I also think a bird that is going to see increased popularity around Christmas is duck.
"For a regular-sized duck, you would get around four portions but when you think of all the other accompaniments you'll have on the table and all the proteins and vegetarian options, a duck could go quite far.
"I would say probably for a family of six, cook off two duck and then you have your leftovers."
Catherine said that while we don't know yet what Christmas will look like in terms of gathering during the pandemic, she said we can still make new traditions this year.
On the day, she suggests creating different cocktails for before dinner, and that Irish oysters can be a good alternative as a starter.
'Stir-up Sunday'
Meanwhile, next Sunday marks 'Stir-up Sunday' when kitchens were traditionally busy with soaking fruit and mixing spices for Christmas desserts.
She explained: "Stir-up Sunday is an old tradition whereby we get ahead and make our Christmas pudding and Christmas cake, and some people would make the mincemeat filling for the mince pies as well.
"It's a wonderful tradition, and some people have even brought it forward to when the clocks change because you get the extra hour in the day.
"I think it was when, usually the ladies of the house, gathered to stir the Christmas pudding and made their wish."
Catherine said people could start seeping the fruit for Christmas cake now to get a nice intense flavour for the day.
She added that other preparation can be done now in advance of the day.
She said desserts could be made now and frozen, such as cheesecake and ice-cream bombs, while cranberry sauce could also be made early.
She advised people to make a list of everything they will need for Christmas dinner and to put in orders now with local producers.
Catherine said: "We all want to support Irish businesses as much as possible in the lead up to Christmas this year.
"I would place my order now...because at least you'll know you'll have your menu sorted with the best of Irish ingredients."
