Special time to share with loved ones

Christmas and all its trappings seems to get harder and harder to achieve each year.

Whether you are struggling financially, are time-poor or are feeling overwhelmed by the end-of-year rush, it can be hard to get excited about all the commercial promotions, adding stress and demands to your life.

But if you break it down, it is at essence a lovely excuse to spend time with friends and family or, if you have young children, to live vicariously through their excitement.

Keeping it simple, using the best produce you can afford and access and a little imagination, is all that is needed to create a special time for your loved ones.

Christmas is a lovely excuse to spend time with friends and family. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

To that end, Alison Lambert has created festive recipes which have a life past Christmas dinner. Wastage and costs can be reduced by reworking leftovers into dishes that can grace the Boxing Day table or beyond, such as leftover roast salmon which can be turned into an omelette or quiche or folded through fish cakes in the coming days.

Jo Elwin shows us how to jazz up a few special ingredients to elevate a gathering for drinks - a great way to catch up with friends - or to ease us into a late Christmas dinner.

We have also included some cocktail inspiration if you want to up your drinks game, with recipes from Australian cocktail masters Michael and Zoe Mandrusan in their Mandrusan Cocktail Companion.

For some, Christmas is a time of honouring traditions and recipes of family members, especially those who have died. Jane Barnes shares her mother’s impressive baked ham recipe while Jimmy Barnes shares the pavlova recipe he learned from Peter Gordon and his mother, in an extract from the Barnes’ latest book Season’s Where the River Bends.

Prebbleton photographer and stylist Kate Williams’ gorgeous Christmas floral decorations are something she collects year round. Her work in the garden also inspires her time in the kitchen and in her book Floral Abundance she shares some of her favourite Christmas baking recipes as well as ideas for decorating your festive table.

If tradition is not your thing, Sam Sinclair has your back. Her Asian-style pork belly - with tips on how to get that perfect crackling - could be just the thing to change up your Christmas dinner or wow your friends at your next dinner party.

A perfect accompaniment could be wine columnist Mark Henderson’s recommended blanc de noir - or white pinot noir - a white wine made from black or red grapes that have the skins removed after the crushing.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.