Hosting a bigger Christmas meal than usual takes some planning. When you cook a roast, several sides and sweets for a full dining room, your everyday pots and plates can run out quickly. Starting your planning in early December gives you time to check your cupboards and see what you actually have before the busy week arrives.

The easiest way to plan is to follow the order of the meal itself. You count your guests first, then check your cookware and oven dishes, work out how you will serve the food, count your cutlery and glasses, and finish with the table linen and decoration.

This guide walks through each of those steps so you can spot any gaps in your kitchenware well ahead of the day.

Before you look at a single pot or plate, count your guests and write the number down. Add one or two spare places to that total so you have a buffer for an extra guest or a dropped plate. Use this number for everything else on your list.

Think about how you will serve the meal. If you plan to serve in two rounds without washing up in between, you need enough place settings for both rounds. Count your chairs now and measure the dining table with the extension leaf in, if it has one. Knowing the exact length and width of the extended table will also help you later when you choose a tablecloth and work out how much space is left for serving dishes.

Once you know how many people you are feeding, open the oven door with a tape measure in hand. Measure the inside of your oven, checking both the width and the depth with the shelf in, before you buy a large dish. You need to leave a little space around the dish so you can get a safe grip and lift it out easily while wearing bulky oven gloves.

Oven dishes for the roast and the sides

For the main roast, a deeper dish is very useful because it holds all the cooking juices without spilling when you move it. A 30 cm oven dish starts from about €11. You will also need smaller oven dishes for the sides, and a baking dish set of 4 starts from about €24.

If your oven is small, plan the oven order on paper a few days ahead. Cook what you can the day before and reheat it in stages. Remember that some side dishes can be served warm rather than piping hot, which takes a lot of pressure off the oven during the last half hour before you sit down.

Pots for the hob

Cooking for a crowd on the hob is simpler with one large pot for potatoes or soup, which saves splitting the food between two smaller pots and using up two rings. In our cookware range, you can find a casserole set of 2 from about €14. If you are replacing several worn pans at once, a stainless steel pot set of 8 pieces starts from about €79, and an 8 litre pressure cooker starts from about €109.

Even with a good paper plan, a single oven can fill up fast when you have a roast and several trays of sides cooking at the same time. Our cooking appliances range includes countertop electric ovens, air fryers, microwaves and contact grills, which give you extra cooking space on the worktop for heating sides or roasting smaller portions.

When you use extra appliances in the kitchen, keep electrical safety in mind. Check the wattage on each appliance. Plug each high-wattage appliance straight into its own wall socket, not into an extension lead, and never plug one extension lead into another.

A full Christmas table gets crowded very quickly once everyone sits down. Use a side table or a cleared sideboard as a serving station, so the main table keeps plenty of room for plates and glasses.

Utensils, boards and knives

Having enough bowls for the food does not help if there is nothing to lift the food out with. Count your serving spoons against the exact number of dishes you plan to put out. In our kitchen tools range, wooden serving spoons start from about €2, and salad servers start from about €2 in our cutlery range.

For carving and slicing, you can pick up cutting boards from about €8, a bread knife from about €3, and a meat knife from about €18. If you are putting out cheese after the main meal, a cheese board with knives starts from about €10, or you can buy a cheese knives set of 3 from about €3. For carrying drinks or sweets into the dining room, a set of 2 round 28 cm trays starts from about €3.

Do not forget the small tools that help during preparation and at the table. A kitchen scale from about €11 helps when you cook larger amounts than usual and need to multiply a recipe. A chestnut cutter from about €2 and a bottle opener from about €1 are small things that are easy to forget until the moment you need them.

Plates and bowls

Check your stack of plates against your guest count, plus your one or two spares. In our tableware range, dinner plates at 24 cm start from under €1, soup plates start from under €1, dessert plates start from under €1, and bowls start from about €1. It is a good idea to choose plain plates sold one at a time, which are easier to match if one breaks. Make sure you count your dessert plates separately for the sweets so you do not have to wash plates between courses.

Once the plates are sorted, move on to the items that sit beside them. Count your knives, forks, teaspoons and cake forks against your guest number. Teaspoons and cake forks are the ones you need at the end of the meal, when the sweets and coffee come out.

In our cutlery range, teaspoons start from under €1, cake forks start from about €1, table knives start from about €1, and a steak knife and fork set of 12 pieces starts from about €5.

Do the same count for your drinkware. Water glasses tend to run out first during a long meal, so plan for more than one glass per person. Single drinking glasses start from about €1, stemmed glasses start from about €1, and a set of 6 glasses starts from about €9. For the end of the meal, a set of coffee cups with saucers starts from about €2.

Take the table measurements you wrote down earlier, with any extension leaf in, and check them before you choose a tablecloth size. It helps to keep a spare tablecloth in the cupboard in case of spills, or if you host a second meal over the holidays.

In our Christmas home range, a Christmas tablecloth measuring 130 x 180 cm starts from about €1. You can match it with Christmas napkins measuring 33 x 33 cm in a pack of 16 from about €1, Christmas placemats from under €1, and Christmas mugs from about €2. If you prefer plain table settings that you can use all winter, you can also find everyday placemats in kitchen accessories from about €1.

For a few small touches from our Christmas party range, a pack of 20 Christmas cocktail sticks starts from about €1, and Santa caps start from under €1, which are nice for children at the table.

Lighting the table safely

Candles bring a warm glow to a winter meal, as long as they do not block the view. Keep candles low enough for guests to see across the table easily, and always use steady holders. In our candles and holders range, dinner candles start from about €1 and a 13 cm candle holder starts from about €7. If you have children at the table or a very full layout, LED candles with a timer start from about €1 and give you a flame-free option; keep the battery cover closed and out of reach of small children. If you use real wax candles, a long lighter makes lighting them simple.

Follow basic fire safety throughout the meal. Never leave a lit candle unattended, and keep candles away from napkins, the Christmas tree and curtains.

Leaving small jobs until Christmas morning only adds stress. Use this simple checklist a few days before your guests arrive:

• Count all your plates, glasses and cutlery against your final guest number, including your spares.
• Wash anything that has been sitting at the back of the cupboard and has not been used since last Christmas.
• Check that your big oven dish actually fits inside the oven with the shelf in place.
• Lay out your empty serving dishes on the counter with a small paper note inside each one showing what food goes in it.
• Clear a full shelf in the fridge so you have room for prepared sides and cold drinks.
• Iron the tablecloth and put it on the extended table the night before.

Use the table below to check your numbers and typical starting prices as you put your shopping list together.

Item	How Many	Price	Tip
Oven dish 30 cm	1 for the main roast	from about €11	Measure your oven width and depth with the shelf in first
Baking dish set of 4	1 set for the sides	from about €24	Plan the oven order on paper and cook what you can the day before
Wooden serving spoons	1 for each serving dish	from about €2	Count spoons against the exact number of dishes you plan to put out
Dinner plates 24 cm	1 per guest plus 1 or 2 spares	from under €1	Plain plates sold one at a time are easier to match
Steak knife and fork set of 12 pieces	Enough for your guest count plus spares	from about €5	Count teaspoons and cake forks separately for sweets and coffee
Drinking glasses	More than 1 per guest	from about €1	Water glasses run out first, so keep extra clean glasses ready
Christmas tablecloth 130 x 180 cm	1 on the table plus 1 spare	from about €1	Measure the table with any extension leaf in before choosing a size
Dinner candles and LED candles	A few along the centre of the table	from about €1	Keep candles low enough to see across the table and away from napkins

How many place settings should I plan for a Christmas dinner at home?

Start by counting your confirmed guests and writing that number down. Add one or two spare place settings on top so you are covered if an extra person joins or if a plate gets chipped before you serve. If you plan to serve the meal in two rounds and do not want to wash up in between, you will need enough plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery for both rounds combined. Remember to count dessert plates, cake forks, teaspoons and coffee cups separately for the sweets and coffee at the end of the meal.

How do I choose an oven dish that fits my oven?

Before you buy a new dish, measure the inside of your oven with the shelf in place, checking both the width and the depth from the back wall to the door. When you compare those measurements to the dish, leave a little space around the outside so you can grip the handles safely while wearing thick oven gloves. A deeper dish is a good choice for a roast because it holds the cooking juices. A 30 cm oven dish starts from about €11, and a baking dish set of 4 for sides starts from about €24.

How can I cook more when I only have one oven?

First, plan your oven schedule on paper, cook what you can the day before, and remember that some sides can be served warm rather than hot. You can also cook potatoes or soup in one large pot on the hob rather than splitting them between two smaller pots. For extra cooking space on the worktop, you can use countertop electric ovens, air fryers, microwaves or contact grills. Check the wattage on each appliance. Plug each high-wattage appliance straight into its own wall socket, not into an extension lead, and never plug one extension lead into another.

How many glasses do I need per guest?

You should plan for more than one glass per guest, because water glasses tend to run out first during a big meal. Having spare clean glasses ready saves you from washing glasses while your guests are still at the table, so count water glasses and stemmed glasses separately. Single drinking glasses start from about €1, stemmed glasses start from about €1, and a set of 6 glasses starts from about €9. Do not forget the end of the meal, where a set of coffee cups with saucers starts from about €2.

Are candles safe on a Christmas table?

Yes, if you take a few simple precautions. Always place wax dinner candles in steady holders, keep them low enough so guests can see each other across the table, and light them with a long lighter. Never leave a lit candle unattended, and keep candles well away from napkins, the Christmas tree and curtains. If you have children at the table or a busy table layout with lots of dishes being passed around, LED candles with a timer start from about €1 and give you a flame-free alternative. Keep the battery cover closed and out of reach of small children.

Planning your kitchen and table in early December makes hosting a Christmas meal at home much calmer. Browse the Superhome Center categories in this guide, and check our products on offer page while you put your list together.

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