Outdoor Christmas

BBQ’D turkey, blankets, fluffy socks & more

With just a week to go, Christmas remains completely up in the air for many of us. Ever-changing tiers (and conflicting advice, depending on which corner of the country you happen to live in) are making the business of getting your family around the table to eat, drink and be merry a complicated business.

Some will choose to keep things simple this year – or “small and short”, as the Prime Minister requested on Wednesday – to ensure elderly loved ones are safe until they can be vaccinated. But sticking to your bubble isn’t practical for everyone, and many of us will be attempting a multi-household get together at some point over the five-day grace period, between December 23 and December 27, during which up to six people from three different households are allowed to mix (in England, at least – at the time of writing…).

The question is how to do so responsibly? Simply moving the celebrations outdoors seems as good a strategy as any.

In the pre-2020 era, an outside Christmas might have seemed like some sort of bizarre Nordic ritual. I’m imagining a long table in the snow, laden with smoked reindeer meats, tinned fish and lingonberries. You’d take a dip in the nearby fjord before donning a fur and tucking in to a candlelit feast. Actually, it sounds a bit magical. But seeing as this is Britain, where it’s more likely to be a bit damp and middling in temperature, and dinner must be a roast with all the

Before 2020, an outdoor Christmas might have seemed a bizarre Nordic ritual

There’s nothing like a couple of Irish coffees to provide you with insulation

trimmings, whatever the weather, I’m not sure this is quite the scene you can expect come Christmas Day.

True to form, the BBC is currently predicting “lots of rain” for December 25, and little chance of a white Christmas. Festive as ever, then.

Even if we aren’t going to wake up to a blanket of snow, it isn’t exactly going to be tropical, either. Here’s how to have a responsible outdoor Christmas, and not give your granny hyperthermia in the process…

Prepare the gazebo

Whatever happens weather-wise, you’re going to need shelter. That image in your head of everyone sitting distanced around a firepit is lovely, but wait till it starts tipping it down. Homebase (homebase.co.uk) has a range of gazebos from £70 to £1,500 (1), depending on how professional a set up you are looking for.

Don’t underestimate the power of fairy lights to make even the most basic shelter look festive. Buy a couple of lengths and twist them around the supports; again, Homebase has cut prices on outdoor lights, from £9 (2), and offer a click-and-collect service.

Alternatively, you could splash out at Cox and Cox, which has a lovely range of lanterns and festoon lights (from £45, coxandcox.com) (3). Then send the children to the park to collect foliage, with which to make decorations, order some sparkly ribbon from Paperchase (3m for £2, paperchase.com) (4) and hang holly and mistletoe from the ceiling. You’ll have it looking lovely in no time.

And for warmth, you’ll need to scour the internet for a patio heater, as there seems to be a run on such things on the high street. A nicer idea might be to invest in a chiminea that you place at the gazebo door; B&Q have a steel one available for click and d collect that looks wonderfully rustic and has the added benefit of that great woodsmoke ke smell (£79, diy.com) (5).

Give the ggift of warmth this Christmas

Practical presents are the name of the game this year. Why not give everyone their own knee blanket and pair of fluffy socks to keep warm while they sink a few sherries under the gazebo? The Tartan Blanket Company has a huge range of colours and prices, and, if you’re quick, there’s still time to have the blankets embroidered with each guest’s initials (from £50, tartanblanketco.com) (6).

Thick socks are going to be key to surviving an outdoor Christmas without frostbite on your toes. You can’t go far wrong with a beautiful cashmere pair from the White Company (£30, thewhitecompany.co.uk), but for something a bit more cheap-and-cheerful, M&S does a three-pack of thick thermal socks in tasteful shades blue, pink and grey (£10, marksandspencer.com) (7).

Invest in some decent barbecue kit

A barbecued Christmas lunch is a… bold move, but entirely doable with a bit of prep and the right kit. You are probably best off getting some things prepped on the stove indoors – get ahead with stuffing, roast potatoes, parsnips, bread sauce, even the sprouts can be blanched ahead of time and warmed through. But if you want to be outside with everyone, rather than squirrelled away in the kitchen, why not try cooking a couple of set pieces outdoors over a fire?

Manomano has a great selection of outdoor cooking kit, including a sixpiece Dutch oven set. All you need to do is place it over a fire and you could use it on Boxing Day to heat up a vat of mulled wine, or a leftovers stew (£179.95, manomano.co.uk) (8).

As for the main event, you don’t need a wood-fired oven or one of the pizza ovens everyone seems to have invested in this year to cook a turkey outdoors – a simple coal barbecue with a lid will do. Genevieve Taylor offers a comprehensive guide to barbecuing turkey on the Telegraph website (telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink) and recommends investing in a meat thermometer (try thermapen. co.uk) (9) to make sure your bird is cooked through as the skin may go a deceptively deep brown.

Decorate the table with a festive, outdoor-friendly cloth ( johnlewis.com has a lovely one with a holly theme for £5) (10) and plenty of candles – Graham and Green have green glass tealight holders and shimmering gold ones that should be deep enough to withstand any breeze (from £4.95 at grahamandgreen.co.uk) (11).

Get the hot toddies in for the Boxing Day walk

Warm, boozy drinks are going to be key when it comes to festive socialising. There’s nothing like a couple of Irish coffees to provide you with a bit of insulation while you take a tour of your neighbourhood’s Christmas lights or head into the countryside for a stomp. Tefal do a good one-litre heatproof jug in which to keep a cocktail mix or a batch of boozy hot chocolate warm (£35, johnlewis.com) (12).

Hip flasks always make a nice present (try aspinaloflondon.com for a traditional leather selection) (13), and if you are in need of supplies and can’t face a supermarket trip, try thewhiskyexchange.com for all your liquid needs.

And for little ones, why not get them their very own Chillies bottle, which keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold; Emma Bridgewater has designed a cat-themed one, which would be perfect for a cosy walk (£25, chillysbottles.com) (14).