Clarifying the question of presents

By early to mid-November at the latest, when you can unwrap the turtleneck sweater for men again, you should clarify how you want to deal with the issue of gifts among family and friends.

• Who wants to give something as a present? Or should the money be donated to a good cause (and for what?)?
• How many people want to give each other presents? Could Secret Santa be a sensible idea in this context?
• And what about active support in certain moments of life outside of the Christmas season? Wouldn't that also be a good gift?

Either way, it is helpful if everyone expresses clear wishes that can actually be fulfilled by the giver in the given time (possibly with the help of third parties). In the case of winter jackets for men, for example, it is very helpful to give specific size, cut and color details. However, in case of doubt, a matching voucher might also do the trick. It can be designed in a particularly unusual way. Speaking of design ...

Many hands, one quick end: who is responsible for which household task and when?

There's a lot to do in the run-up to Christmas. Just think of

• the Christmas cleaning of the apartment,
• washing so that everyone has exactly the outfits they want for Christmas,
• writing Christmas post or
• putting up Christmas decorations.

And even a dog that is usually asleep is bound to want to go out the door at one time or another.

In order to get to grips with all the tasks quickly and thoroughly, it is best for everyone to do what they are good at. The advantage of this is that the project is more likely to be successful. If the lead time is also long enough, even less can go wrong with reliable execution. However, in an emergency, someone else may also have free capacity and be able to lend a hand.

There's also nothing to stop you from simply inviting a few relatives, friends and/or acquaintances to help out at a particular location. Clever: This can be easily disguised as a 'get-together' - as with baking Christmas cookies - and does not contradict Christmas etiquette in terms of charity ...

And last but not least: cooking with a plan

Hardly any other topic causes as many gray hairs when looking at the clock as food. Creative, varied, but usually not made in the blink of an eye - this is how many dishes present themselves during the Advent season. However, if you know how, you can get pretty far pretty quickly with certain dishes. These include, above all, those that are largely self-cooking after a certain point. However, dishes that can be prepared to a large extent and then just need to be heated and served are also very suitable. These include, among others

• Chicken fricassee,
• Braised dishes such as roast beef or roulades,
• soups, for which you then only need to make a garnish if necessary, or
• Desserts such as tiramisu, which can be left to stand for a day.

But of course, even these dishes require a certain amount of time. So again, try to get a few potentially enthusiastic helpers to help you. It is also worth checking the cooking utensils in advance and ordering the ingredients (such as meat) well in advance. This guarantees that everything will be ready on time.