Darina Allen: Have a zero waste household this Christmas with these leftover ideas

Just a few days to go until the big Christmas Dinner. Stop — allow yourself to slow down for a few minutes. Ask yourself, on a scale of one to 10 how vital is it to dash to the shops once again to buy those last few things?

I am challenging myself to ‘do’ presents rather than buy presents. It can be so fun, economically and frankly much more meaningful. Think of ‘a gift of a time’ – a pressie of a couple of babysitting sessions, an afternoon sowing seeds and gardening after Christmas, a-mid January pressie of a lamb or chicken casserole, a couple of litres of chunky winter warming soups.

Well, despite all my good advice to you on how to achieve as hassle free Christmas, I’ve still got several items on my own ‘to do’ lists that I haven’t had the satisfaction of crossing out as yet. Wrapping last minute presents often catches me out but this year many of the family and our lovely team here at Ballymaloe Cookery School are going to get a copy of my latest book One Pot Feeds All, which I hope will make their busy lives a little easier. I’ve already signed and wrapped them in brightly coloured tissue but there’s still lots more to be done. I’m getting lots of help from my older grandchildren.