Cooking for Christmas - NOT

I cook all the time. And because of the range of specialty diets in my household, I'm often cooking different meals at the same time. I love to cook. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the challenge and have become a home cook master of specialty diets.

But I don't want to spend my holidays in the kitchen.  

On Christmas Eve, we'll have pizza from a local pizzeria. We'll eat off paper plates and use paper napkins and drink from paper cups. I don't want to do the dishes. I want to open presents and play with toys.

For Christmas dinner, it's sandwiches. I'm sort of cooking, but will actually cook on Friday. I'm making Italian beef. It can then be reheated on Christmas evening. We'll have some fruit for a side dish.

There are hundreds of articles on holiday cooking, and you can learn how to cook elaborate meals including prime rib, crown rib roast, turkey, ham, duck, goose and all manner of side dishes and desserts. But try and find an article on not cooking for Christmas.

So for the holidays, I'll just wing it. I'll make a batch of cookies and that's it for me. This holiday, I'm putting my feet up and giving my kitchen the day off.