The one click that sorts your entire Christmas dinner, from the golden turkey to the perfect roasties

I need to start by saying, I love Christmas. I start eating mince pies as soon as they hit the shelves in September, I’ve already started buying pressies (less smug, more excited), and I absolutely love hosting drinks parties in the run-up (any excuse to buy the silly party food – polar bear bao bun, anyone?). Let it be known, I’m no Grinch.

But the thing I find utterly overwhelming every year is Christmas dinner itself. Because it’s so much more than a roast, isn’t it?

The one click that sorts your entire Christmas dinner

Exactly how many carrots are too many carrots? Can you ever have enough roast potatoes (not in my house), and will my father-in-law finish the gravy before anyone else has even got a look in? Again.

I’m also a bit allergic to shopping IRL – the crowds! In fact, if M&S offered a queue jump, I’d probably pay for it. Now there’s a thought. So yes, I try to do the big shop online. But with Christmas delivery slots opening (and disappearing) weeks ago, I'm already feeling the pressure of the festive mental load.

Or I was – until I came across a whole new way of sorting Christmas dinner in one click. And, honestly, I’ll never go back to my old ways again. Welcome to Abel & Cole's Christmas dinner in a box.

I’ve long been an Abel & Cole customer. I love the quality organic ingredients (better for you, better for the planet, and if you can afford to, why wouldn’t you?) and the excellent customer service. I regularly fill the fridge with its fruit and veg boxes, and when I have a busy week ahead, I turn to its recipe kits, too.

This Christmas, it also has a whole range of Christmas dinner meal kits, which take the faff out of planning the big day.

And when I say one click, I really mean it. Rather than working out how much of everything you need, adding individual ingredients to your basket and inevitably forgetting something, the Christmas dinner box brings the whole feast together for you.

On the menu

• Roast Turkey with Pork, Chestnut & Sage Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce & Gravy
• Garlic & Rosemary Roast Potatoes
• Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Pancetta & Clementine Brown Butter
• Maple Roasted Parsnips & Carrots
• Creamy Swede & Sweet Potato Mash
• Honey & Balsamic Braised Red Cabbage

One thing to flag: the box covers the main event, so you’ll need to add a starter and dessert separately. But Abel & Cole offers these online, too, so you can simply add them to your basket while you’re ordering. No extra shopping list required.

So, is it worth it?

First things first: this is still Christmas dinner, so you do actually have to cook it. I did a trial run to test it out and spent the day rolling my stuffing balls, peeling my veg and basting my turkey.

But the handy planner helped keep everything on track for a 2pm lunch, telling me what needed to go in the oven and when. Which meant I could actually enjoy the day rather than constantly checking the clock and wondering whether I’d forgotten something.

Although, of course, I did forget something. The cranberry sauce. Which I do every year. So take this as your warning: put out the cranberry sauce. Or just accept it as a new family Christmas tradition.

We sat down to a delicious spread with more than enough to serve the eight people it promised. And there were plenty of leftovers for the obligatory turkey sarnies the following day. If there's not so many of you, there's also a turkey joint box that serves four. Or, if turkey isn't your thing, I like the sound of the goose box (fancy!), or topside of beef with caramelised shallot and red wine gravy.

I also really liked Abel & Cole’s ‘Love Your Leftovers’ suggestions. I turned our leftover red cabbage into a delicious tart with ready-made puff pastry and goat’s cheese, while the leftover swede and sweet potato mash made delicious bubble and squeak with an egg on top the next morning.

The verdict

At £240 a box, this is never going to be the cheapest Christmas dinner. However, if you can afford it I think it’s worth it for the time you get back with your family. And at £30 a head, it's still considerably cheaper than going out to a restaurant.

So, would I buy it again? For me, it’s a resounding yes. The biggest benefit wasn’t that I didn’t have to cook – I still did. It was that I didn’t have to think about Christmas dinner in the weeks leading up to it.

One click took care of the turkey, stuffing, veg, roast potatoes, gravy and all the trimmings. And I could add a starter and dessert to the same basket, without having to work out quantities or write another shopping list.

That left me more time for the things I actually want to be doing at Christmas – eating mince pies, drinking fizz and arguing over who gets the crispiest roast potatoes.

Click here for a stress-free Christmas dinner