Christmas day timeline

On Christmas Eve:

Make the stock for the gravy or defrost if made ahead and frozen. Weigh the turkey, spread the butter underneath the breast skin and season all over with salt and black pepper. Par-boil potatoes and sprouts. Peel and chop any veg.

On Christmas Day:

9.30am

Remove the turkey from the fridge to come to room temperature. Check out our turkey tips on our podcast here.

10.30am

Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Cover the turkey with foil and put it into the oven.

11am

Turn the oven down to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

12.30pm

Remove the foil from the turkey to help crisp up the skin.

1.15pm

Put the tray with fat for the roast potatoes into the oven to get hot.

1.30pm

Remove the turkey from the oven, put on a carving platter, cover loosely with foil and make the gravy. Add the roasties to the hot tray and put the carrots and parsnips into the oven.

2pm

Put pigs and blankets into the oven and fry the sprouts.

2.30pm

Carve the turkey and get the gravy piping hot.

3pm

Serve up, relax and enjoy!

Our favourite Christmas Day recipes

Find more of our best Christmas recipes here, including starters, canapés, desserts and cocktails.

Perfect roast turkey

Impress your guests and learn how to cook the perfect turkey centrepiece this Christmas Day with our tips and tricks in this foolproof guide.

Giant vegan wellington

Looking for a showstopping vegan recipe? Check out our impressive giant vegan wellington packed with roasted red peppers, cooked beetroot and kale. Plus, we've made a vegan stuffing and glazed the pastry in marmite to take this wellington to the next level.

Best-ever roast potatoes

Want to know how to cook the perfect roast potatoes? With a few simple tricks you can achieve super crunchy and super fluffy roasties, every time.

Garam masala roast brussels sprouts

Liven up your Christmas dinner or winter meal with this amazing spicy Indian take on our humble brussels sprouts! The home-made garam masala is delicious and can be used as a final sprinkle in any curry recipe.

Gingerbread Christmas pud with eggnog sauce

Try this as an alternative after your Christmas meal – it’s far lighter than a Christmas pudding but with a seasonal flavour. If you’d like things a bit richer use Billington’s dark muscovado sugar instead of the lighter sugar.

Ultimate Christmas yule log

Need a show-stopping dessert recipe to impress guests over the Christmas period? Check out our indulgent festive yule log with dark chocolate, a boozy Baileys cream and crunchy hazelnut brittle.