SUPERMARKETS sell more ready meals at Christmas than any other time of year. Sophie Charara finds out why it’s not a sin to buy your dinner in

THE tinsel is on, the presents are under the tree and you’ve made it home in one piece after the office party. Now all you’ve got to worry about is the Christmas lunch.

From the cost and time management, to the fact it might all taste terrible, cooking Christmas dinner can be a particularly tense time for any amateur chef.

But as food innovations manager for Sainsbury’s, Susi Richards explains, most people don’t even try to do it all by themselves.

Whether it’s buying in your mincemeat or getting the whole meal out of the freezer section, it’s OK to take advantage of those wonderful supermarket fairies and their magical ready-made help at Christmas.

“Convenience has moved on,” says Richards. “When it comes to ready meals, the run-up to Christmas is our busiest couple of weeks. We try to make sure our products offer something traditional, with a bit of a twist.”

Every year supermarkets spend more and more time refining their ideas and focusing on every last detail, so consumers don’t have to, says Richards. And Ocado’s retail and customer manager Jon Rudoe adds that we’re even relying on others to do the challenging pre-Christmas shop.

“Consumers are shifting to the time saving benefits of online food before the holidays,” he says.

“Many are busy working families and they increasingly want high standards and easy preparation.”

Canapes such as vol-au-vents and miniature fish and chip cones are two of Ocado’s bestsellers around Christmas, as are their pre-prepared turkey breasts stuffed with sausage meat and bacon.

While we love to celebrate, it seems life has quite literally become too short for customers to stuff a mushroom.

And considering Sainsbury’s won’t let a product on the shelves until its passed a panel of 50 customers, surely you’d be fool not to take advantage of their due diligence?

“At least seven out of 10 people must rate the product highly for flavour, aroma and texture,” underlines Richards. Could you say the same for your own Christmas dinner?

Interestingly, as more of us buy in festive food, the choice has increased. Supermarkets know that Nigella lovers won’t be impressed with shelves lined with plain old turkeys and have upped their game.

This year, Sainsbury’s launched their Taste the Difference Three Bird Roast: “It would simply be too much of an endeavour to buy three different birds and make it yourself,” sympathises Richards.

Such unusual supermarket products are often heavily inspired by celebrity chefs: “We track everything that’s on all the big cookery programmes,” laughs Richards. “Chefs like Nigella, in particular, and Jamie to a certain extent, are doing traditional dishes but making them more exciting. In the last couple of years, for example, there’s been a lot more talk of things like the Three Bird Roast.”

But as Richards explains, cooks often resort to ’shop bought’ in the final moments. And if you want to feel more like a chef, rather than attempting the pudding, she suggests buying sausage meat for your own stuffing or trying something you can assemble yourself like Sainsbury’s Canape Spoons.

“Just put a dollop of smoked salmon or trout mousse on the end of the all-butter pastry spoon and finish off with a little sour cream and dill, for example. They’re really clever because they look impressive and are quick to make.”

CHRISTMAS OF CONVENIENCE

If even the thought of choosing between products is too stressful, try following our guide to an easy peasy Christmas dinner.

WATCH THE BIRDIE: Serve up the Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Three Bird Roast, £42 (serves 10, 2.4kg) with its turkey, duck, guinea fowl and cranberry stuffing, in the front room in full sight of the neighbours for guaranteed Christmas Day lunch envy.

STUFF OF DREAMS: There’s no point in making stuffing when Waitrose have spent the last year working on their Luxury Chestnut, Leek And Pancetta Stuffing With Honey Glazed Chestnuts (served in a ceramic dish), £4.99 for 434g. The instructions are simple - take out of Waitrose carrier bag, heat up and place on dining table.

ROAST READY: Fool even the most die hard potato fans with these no nonsense and fantastically good value Ready To Roast Potatoes, £1 for 320g, from Tesco. And make sure your guests admire how hard you worked.

POUR YOU: Let’s face it, while mum’s gravy is lovely, you’d be hard pressed to pick it out in a blind taste test. Forget spending hours on your stock and pour Asda’s Extra Special Slow Cooked Chicken Gravy into your boat. No one will notice the difference and you’ll spend just £1.48 for 300g. Visit www.asda.com

ANY PORT IN A STORM: There really is no course of a Christmas lunch which isn’t improved by a splash of alcohol. Try Waitrose’s cranberry and port sauce, £2.19 for 300g, for a splash of fun.

PUD IT THERE: If you haven’t been diligently seeing to your pudding since September, you can breathe a sigh of relief because someone else has. Try Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Fruit and Nut Christmas Pudding - each one is matured by six months come Christmas Day.