Pop it away for the big day

We're all looking for ways to save time, money and sanity ahead of the busy festive season. Stocking up early on all your Christmas essentials can help you do just that. We're talking gifts to keep on standby, all the ingredients you'll need, and festive non-negotiables you won't want to run out of (tip: you can never have too much tin foil).

Follow these tips to get organised this Christmas and check out our pick of what to stock up on and when in the Foodhall this year.

• Make a list. Think about the number of guests you'll have coming, and all the eating occasions you're planning for, whether it's a get-together or the big-day feast.

• Browse recipes early and save them to make throughout the season. Bookmark some 'freeze-ahead' dishes to get you through the busiest weeks.

• Stock the cupboards with long shelf-life items like drinks, stocks and sauces, and condiments that won't go off.

• Buy food Christmas gifts early to help spread the cost, for those inevitable office Secret Santas, teachers' gifts, or presents for the neighbours.

Pick up top-quality, great-value staples in store, ready to stash away for Christmas or use in wintery dishes in the run-up to the big day.

• Goose Fat and Roast Potato Seasoning for the crispiest roasties.

• Warming spices, such as our Everything Sugar and Spice – to add instant festive flavour to cakes, bakes and porridge.

• Condiments and pickles to liven up leftovers.

• Gravy granules – because you can never have too much gravy!

• Household items like kitchen roll and tin foil.

How to build a festive store cupboard

It’s never too early to inject some festive flavour into your cooking. This year, we’ve pulled out all the stops and given our store cupboard ingredients a full-on Christmassy makeover. Stock up on these Christmassy ingredients now to use throughout the season:

• Sweet Dill Pickled Cucumbers, Pickled Hot Cauli and Roots, and Pickled Onions – add them to everything from leftover sandwiches to your cheeseboard.

• Sticky Figgy Mustard – add a dollop to the tray with your pigs in blankets or spread into a Christmassy toastie.

• Acacia Honey with Truffle to drizzle over baked Camembert.

• Cranberry and Port Sauce – add to stocks and gravies for richness.

• Sticky Fig and Hot Honey Chutney to spread into toasties or use to glaze ham.

• Mince pies are a festive season non-negotiable, and it’s never too early to try out this year’s flavours, whether you’re going classic or buttercream-topped. Keep a box on standby for when guests come knocking.

• Our Malt Balls are already a Foodhall fan-fave, and now you can stock up on a giant mixed sharing tub of milk, blond, dark and white chocolate-coated airy malt balls.

• Family-sized tubs of chocolates, like our 1.2kg Big Mix Tub, brilliantly nostalgic Big Six Assortment, or Outrageously Chocolatey Biscuits, will keep the masses happy.

• We’re known for our iconic shortbread tins, filled with all-butter shortbread that’s baked in Scotland to our exclusive recipe.

• You can never have too many of our iconic munch tins. Whether you go for the original flavour or the must-try new Gimme S'more Munch, they're a Christmas movie night non-negotiable.

Christmas cooking can be even more of a joy when you choose dishes you can make ahead, allowing you to enjoy the process rather than feeling flustered and rushed at the last minute. Try our favourite make-ahead Christmas recipes:

• Make-ahead starters and canapés: Try this smoked salmon pâté, which can be popped in the freezer ahead of time. Or give these easy maple and bacon puff pastry Christmas trees a go – bake, then pop in the freezer and reheat.

• Make-ahead edible gifts: Whip up these decadent and sweet custard cream truffles and stash in the freezer; prep a bottle of cherry-infused vodka, or make freeze-ahead Christmas biscuit dough ready to bring as a sweet gift for your host.

• Make-ahead pies and puddings: There's a reason stir-up Sunday happens long before Christmas – prepping a homemade Christmas cake or pudding ahead allows the flavours time to mingle and deepen. Or make mince pies up to four weeks ahead, then bake from frozen. This cherry and pistachio basque cheesecake actually benefits from being made a day or two ahead – ideal if you're entertaining.

Fill your freezer with time-saving dishes and clever flavour-boosting ingredients.

• Pre-chopped frozen ginger, garlic and parsley are a busy cook's saviour.

• Our ready-prepared festive vegetables, such as Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts, Chantenay Carrots with Maple Butter, Spiced Red Cabbage and Crispy Parsnips with Maple Butter, are great for roast dinners or the big-day dinner. Find them from 14 October.

• Stash ready-to-bake frozen croissants and pastries away for Christmas morning.

• Look out for showstopping frozen desserts (did someone say Triple Choc S'mores Iced Cream Cake?) from 14 October.

• Great-quality (and excellent value) fizz, like our creamy Classics Crémant de Bourgogne, with its notes of peach blossom and apricots.

• A crowd-pleasing, budget-friendly white, like our Classics Pinot Grigio.

• Easy-drinking reds, like our Montepulciano d’Abruzzo or Classics Côtes du Rhône Villages.

• Look out for ready-to-drink cocktails, like our iconic Clementine and Cranberry Buck's Fizz (which this year comes in an alcohol-free version, too), landing in store from 23 September.

• Whether you fancy Hot Maple Popcorn, Extra Virgin Olive Oil Crisps with Lobster or Pigs in Blankets Flavour Combo Mix, we've got next-level Christmas crisps in the bag.

• Sweet tooth? You'll find moreish bites to graze on in the Foodhall – think Festive Snowy Pretzels, Milk Chocolate and Cinnamon Tortilla Rolls, and Belgian Milk Chocolate Coated Crispy Chilli Peanuts.

• Keep a tray of Biscuits for Cheese handy to whip up seasonal cheeseboards or for picky teas.

How to boost the flavour of your Christmas dinner

Stock up on genius flavour-boosting ingredients to level up your festive dishes.

• Master perfectly golden, crunchy-on-the-outside, fluffy-in-the-middle roasties with our Roast Potato Seasoning to guarantee the crispiest spuds.

• Smother our Collection The Perfect Turkey and Ham Glaze over turkey or ham before roasting for the most delicious sweet, sticky texture and rich flavour.

• Toss carrots and parsnips in our savoury, crunchy Roots for Roasting Seasoning.

• Rub our Chicken Seasoning over roast chicken or turkey for an extra hit of flavour.