Claire Gillies has been preparing her Christmas dinner ahead of time for 18 years

A mum has completed her Christmas dinner preparations a full month ahead of schedule - excluding the turkey - to slash three hours off her kitchen time on the big day. Claire Gillies, 47, from Harpenden, Hertfordshire, has been getting her festive feast ready in advance for the past 18 years.

She begins shopping for the meal in November - prepping and cooking dishes as she purchases ingredients - before storing everything in her chest freezer. Claire has the entire meal frozen by December - a whole month beforehand - then defrosts it on Christmas Day and heats it through in just one hour.

She prepares the meat fresh on the day, but insists her clever trick saves her three hours of kitchen stress. She rec

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