Christmas Eve is on a Monday this year which is about as inconvenient as you can get for food shopping. My guess is that most shops will be open over the weekend but anyone leaving everything till the Monday morning is asking for trouble. The only answer is to get organised well in advance. Here is a checklist of things to do NOW rather than in the 48 hours before the feast. Don't say you weren't warned.

1 Start tasting now

Start now, rather than on 23 December, to find your favourite smoked salmon or trout. Taste everything you can, bearing in mind that each smokehouse uses a slightly different recipe. The smoking time and the wood over which it is cured will all leave their mark on the fish and give a subtly different flavour. Now that so many sides of smoked salmon come ready packed it is almost impossible to get tastings in the way you can with ham or cheeses, so buy the smallest amount of each over the next few weeks and keep a note of which ones you like best. Then get your order in as quickly as possible.

2 Buy the pudding

I can eat this fruit-laden plum pud at any time of year, rain or shine, but it has to be said there are some seriously disappointing versions about. The more organised cooks will have made theirs already, but truth told, most people still buy them ready-made. There is little reason not to as there are some expertly made ones on the market. Devotees of a lighter pudding, more deep gold than black might like to keep an eye open for The Carved Angel Christmas Pudding made to Eliza Acton's recipe and one of the best I have come across. Those who prefer a darker recipe should pick up one from the Village Bakery in Melmerby. Both are available by mail order.

3 Bake the cake

Even if you cannot bear the thought of messing around with marzipan and icing you will probably enjoy making the cake itself. You basically throw all the ingredients together. It sounds off-putting because of the length of the ingredient list and a cooking time that is measured in hours rather minutes. Yet when all is said and done nothing is simpler than making your own. Now is the time to make your Christmas cake in order to give it time to mature. So get out the baking tins and the brown paper and fill the kitchen with the second best cooking smell of all (the first being toast).

4 Get stuffing

As the Christmas meal is so important it is essential that nothing should go wrong. Why? Because if it does no one will ever let you forget it, bringing up your little misdemeanour for the next 10 Christmases. So now is the time to check out your recipes and make certain they are the right ones. Try out a few recipes for stuffing the bird till you find the perfect one.

5 Pot up your mincemeat

One of the best bits of Christmas has to be the mince pies, and the home-made versions are better than anything you will find in the shops. Mincemeat is not difficult to make, especially if you use ready-made suet. Dig out the old Constance Spry Cookbook or whatever recipe you use and get it potted up ready for those scrummy little tartlets. And if you are not going to make your own, then now's the time to stock up on the ready-made brands.

6 Check the cheese

You do not want to be left hunting for a decent Stilton or Vacherin at the eleventh hour. By giving the subject a little thought now you can make certain that your fromage is &agreve; point. Place an order with your local cheesemonger or somewhere that does mail order. Most cheese shops are set up to send even smaller pieces by post; just don't expect them to thank you for phoning 24 hours before the feast. You do not want to present some over-chilled supermarket offering for those who say no to pudding.

7 Get the goodies in

Many of the sweet bits and bobs that get passed round at Christmas will come to no harm on the shelf for a few weeks and they can be bought now rather than in the last-minute scramble. Think Turkish Delight, those oblong-shaped packs of sticky dates, sugared almonds, sugared fruit jellies, marrons glacé, panettone, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, walnuts, crystallised fruits, orange peel dipped in chocolate, whole candied peel and the kids' selection boxes.

8 Mail order

Christmas catalogues have been coming through the door thick and fast. In the past I have always been impressed with any food I have ordered via mail order. Anything you are planning to buy this way should be ordered now. That even means the fresh provisions such as poultry, cheeses, cakes and bread. The earlier you order the more chance you have of getting what you want.

9 Get the bird

Whatever bird you are having it is worth talking to your butcher or game dealer about it now. Turkey is easier, but anyone having a fancy for goose, duck, capon or our more unusual feathered friends shouldn't take any chances. The point is to avoid both disappointment and a queue. Most butchers will expect you to get your wish-list in at least a week before - that way you just produce your crumpled raffle ticket from the depths of your purse to claim your chosen bird rather than fighting at the counter.

10 and don't forget...

...tin foil, clingfilm, string, muslin (for cooking the pudding), greaseproof paper, lemons, cream, brandy butter, chestnuts, parsnips, crackers, champagne, that extra special wine to have with the turkey, icing sugar, clementines and liqueur chocolates for Gran.

Useful Christmas stockists:

The Carved Angel,Devon (Tel: 01803 832465; enquiries@thecarvedangel.com)
Village Bakery, Melmerby, Cumbria ( 01768 881515; www.village-bakery.com)
Neal's Yard Dairy, London SE1 ( 020 7645 3555; mailorder@nealsyarddairy.co.uk)
Marchents of Broadway, Surrey (0870 606 1623; www.marchents.com)
Fortnum & Mason, London (0845 300 1707; www.fortnumandmason.co.uk)
Butlers Cheeses, Cheshire (01772 781500; www.butlerscheeses.co.uk)
Valvona & Crolla, Edinburgh (0131 6066; www.valvonacrolla.co.uk)
The Winery (0800 028 2222)
Harvey Nichols Foodmarket (020 7201 8538; www.harveynichols.com)
Graig Farm Organics (01597 851655; www.graigfarm.co.uk)
Teesdale Trencherman (01833 638370) www.trencherman.co.uk
allpresent.com (0118 947 7418; www.allpresent.com)
The Fish Society (0800 074 6859; www.thefishsociety.co.uk)