As everyone knows, from as soon as we hit December to at least January 3rd, calories do not count; we can eat whatever we want, safe in the knowledge that our waistbands won’t suffer, forcing us to buy a whole new wardrobe – though we probably will anyway, in the January sales. Here are just a few reasons we are glad for this annual throwing-off of the shackles of dieting.

 

 

1. Advent Calendars

No, we’re not talking about those cutesy advent calendars with nothing inside them but festive pictures to warm your heart – we’re talking about the ones which make it socially acceptable to eat chocolate before your breakfast, for a whole month! And while the chocolates may be small, they provide a cheeky preview of the sweet toothed gorging which is to come.

 

 


2. Chocolate Tubs

If there isn’t one of these constantly on your coffee table from at least December 5th onwards, you’re doing Christmas wrong. They’re the most sneaky of the foods on our list, as you often grab one or two on your way upstairs, not realising, of course, that they actually add up! Apparently the suggested serving of each of these is a measly TWO, which, I’m sorry, is just an insult to the spirit of Christmas.

 

 

3.  Stocking Fillers

 

 

Thank goodness we are past the days when parents would put oranges in their children’s stockings. Now, you’re much more likely to find a Terry’s Chocolate Orange, alongside a bag of chocolate coins and a tube of smarties. Ahh, progress!

 

 

4. Roast Potatoes

 

 

A staple of the main event, the Christmas dinner, these taste best if they’re smothered in goose fat, making them crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. And no, your mum does not make the world’s best roast potatoes, MINE DOES!

 

 

5. Pigs in blankets

 

 

Because the mounds of turkey simply wasn’t enough meat for one meal, someone made the genius decision to wrap one part of a pig around another part and stick it on the plate too. And while that may sound slightly disgusting, we will be forever grateful.

 

 

6. Party food.

 

 

Mini quiches, mini sausage rolls, mini cheesecakes, mini mozzarella sticks. They all have one thing in common – they’re mini, which as we all know, means that they hold no calories at all.

 

 

7. Yule log

 

 

 

 

It’s chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream covered in chocolate. Do we need to say any more?

 

 

8. Alcohol

 

 

Yes, normally alcohol is the one that catches us out – we forget that it contains calories and can actually be a significant cause of weight gain. Luckily, at Christmas time, that, along with all calories in food, goes out the window! And thank goodness, how else would we get through four hours of charades on Christmas Day while Gran snores on the settee.