help, my fridge is too small for xmas

stellata

It really is, its tiny, with a v small freezer compartment. I have 5 adults coming for the xmas holiday, ive got no idea where to put everything. I wont even be able to fit a small turkey in there. Any ideas?

wiogs

Friends with space? Buy a cheap freezer?

Cook them all pasta.

thriftwizard

Do you have a shed or somewhere you can pop a Freecycled or cheap secondhand fridge temporarily? We have an old camping fridge that gets used out in the garage every Christmas & New Year to chill the wine/beeer/cider. We don't need it for camping any more - the kids are old enough to buy us meals & take us to the pub! - but it's still very useful from time to time.

PasturesNew

If it's cold enough you can keep a lot of stuff in a sealed box/bin outside. e.g. drinks, cheese, salad items, even leftovers. So long as it's clean and sealed.

It could be an insulated picnic box, or any box you can seal.

It could be anywhere outside, in the garden or in the shed/garage/whatever space you have.

Depends on the weather though.... although drinks in cans/bottles will be fine whatever the temperature.

Also - don't forget the car boot, if cold enough.

It's a good idea to gather/collect or even buy some stackable containers. e.g. plastic takeaway containers are good (say 8 for £1 at a poundland style shop). So you can cleanly/neatly pack everything away and stack it and move it about in the fridge without spoilage. One of the biggest wastes of space comes from things not being stored neatly in the fridge, with room to move things about on demand.

trailingspouse

If you have an unheated utility/porch/garage, you can keep the alcohol there. It won't go off, and it will be cold enough for drinking.

For the turkey, if you buy a frozen one, your biggest issue will be getting it defrosted in time, you won't need to keep it in the fridge. If you prefer an unfrozen one, order it and pick it up on 24th. Take the giblets out straight away (they can go in the fridge), and keep the turkey in the coldest part of your house overnight (maybe in a spare room with the radiator turned off), or buy a cool box and put freezer packs around it if you want to be extra sure. It won't go off in that length of time. Another cold place is the boot of the car.

Poddly

Garage/car boot is where our turkey goes, always too big for the fridge. I also take out condiments, drinks that don't need to be in the fridge. Veg I store in our unheated utility room, things like potatoes, root veg, sprouts keep well. You need to prioritise the items most likely to spoil.

suki1964

I don't collect my turkey until Christmas Eve for this reason. Veg stays in the garage, along with drinks. I keep the fridge clear for milk butter, cream etc. and the left over cooked food. Even salad bits are stuck in the garage

When I was growing up, we didn't have a fridge. We had a cold shelf in the larder and a box out the back door. And back in the day, shops were closed for the holiday period, so mums did tend to stock up. Nowadays the shops are closed for the one day, so only buy the bare minimum

RAS

Find, beg, borrow a cooler box or two.

Freeze as many cold packs as you can. Put the stuff that need to be kept very cold/frozen in those with the cold packs on the top (cold air falls).

That will see you over two/three days.

Turkey - pick up the day before and keep somewhere cool. Cook with 24 hours.

Buy lettuce heads not salad bags and they will keep in a cool room for the best part of a week if you remove them from plastic bags.

Most other salads and vegetables will keep several days in paper bags (not plastic sweaters) in a cool place.

You only really need the fridge for things like cold meats and some dairy produce.

JustThisOnce

PasturesNew wrote: »

If it's cold enough you can keep a lot of stuff in a sealed box/bin outside. e.g. drinks, cheese, salad items, even leftovers. So long as it's clean and sealed.

It could be an insulated picnic box, or any box you can seal.

It could be anywhere outside, in the garden or in the shed/garage/whatever space you have.

Depends on the weather though.... although drinks in cans/bottles will be fine whatever the temperature.

Also - don't forget the car boot, if cold enough.

It's a good idea to gather/collect or even buy some stackable containers. e.g. plastic takeaway containers are good (say 8 for £1 at a poundland style shop). So you can cleanly/neatly pack everything away and stack it and move it about in the fridge without spoilage. One of the biggest wastes of space comes from things not being stored neatly in the fridge, with room to move things about on demand.

This, a thousand times over - one year, we built a spare drinks shelf outside, using spare bits of plank, etc. Covered with a bit of tarp or plastic sheeting to keep prying eyes from nicking off with the wine...

Also, I don't know how well your attic is insulated, but ours is absolutely freezing in the winter. If you're really stuck, you can put a well-sealed box or two in there, too.

natlie

A few yrs ago during the cold winters we did have I kept food in the boot of my car, my milk froze one night


Make a list of all the things you would need to keep in the fridge, then see if you can swap a few items like powdered milk or coffee mate instead of milk, can you put butter in a cool cupboard, jams, sauces, marmalades, sauces - do they need to be kept in the fridge?


Veg can be kept in a cool place if you pick it up on xmas eve. You could get a rolled turkey beast or a small joint to cook for 5 - no need to get a whole turkey.


Nat

kazwookie

Veg goes in my garage, so do drinks pop and such like it is cold in there like the fridge.

Fridge is used for meat and such like