The festive season is all about enjoying the company of family and close friends, sitting down and sharing a delicious meal or a glass of wine. For many of us, however, it can also mean the stress of having to cater for unexpected numbers, feeling the pressure of ensuring everything is ‘perfect’. Fear not – help is at hand! Here are the appliances that can take the strain this December.

Special meals need special ingredients – and lots of them. So you want to ensure that your fridge-freezer will keep food fresh and prevent any waste. Compartments within the fridge that have controlled temperature and humidity are the ideal solution for storing delicate meat and fish in optimum condition, as well as keeping fruit and vegetables crisp and vitamin rich. In addition, a frost-free freezer not only means you will never have to defrost it again, you can also store more and your appliance will be more energy efficient.  

When it comes to party planning, however, a fridge that can adapt to your needs is your best friend. The Siemens aCool cooling range are fully customisable to all your cooling needs. Shelves that can move up or down, be taken out or even split in half gives you flexibility when stashing tall or bulky items inside. While extra-wide models (such as French-door fridge-freezers) even allow you to place large platters flat inside as well as having large capacity drawers for easy access.

Did you know that wine coolers are not just for keeping bottles chilled? These clever appliances have individual temperature zones that can be set to create ready-to-drink conditions for red (around 12-19ºC), white (8-12ºC) and sparkling wine (5-8ºC). They also keep bottles at their correct humidity and filter out potentially damaging UV light so your wine is kept in perfect condition in both the short and long term. Choose from freestanding cabinets, built-in or undercounter solutions in a range of sizes.

Trying new recipes can add pressure to an already stressful time, but what if there was a way to make it an easier process. Ovens with pre-programmed recipes mean all you have to do is select the dish, enter the weight and the oven will do the rest. Models with integrated meat probes also take the guesswork out of cooking the turkey – or any other roast. And if you have not experienced the benefits of a combi-steam oven, you are in for a treat. Not only can you benefit from beautifully steamed vegetables or fish, but adding steam to a roast will keep it moist inside while the oven browns the outside. The same is true with cakes and bread. Steam ovens as well as ovens with added steam functions, are also great for gently warming up pre-prepared food, ideal if you have cooked ahead. And once the festivities are over, every home chef needs an oven with a self-cleaning program.

An extractor that deals with steam and cooking odours is an essential all year round, but particularly so if you are entertaining. If you have an open-plan kitchen with the hob on the island, a great choice is a venting hob (an induction hob with integrated extractor) or downdraft extractor that only rises up out of the worktop when in use. These solutions not only efficiently extract steam before it can rise into the room, they also keep sightlines across the kitchen clear making for a much more social environment. See which ventilating hob best suits your environment.

So no one is left scrubbing the pots, the dishwasher needs to be a workhorse in the kitchen over Christmas. Specialist programs are key, to cope with everything from baked-on food residue to delicate glassware (that might only need refreshing mid party). And also important are moveable baskets and flexible racks so the interior can adapt to accommodate serving dishes, large plates, tall-stemmed glasses and roasting trays. Take the guess work out of the program settings too. With easyStart and Home Connect, simply tell your dishwasher what you have loaded and it will choose a program best suited to your cleaning needs.

If there is one thing connected appliances can do it’s to make life more convenient. You can choose a recipe from a varied selection on the home connect app and send the settings straight to the oven. You can even control certain functions with voice control via your smart speaker such as, open the door of your oven automatically - ideal if you have messy hands. For effortless entertaining with Siemens coffee machines, use the Home Connect app to take multiple coffee orders from your guests. These are then transferred to the coffee machine, which will make them one after the other.

Usually mounted just below one of the ovens or a coffee machine, a warming drawer is obviously great for keeping plates or cups warm. But it can also be used to prove dough or as an extra space to keep food warm. Another added extra is a vacuum drawer. Designed to vacuum-seal raw ingredients before cooking sous vide (in a water bath), it is also an excellent means of conserving food. By extracting the air out of the food’s packaging / storage, your produce will stay fresher for longer. Vacuum-packed food takes up less space in the fridge or freezer too. And for a final finishing touch, why not offer your guests a hot towel to freshen up after dinner. Just a couple of minutes in the steam oven it is a refreshing way to end the meal.