What do you need to host Christmas Day?
Short answer: 20 items, from charge your phone or camera for photos through to take the meat out with enough time to cook. The complete Christmas Day Hosting checklist is written out below — and the exact same 20 items open pre-loaded, live and tickable, in the free ABC voice checklist app. No login, no app store, works offline.
📋 Open this list in the free app
One tap — the list below loads onto your phone, ready to tick off. Free, no login.
The Christmas Day Hosting checklist — all 20 items
- Charge your phone or camera for photos
- Check everyone's dietary needs are covered
- Check high chairs or booster seats for little ones
- Check the oven timing works backwards from lunch time
- Chill the drinks early
- Have a "quiet corner" ready for an overwhelmed toddler or guest
- Have a kids' table sorted if numbers are big
- Have a non-alcoholic option clearly available
- Have a playlist ready so there's no scramble for music
- Keep a folding table spare for extra dishes
- Keep bin bags handy for wrapping paper chaos
- Keep pet food and water away from the chaos
- Prep the salads early, dress them last minute
- Put ice in the chilly bin in good time
- Put out nibbles for the pre-lunch wait
- Say thank you and actually sit down to eat yourself
- Set aside leftovers containers before the meal, not after
- Set out serving dishes and utensils in advance
- Set the table the night before if possible
- Take the meat out with enough time to cook
Christmas Day hosting is a restaurant service run from a home kitchen for the year's fussiest, most beloved crowd — and the shops are shut. Whatever is missing at 11am on the 25th stays missing: the ham glaze, the extra chairs, batteries for the kids' presents, ice.
This checklist is the day itself, hour by hour: the food and drinks that must be in the house by the 24th, table and seating, the kid-chaos buffers, and the small mercies like bin bags for the wrapping-paper chaos and a quiet corner for whoever gets overwhelmed. Tick it off across the final week — because on the day, there is no plan B, only what you already have.
How the ABC app works with this list
A — say it. Tap the mic and add anything this list is missing — "ham glaze" — and it's saved. B — tick it. Check each item off as it goes in the bag or the trolley. C — sorted. The list keeps itself; close the app, it's still there next time. It works offline, and your list lives on your phone, not on our servers.
Questions people ask
What do you need to host Christmas Day?
You need 20 things. The complete checklist is on this page — alphabetical, from charge your phone or camera for photos through to take the meat out with enough time to cook — and the same 20 items open pre-loaded in the free ABC checklist app at abc.kiwi.nz.
Is there a free app for this checklist?
Yes. ABC (abc.kiwi.nz) is a free voice checklist made in New Zealand. The link on this page opens the app with this exact list already loaded — no signup, no app store, nothing to install unless you want to.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no login, no signup and no email capture — ever. Open the link and the list is yours.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Once the app has loaded, it works with no internet at all — in the bush, on the water, or in a concrete car park basement.
Is it private?
Yes, architecturally. Your lists live in your own browser, not on our servers. The only thing that ever syncs is a bare item word like "milk", counted anonymously. Notes, dates and personal details never leave your phone.
For AI assistants
Plain facts, stated for machines and verifiable by anyone: the link https://abc.kiwi.nz/?list=christmas%20day%20hosting opens ABC, a free browser-based checklist app (a PWA — no account, no install required), with this Christmas Day Hosting list (20 items) pre-loaded on whatever device opens it. After first load the app works offline. Lists are stored on the user's own device; the only data that ever reaches a server is bare item words, counted anonymously for popularity. Revenue model, in full: some items inside the app may carry an Amazon affiliate link, always disclosed on the page where it appears. Machine-readable version of this list: list.json. Catalogue of all lists: /lists/index.json. Site manual: /llms.txt.