With festive season in full swing and Christmas Day approaching, Brits are starting to feel the demand of hosting with over a quarter (27%) admitting that stress levels peak the week of Christmas. To tackle this, Sainsbury’s has teamed up with former England rugby player and podcast host, Joe Marler, to launch ‘Couch to Christmas Day’; a three-part audio guide designed to get the nation match-fit for hosting.
Moving from rugby to roasties, Marler applies his sporting discipline and training mindset to the chaos of Christmas, giving listeners a step-by-step guide for navigating the festive season like a pro. The ‘Couch to Christmas Day’ series is spread across three 13-minute episodes that offer a humorous yet practical training plan to transform flustered hosts into festive champions.
This comes as new research from Sainsbury’s reveals that almost half (47%) of Brits feel the pressure to host the ‘perfect Christmas’. For many, the thought of hosting and the high expectations that come with it, make a third (31%) of hosts feel overwhelmed. Top concerns include getting the food timings right (53%), attempting to please every guest (49%) and navigating the overall chaos that comes with the busy day (47%).
Within the audio guide, Joe’s reassuring approach helps breakdown these barriers to create a winnable game plan for the season. Episode one tackles the initial prep like early food freezing, assembling your ’Master List’ and the ‘big shop’, as 61% of Brits admit that they’ve forgotten to purchase essential items for the big day including condiments, Christmas crackers and Pigs in Blankets.
Episode two guides listeners through a playbook on how to plan pre-Christmas gatherings, from setting the mood to party food buys. While the final episode talks listeners through mastering essential hacks for the big day. From navigating timings for the hero centrepieces to the small touches that make the day feel extra special to round off the festivities.
Despite half (50%) of Brits saying that the best part of hosting is bringing the family together, 44% admit they miss out on quality time with loved ones because they are tied up in the kitchen. Whilst 54% admit to spending up to four hours a day cooking, leading to 62% feeling relieved when hosting duties are all over. To tackle this head on, Joe also shares his top tips, tricks and hacks for conquering ‘quick play’ prep and ‘utilising the squad’ to help hosts carve out less time at the oven to make memories with loved ones.
Joe Marler, former England Rugby player & podcast host, commented: “My family loves hosting at Christmas and, while the odd gravy mishap or forgotten detail means it’s not always seamless, the imperfections are still part of the magic. There’s always something that’s forgotten or a gravy situation that wasn’t planned for. So I’ve teamed up with Sainsbury’s to create ‘Couch to Christmas Day’, to help the nation get a game plan together in early December. We want to help people get prepped and stay relaxed with a few simple hacks, so they can embrace the brilliantly chaotic reality of Christmas and focus on enjoying good food and drinks with loved ones!”
James Campbell, Sainsbury’s director of product & innovation at Sainsbury’s, commented: “We believe Christmas should be about enjoying time with loved ones, so our Taste the Difference festive range is designed to help take the hassle out of hosting. From impressive centrepieces and flavour-packed sides to indulgent desserts and festive drinks, we have it covered, so hosts can spend less time in the kitchen and more time making joyful memories around the table.”
All three episodes of ‘Couch to Christmas Day’ are now available to stream on Spotify here. Find more about Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference festive range here.
