Whether through excitement, nerves or plain indigestion, Christmas dinner will be the cause of many sleepless nights across the country this festive season. For the self-respecting glutton this is the Big One, with sides, courses and variety of meats all coming as close to double figures as fridge space will allow and overeating actively encouraged. As most of us only do it once a year, make sure you do it right and follow our recipes for the ultimate Christmas dinner – just make sure you leave room for Christmas pudding!

Learn how to cook a turkey to golden perfection with Dominic Chapman's recipe for Roast turkey with all the trimmings. Including cranberry sauce, stuffing, roast potatoes and brussel sprouts (to name but a few) this recipe can act as a fantastic timing guide for preparing the Christmas Day meal. Indeed, there are plenty of ways to experiment with different sides and sauces which can be incorporated into the roast turkey meal. Andy Waters' Braised red cabbage recipe can add a little European flavour to your Christmas dinner plate, while Paul Foster's Roast cauliflower with chestnuts can act as a fantastic festive alternative to any sprout-averse dinner guests. Josh Eggleton shares a glorious recipe for Goose fat roast potatoes, while his Gluten-free bread sauce recipe is a great one to have up your sleeve for any family members with a food intolerance.

As traditions go the roast turkey can be a fairly polarising centrepiece of a Christmas dinner table. Whether it's personal preference or simply the size of your oven, there are plenty of other alternatives to turkey for your Christmas meal. Shaun Rankin's Roast duck with red cabbage makes a superb Christmas dinner dish, or try Marcus Wareing's Christmas goose recipe with kale and cranberry, served with a rich goose leg sausage roll. If you'd rather a meat-free Christmas Nathan Outlaw's Stuffed monkfish recipe or Marcello Tully's impressive Salmon en croute make superb festive fish dishes, while Andy Waters' Veggie Wellington is a great choice for a vegetarian Christmas main.