One of the secrets for the busy holiday entertaining season is organization. From the most elaborate to the simplest get together, the success will come down to planning.

First, pick a theme based on your guest list and decide whether you want to have the party during the week or on the weekend. This will help you decide how elaborate you want it to be based on the time you have.

My eldest daughter, Caitrin (10) has been watching me cook for years and is now at the point where she wants to try doing some things herself, I am thrilled!

Realistically there is only so much I am willing to let her try at this point; a hot stove and big Chef's knives are still off limits! However, there are still many things she can do and is thrilled to help with.

Trying to get my kids to eat anything can be a challenge, especially vegetables! So sometimes I have to be sneaky. For dinner I made them turkey meatballs and managed to sneak grated carrot and parsnip in without them noticing! They loved them. I did too; the meatballs were quite tasty!

Turkey Meatballs
Makes 24 golf ball sized meatballs