The hardest thing about organizing Christmas celebrations isn't the holiday decorating, or figuring out how to wrap the gifts so they look nice. It's planning the dinner menu. It needs to be tasty, and there need to be at least a few festive and hearty sides to go with it. Here, we've compiled our all-time favourite recipes so that you have everything you need to make a family-pleasing meal worth the celebration.

1. Green Christmas pineapple cake

Fans of the tropics will enjoy this colorful Christmas cake made with pineapple and almonds. Green, red and showered with snow, how much more Christmas can a cake get? Flavoured with candied pineapple on a shortbread base, the green almond flour cake is covered with a rum-based marzipan and a chocolate ganache.

2. Cinnamon star biscuits

Cinnamon biscuits are a classic winter staple, but adding kirsch, a cherry liqueur to the dough, makes it a festive holiday treat. Punch a small hole on one tip of the star-shaped dough before baking to make them edible decorations for the tree!

3. Christmas poppy seed strudel with orange crust

Despite being gluten-free, this strudel with candied orange, cinnamon and vanilla gets a soft, moist crumb thanks to chia seeds, psyllium husk and xantham gum. Much easier to pull together than a real German strudel, this is a great recipe for those who want the holiday effect without having to spend laborious hours to get the perfect dessert. 

4. ​Mini Christmas cakes

Dazzle your holiday table and guests with these decorated mini Christmas cakes! Full of dried fruit, candied citrus, holiday spices (and booze!), these individual-size Christmas cakes may be small but they are big on the Christmas cheer.

5. Mini panettone

Christmas cannot be complete without a panettone. This Christmas cake usually takes days to prepare, but these mini versions make the job a whole lot easier. Try this Italian classic that goes great with coffee, semifreddo after a meal, or even turns into a French toast the morning after.

Want to go more out of the box? Try Christmas puddings, chocolate raspberry rolls or the original Christmas trifle!