'Tis the season to be stressed!

Fighting with your partner, an undercooked turkey and forgetting to buy presents – all the elements of a stressful Christmas

Over 25 million* Brits, that's 42 per cent of the population, are set to be stressed this festive season as we worry about arguments, gifting, drunken relatives and poorly cooked meals, with nearly a fifth concerned about over or under cooking the Christmas meals. To help those who are harassed at this time BacoFoil Non-Stick has teamed up with top celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson to ease some of the strain and ensure a merry season for all.

Top five causes of seasonal stresses
(Research carried out by The Leadership Factor, using a sample size of 1000 people)

  • Receiving a present from someone you have forgotten to buy for (71%)
  • Arguments between family members (50%)
  • Whether their gifts will be liked (32%)
  • Overcooking/Undercooking the Christmas meal (19%)
  • Spending more money on presents than they had budgeted for (17%)

Festive Family Fears

Arguments with family members seem to be feared; over half of us think arguments would ruin a Christmas meal, with partners being cited as the most common cause of tension - the one family member we have chosen to spend the day with!

Burn out on the big day

Over or undercooking the Christmas meal is also a cause of festive stress and as a third of us will have at least six celebratory meals over the festive season, a quarter of us worry about it in the lead up to the big day.

To help survive the Christmas period, in the kitchen at least, celebrity chef, Antony Worrall Thompson has teamed up with BacoFoil Non-Stick, to offer customers a number of hints and tips. Printed inside every packet of BacoFoil and BacoFoil Non-stick are suggestions for making the perfect roast meal and avoiding the anxiety of entertaining during the festive season.

Antony said: "A third of us rely on the trusted Christmas recipes of our mothers and grandmothers to help us in the kitchen, but producing a perfect meal is still a worry for many. Following some easy foolproof steps like using BacoFoil Non-Stick ensures your meal will transfer effortlessly from foil to plate as food doesn’t stick to the foil when cooking, ensuring maximum effect for minimum effort."

Despite the stresses, it seems we are a nation of traditionalists, with two thirds of us preferring a home cooked Christmas meal with family and friends to eating at a restaurant or going on holiday to warmer climates.

Antony continued: "The traditional Christmas meal has a special place in the nation's hearts and with many families cutting back this year, going out for the big day is no longer an option. Cooking at Christmas should be all about enjoying food with family and friends and doesn't have to be a chore. There are plenty of elements which can be prepared in advance to avoid too much time in the kitchen on the day and don’t be afraid of getting the family involved to share the workload!"

For more of Antony's tips on creating the perfect Christmas meal, see special packs of BacoFoil and BacoFoil Non-stick for details. Available in Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons ,Waitrose and all good independent grocery stores.

* Based on British population of 60,975,000 (from Office of National Statistics)

Research carried out by The Leadership Factor, using a sample size of 1000 people across UK. For more information on The Leadership Factor, please call 01484 517575.


For further information, please contact Baco@lucrecommunications.com or call Katie on 0113 243 1117 / Nicola or Natalie on 0208 332 9690

Notes to Editors

About Baco

  • Baco was founded in 1962 with a product range which includes foil, cling film, freezer bags, containers, baking paper and refuse sacks. The company headquarters are in Amersham, UK.
  • Baco Consumer Products Limited is part of the Reynolds Packaging Group which includes the Reynolds brand in the USA & Europe.
  • Reynolds Food Packaging offers a full line of stock and custom products for the foodservice, supermarket, processor and agricultural markets. Products include plastic containers and lids, plastic clamshell containers, roll foil and film, aluminium and plastic platters, aluminium containers and lids, foil wraps, foil and plastic bags and paper baking cups and liners. All products are available in a wide range of sizes and material types for food preparation, serving, merchandising and storing.
  • Reynolds Packaging employs 10,000 employees in 22 countries and is part of New Zealand’s Rank Group Limited