While there can be little more delightful than tenderly preparing delicacies for the ones you love, there can be few things more satisfying than kicking back with a smile on your face and letting someone else do it for you.

This is (almost) 2006, we're all horribly busy and, deep down, few of us can compete with the professionals, so why cook? If you're entertaining over the next few weeks, remove the stress and save yourself time, and most probably money, by letting these people do the work for you:

There's Banquet-in-a-Box who bring the gourmet dinner party tuck to you (they even do Christmas lunch - now there's an idea), COOKfood.net, who deliver top end freezer goods (and bother to introduce you to the chefs behind the meals - we like Liz Doce's puds), and the truly lazy can get chef Joseph Belilty of Tagine (described as 'one of the six best mobile chefs') round to cook for you in your home.

Now all you need are The Naked Butlers (don't) or perhaps Neith the Snakedancer who promises to add an 'unique touch of emotion and elegant exoticism' to your celebration. Um, no. Think we'll stick to Tagine and table dancing, thanks.