IT’S time to hang out the bunting, fire up the BBQ and open the bubbly as we celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
Official celebrations kick off on Thursday, with an extra bank holiday giving us a four-day weekend.
The official events feature the Queen’s Birthday Parade, a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral and a Jubilee Pageant in London.
There are plenty of street parties all over the country — and there is still time to throw your own bash.
Here is our guide on how to prepare for the event of the year.
DECORATE: If there was ever a time to hang up Union Flag bunting, it’s now. But retailers have been selling out as people rush to buy this Jubilee essential.
You can easily make your own, though, by cutting triangles out of red, white and blue paper, or encourage your kids to get crafty by painting the Union Flag on white triangles.
If you want a modern twist on bunting, make a balloon arch with red, white and blue colours. Do it by tying the ends of each balloon to a length of string, clustering them as you go, to form an arch-like structure.
But the devil is in the detail and there are plenty of ways to give your decorations a lift.
You can get a pack of ten “crown toppers”, which sit neatly on champagne glasses, for £5.99 from HarlequinFancyDress.co.uk. And Ocado is selling an eight-pack of recyclable Union Flag paper plates for £4.50.
BAKE: The official Jubilee Pudding is a lemon and Swiss roll amaretti trifle. Created by copywriter Jemma Melvin, it was the winning entry in a nationwide competition to find a dessert for the big event.
It is made with layers of lemon curd, Swiss roll, custard, jelly, a mandarin coulis and amaretti biscuits.
Iceland has created its own version, The Real “People’s Pudding”, which serves eight and costs £12.50 to make. For the recipe, see iceland.co.uk/jubilee/jubilee-recipes/the-real-peoples-pudding.
FOOD: You can pick up some fitting Jubilee-themed food on the high street. M&S has an “HRH” Honey Roast Ham giant sausage roll which feeds six and costs £10.
Iceland has Platinum Jubilee Chicken Crowns — a regal twist on chicken nuggets — with a 511g bag costing £3. Morrisons is selling a cute Corgi Cake for £6. If you are on hosting duties, a selection of finger sandwiches is perfect.
You can batch-make coronation chicken sandwiches, from the dish created for a formal dinner on the day the Queen was crowned in 1953.
Make the filling by mixing shredded chicken with greek yoghurt, mango chutney, curry powder and coriander. Serve in sliced bread.
BBQs: If you are after something more substantial, fire up the barbie.
The Argos Home 43cm kettle charcoal BBQ is now on sale for £26, saving £14.
For a mid-range offering, the Patnaude Dakota Fields single burner is suitable for grilling and smoking — it is currently on sale for £52.99 at Wayfair, saving £8.
And at The Range, the large charcoal barrel barbecue smoker by Gr8 Garden has a tenner off at £69.99.
BOOZE: Pimm’s, one of Her Majesty’s favourite booze brands, has given its bottle a Union Flag makeover for the Jubilee and is on sale in most major retailers from £15.
Aldi is selling two gins for the occasion — the Aldi Infusionist strawberry and mint gin liqueur (£13.99) and Eton Mess gin liqueur (£8.99).
Of course, it’s the done thing to toast Her Majesty with a glass of fizz and Sainsbury’s is selling Chapel Down English sparkling wine for £22, saving a fiver.
Waitrose has Lanson Black Label Champagne for £16.99, saving £3, and at Morrisons, Sorso Prosecco Spumante is a bargain at £4.99, reduced from £7.50.
