A much-loved village pub near Grantham has the answer to stop our Top Tier status from ruining Christmas.

The award-winning Greese and Fountain at Croxton Kerrial is keeping the festiuve spirit alive by launching three-course Christmas dinners throughout December, as both take-away and cook-at-home options.

The move follows the popular pub already serving take-aways throughout lockdown based on its regular menus and also special theme take-aways including a "Kerrial Fried Chicken" night.

The Christmas menu promises all the elements of a restaurant-quality meal, carefully prepared and packaged with full instructions so that customers can complete and present their Christmas feast to perfection.

Geese & Fountain chef Kate Ahrens explained: "This has been such a difficult year for everyone, and the latest round of restrictions are going to have a massive impact on everyone's Christmas celebrations. No work parties, no trips to the pub, no extended family get-togethers.

"We wanted to make sure that we were helping to make the Christmas period as special as we can and offering a cook-at-home version of our restaurant quality meals is one way to do that.

"You can order a box for your house, and one for your friends, family, or work colleagues, and eat the meals together over a Zoom call. Or you can pick up a box from us on Christmas Eve and save yourself all the stress of Christmas dinner preparation."

The menu, available on the pub's website , features geese and turkeys raised in the same village as the pub itself, by Gerald Botterill and his son Richard.

There is also prawn, chorizo and chicken paella, oven-baked sea trout, beef wellington (using beef reared on the nearby Belvoir estate), and leek, mushroom and lentil Christmas pie.

Starters include goose liver pate and lemon and garlic king prawns, while alongside traditional Christmas puddings, there are brandy clementines, a whisky and honeycomb parfait, and even a stem ginger and clotted cream baked Alaska - supplied frozen for you to pop in the oven for a few minutes just before serving.

All dishes come with their own specific instructions, making sure the experience of cooking the meal at home is as simple as can be.

Kate continued, "We know that Christmas this year won't be the same for anybody. But having a meal cooked for you, with all the care and attention that we always bring to our menu when the pub is open, and made with the fantastic quality local produce that comes from the Vale of Belvoir and the surrounding countryside can still be a wonderful part of the festivities.

"The Government restrictions mean that all take-aways must be pre-ordered, but we can take orders by phone (01476 870350), through our website or our Facebook page , or even by WhatsApp to 07593 782662."

The Geese and Fountain currently rated best pub in the Vale of Belvoir by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, so the pub also offers many great quality beers as well as bottles of organic wine.