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From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Christmas

Need advice on hosting Christmas in someone else's house?

13 replies

Ilythia · 25/10/2010 20:11

We will be spending this Christmas in FIL's house, that is DH, DD's (3 and 4), FIL, his cute but crazy fricking dog and I.

I can only get up to his a couple of days before christmas (like 23rdish) and will not have much room in the car for bringing stuff with me.

I have no clue what is in his house and daren't ask him to buy stuff, bless him.

Any hints/tips/quiet place to scream?

OP posts:

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Haliborange · 25/10/2010 20:14

Order the food online and have it delivered to his on the 23rd.

Include a disposible roasting tin in that order and all the booze you will need. If you use Ocado, you'll be able to get crackers, table decorations, candles etc.

Take a tablecloth, napkins, whisk, sharp knives and a bowl or two with you (including a couple of serving bowls).

Good luck!

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Ilythia · 25/10/2010 20:59

Oh he'll definately supply the booze

I know where everything is in his kitchen, so appliances shouldn't be an issue, but tablecloth a good idea, christ knows where they are.

I am not sure about online deliveries tbh, the last time I got one before chirstmas they were missing stuff and I ended up going out on christmas eve, but I suppose I could get most done that way.

Trying to think of ways for DD's to feel christmassy away from home too, it's dd2's first one that she will get (she is only just 3) and I am a bit gutted she won't get it at home

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Haliborange · 25/10/2010 21:43

If you can, definitely order from Ocado. They seem to make the least substitutions and while their stock control system is not perfect they are better than Tesco. You'd probably need to book a delivery pretty soon though because 23rd is going to be very popular.

Things that make it feel like christmas and are easily transportable...

Christmas music
orange peel boiled up in a pan to make the house smell nice
christmas PJs!

For the DCs I expect they'll be dead excited to have christmas at Grandads. when I was little I used to love going to sleep on on christmas eve in my sleeping bag at my Grandma's house. The anticipation was brilliant!

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Ilythia · 26/10/2010 20:07

Okay have signed up for ocado and will have a chat with FIL and see what he thinks. He is a tightarse though
I can't order from ocado where I live so it will be my first shop with them, which is a bit scary.

on second thoughts the minimum order is £90 in christmas week, and I won't be buying booze, and will need to buy meat in person anyway, aaargh

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Herecomesthesciencebint · 26/10/2010 20:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SeriousWispaHabit · 26/10/2010 21:29

I have booked my Ocado for 23rd and it was v easy to spend £90 without turkey or alcohol

Check on his oven size before ordering turkey - would be awful for it not to fit!

I would do as much as possible in advance and transport frozen in cooler boxes, then you can spend Christmas Eve doing Christmassy things rather than loads of food preparation.

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Ilythia · 27/10/2010 16:40

We definately aren't doing turkey! DH and I both hate it and the oven is small as well, I have cooked there before so I know what I can/can't do.

I could give him a list, woudl give him something to do as well (MIL died recently, hence us going to his for christmas, we really don't want him to be alone this christmas.
I am really not going to be able to take any food with us though, we will have clothes/sleeping bags etc, my work as I will need to study, all the presents for the girls and us plus stockings, and all SIL and the Dnephews stuff as well as DH and my bike kit in case we can swan off somewhere while we have a babysitter possibly will have room for a small cooler bag but daren't plan on it..

All ideas are great though, really helping me decide what is/isn't important. Am so used to doing it all as a SAHM and being nice and relaxed about it all...

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amothersplaceisinthewrong · 27/10/2010 16:44

Wouldn't it be easier for FIL to come to you.....

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scareistheball · 29/10/2010 08:13

I bet PIL is very grateful to you for doing this. I did it last year and it worked really well.

First, I menu planned for each meal we would be there (a whole week).

Then I did the online shop (Asda, since that is the only place that delivers to PILs house, which is almost rural). Remember to include Christmassy treats - my MIL loves chocolate ginger, for instance - plus whatever your DC will need (extra milk? Nappies? Snacks to tide them over if you're going to be eating later than usual for them? Ice?) and also think about what you'd normally pack - could you get it delivered instead, thus freeing up car space?

I booked the slot for 23rd, so I'd have time to pick up any crucial things on 24th that they couldn't supply. I carried on editing the order for ages after it was booked - no problem as long as you re-enter your card details. In the end they delivered on time with no substitutions or missing items that I remember. I was deeply relieved about this, because they were delivering all the alcohol as well as the food, and I'd chosen the drinks very carefully (Ocado has a much better choice of wine). The total bill was #300, but that was for a whole week (excluding meat, see below) for 4 adults plus some meals with guests, and DD. Given that there were 26 bottles of wine in there, I think that is very reasonable.

I asked PILs to order all the meat separately (beef for Christmas dinner, plus bacon, sausages, a couple of chickens) from the butcher for collection on 24th. This was the only bit that didn't work out quite as I wanted. I had expected the butcher to make the order up in advance, since other butchers I know do this at very busy periods. This one didn't and was putting orders together on the fly with a huge queue. DH and FIL hiked down there on foot because we were almost snowed in - they told the butcher how many we were and he gave us the correct amount of meat for that number - so no leftovers! I was really disappointed. To avoid this, call the butcher yourself and if necessary plan to collect yourself too. I don't remember the butcher's bill - most likely between 50-70 quid.

Having menu planned, I worked out what equipment I was going to need, and then thought through what I'd have to bring. These included the Magimix (heavy and bulky but worth it) and some serving dishes as PILs don't entertain. I also brought a few small food items from where I live (France) that I knew would be difficult to get there.

The whole thing worked really well. I really care about food, drink and Christmas so I was happy that everything I wanted was there, and I had the time to take over it because PILs were playing with DD, so they were all delighted too (MIL hates cooking so was relieved to have the whole ordeal - not to mention expense - taken out of her hands). DH got to relax, and we had a white Christmas. Perfect!

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scareistheball · 29/10/2010 08:15

I forgot! One thing that really helped was that PILs, realising that their tiny fridge and freezer were going to be insuffient, found a second hand fridge freezer locally and installed it in the garage. It would have been really difficult without it tbh.

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Ilythia · 29/10/2010 09:14

Brilliant advice scare, thank you!

I think you are all right, an internet shop is the way to go. If I get it delivered on the 23rd then I will have babysitters for dd's so can get to the shop that night just in caseanyway.

amother, yes, it would be easier
MIL only died very recently though and if FIL comes to us he will just have DH there, but if we go to him he will have 3 of his children and all the grandchildren there, so makes much more sense in a 'first christmas without matriarch' way for us to go to him.

He can cook, but as it's just him he does this in a very basic way, and is cooking for himself eveyrday, so I like to spoil him by doing all the work so he can relax.

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scareistheball · 29/10/2010 17:01

If he likes cooking, maybe you could think of one or two do-ahead things he could prepare before you get there? Would keep him busy and help avoid any feeling he might have of being elbowed out of the way? I only mention this because my dad was fiercely independent and got v annoyed when I tried to take over on visits after my mum died.

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Ilythia · 29/10/2010 18:11

scre, good idea in theory but he may like his cooking, DH and I are less than impressed
We always cook when we go up as it goes from him cooking for one to cooking for 5 of us including fussy dd2 so it's not quite as easy. I can get him to do the veg though, he grows the bloody stuff!
Oh, and he is in charge of booze, biscutis and chocolate. Very important stuff.

I rang SIL and asked if she was coming round for lunch so she could help me cook but I got rumbled

I genuinely don't mind though, anything that he wants that will make this christmas easier for him is what I shall do.