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Original poster

Out For Christmas Dinner

63 replies

CurryLover55 · 18/12/2021 16:36

Does anyone go out for Christmas dinner? I never have & can’t imagine ever wanting to spend the big day at a restaurant. It’s all about home & family for me.

OP posts:
limitedperiodonly · 18/12/2021 22:52

God no. Christmas Eve yes but we eat Christmas dinner at home cooked by me. Everywhere decent is closed between then and New Year's Eve. We rarely go out on NYE now so eat at home, watch the fireworks at the end of the street and go to bed.

Xmas day out is crap set menus and dressed up people going "Ooh, isn't it nice to have people doing the washing up?" Same as New Year's Day which is particularly depressing. Then there is Valentines Day or Mother's Day. Terrible.

Cheeseandlobster · 18/12/2021 22:59

@CurryLover55

Does anyone go out for Christmas dinner? I never have & can’t imagine ever wanting to spend the big day at a restaurant. It’s all about home & family for me.
Not everyone has a family or a home. Is it so difficult to understand that not everyone is fortunate as you? Another superior thread in what seems to be a sea of them tonight.
userxx · 18/12/2021 23:25

@limitedperiodonly

God no. Christmas Eve yes but we eat Christmas dinner at home cooked by me. Everywhere decent is closed between then and New Year's Eve. We rarely go out on NYE now so eat at home, watch the fireworks at the end of the street and go to bed.

Xmas day out is crap set menus and dressed up people going "Ooh, isn't it nice to have people doing the washing up?" Same as New Year's Day which is particularly depressing. Then there is Valentines Day or Mother's Day. Terrible.

Fucking hell judgemental.

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Events & celebrations
AshLane · 18/12/2021 23:33

I like being at home, however if I we were to take our whole family out for Christmas dinner, it would have to be somewhere really special - like in a film 😀
I know it would be £££'s so don't even try.
I once saw these places on tv for weddings - these would be my Christmas stay?

www.grantleyhall.co.uk/christmas

Or

www.swintonestate.com

www.swintonestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Christmas-2021.pdf

I can dream!

Would hate just being in a pub.

Original poster
CurryLover55 · 18/12/2021 23:39

cheeseandlobster I really don’t get where you’re coming from at all. The last thing I wanted to be was superior! It was just a question.

OP posts:
LondonLife3 · 18/12/2021 23:41

We do Christmas dinner on Boxing Day at a lovely restaurant, it’s a lot cheaper and better than Xmas day as they only have 1 sitting

Cheeseandlobster · 18/12/2021 23:52

@CurryLover55

cheeseandlobster I really don’t get where you’re coming from at all. The last thing I wanted to be was superior! It was just a question.
Why don't you re read your original post. I can't copy and paste from my phone but you say " I never have and can't imagine spending the big day at a restaurant. Its all about home and family for me"

Can't you even see that some people don't have the cosy jolly family and that spending it in a restaurant is preferable to being alone? Ditto for those living in temporary accommodation where it just isn't home. Can you really not see how superior and short sighted your "Look how lucky I am with my family and home" post actually is?

HollowTalk · 19/12/2021 00:00

@ParkheadParadise where will they all sit? Is this an idea that just got out of hand or are you happy to be cooking for 30 people? How big is your oven?

NMC2022 · 19/12/2021 00:14

We usually do. Indian meal, same place every year. Most people that go are the same families year after year and we exchange cards and gifts Grin with some of them as it's been so many years now!
It's not like a meal out, people will swap tables, pull up a chair to chat, open a present, share food between tables. More like an extended family

shinynewapple21 · 19/12/2021 00:14

We are going out for the first time this year (well hopefully anyway!)

I've always hosted in the past but now older family members no longer with us or in care home and no young children . Will just be me, DH, DS and his GF.

I have a frozen turkey crown and accompaniments just in case though !

NMC2022 · 19/12/2021 00:15

Oh and the staff keep me sane. I went out for a vape a couple of years ago to escape my mother and they handed me a glass of brandy as I went outside GrinGrinGrin

shinynewapple21 · 19/12/2021 00:19

I agree with you @Cheeseandlobster . It may not have been the OP's intention but I also found the OP to be rather sneery.

userxx · 19/12/2021 00:23

@NMC2022 that sounds brilliant.

LoveFall · 19/12/2021 00:31

We were on a cruise over Christmas with family so ate in the dining room. The food was lovely but just not the same.

This year DH was adamant we were not doing the whole turkey thing ourselves. This disappoints me, but he is just tired and overwhelmed by covid etc. i found a good butcher and we ordered a pre-made turkey roast with both light and dark meat, gravy, stuffing, and cranberries. We are doing roasties, brussels sprouts and the obligatory Canadian sweet potato dish.

I suppose it is a good compromise. Not going out but also not destroying the kitchen.

NMC2022 · 19/12/2021 00:33

[quote userxx]@NMC2022 that sounds brilliant. [/quote]
It's great, they give you stuff that you don't usually get free like onion bhajis, the prices are the same as any other day as well. There's a lot of "budge up, DH is doing my head in, ooooh I'll try one of those thanks" Grin
I can't go this year (CEV) but I'm having it as a takeaway!

WorraLiberty · 19/12/2021 00:37

No because hand on heart, I've never tasted a roast dinner as nice as my DH cooks.

But we were actually talking about this last night, and agreed that if we ever get to the point where it's just the two of us, we might start going out.

Secretly hoping we'll be invited to our DC's for Christmas dinner though Grin

JohnStonesMissus · 19/12/2021 00:47

We've done it in the past and it was a bit rubbish to be honest, it was a lovely venue I just hated the overpriced mass produced food, the people on the table next to us were really annoying as well, one bloke laughed at everything and I mean EVERYTHING, his laugh was so bloody loud it made you jump, we were all glad to get out of there and vowed never to eat out at Christmas again! I've been back for a drink since because as I said it is a lovely venue.

toomuchlaundry · 19/12/2021 00:49

You don’t always have to feel sorry for the staff, teenage DS has a part-time job at a hotel. He volunteered to work Christmas Day and Boxing Day as he gets triple pay!

campion · 19/12/2021 00:50

@AshLane gosh Grantley Hall's changed a bit. It was a place for in service training courses when I was a teacher in North Yorkshire. Very nice but the accommodation was v basic.
Evidently not owned by North Yorkshire County Council now!

I don't blame you for wanting to spend Christmas there. Me too.

ParkheadParadise · 19/12/2021 01:04

[quote HollowTalk]@ParkheadParadise where will they all sit? Is this an idea that just got out of hand or are you happy to be cooking for 30 people? How big is your oven?[/quote]
I'm planning to feed the kids first. 10 of them are age 6 and under. The rest will sit with the adults.
Originally it was only my siblings 5 × 2× 5 kids that were coming for dinner. Now, several nieces and nephews, partners and kids are also coming. Our best friends are also coming with their children( why anyone would want to come to my house with so many people is mad) 😄
I know it's going to be carnage but everyone's happy to come.
I have a double oven and microwave 🙈🙈
My sisters will help in the kitchen as will DH.

WorraLiberty · 19/12/2021 01:06

@toomuchlaundry

You don’t always have to feel sorry for the staff, teenage DS has a part-time job at a hotel. He volunteered to work Christmas Day and Boxing Day as he gets triple pay!
Yes and let's not forget, not everyone celebrates Christmas.

It can be a very lucrative time for those who don't.

2pinkginsplease · 19/12/2021 01:17

I went out for dinner once with dh’s family before were married and I hated it, it’s like a conveyer belt for getting served and such a rushed day. I also felt really sorry for the staff so would never go out again.

Both my teens work in hospitality. Ds working Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2-9pm and dd working 1-9.30 on Christmas eve and Christmas day so a shit Christmas day for both of them, dh and i are spending the day home alone, can’t even have a drink as one of us need to pick our youngest up!

Wagamamasforlunch · 19/12/2021 01:40

No, but I really wish we were this year tbh. There will probably be a tense atmosphere due to my siblings who have fallen out (again) and as someone said upthread, people tend to behave better when in public. It would also break up what can feel like a very long day, especially if you are spending it with people who drain you.

Lucky you liking your family OP!

GeorgiaGirl52 · 19/12/2021 02:06

Many of my Jewish friends go out on Christmas Day usually to a Chinese restaurant. It is a tradition with many non-Christian families. Their reason is that there is nothing on TV that day except Christmas specials, nothing open for the kids or families to actually do, and their families will not be visiting. (Obviously no tree and presents either!)

AshLane · 19/12/2021 08:05

[quote campion]@AshLane gosh Grantley Hall's changed a bit. It was a place for in service training courses when I was a teacher in North Yorkshire. Very nice but the accommodation was v basic.
Evidently not owned by North Yorkshire County Council now!

I don't blame you for wanting to spend Christmas there. Me too.[/quote]
@campion - yes, did my teacher training residential there too.

Sold by NYCC - austerity you know!

Now inhabited by the rich and famous...and not so many teachers! 😀😉