What can I do to make Christmas day more easier ?

[mytoiletbrush]

We host Christmas day. Its me, DH, x3DC, my parents & inlaws.

We have dinner then sit around chatting all eve with drinks. By the time its the evening I sit looking at the mess of the house and thinking how much work it will be to tidy up, having already loaded/unloaded the dishwasher several times during the day and laid/cleared the table, kept drinks topped up, snacks replenished, manually washed up as we have ran out of glasses & plates & cutlery etc between courses and throughout the day. Dh cooks the whole meal (his choice and contribution) but he makes so much mess. Boxing day morning I then spend clearing up the second half of Christmas day which includes a full floor wash, more loading/unloading the dishwasher, full tidy up, trying to fit the food leftovers into the fridge, kitchen wipe down and clean. Its exhausting.

I wouldn't ask the parents to help, they have spent their life catering for us/doing Christmas over the years Its their time to relax.

Going out for dinner is not an option.

Easier or more easy. No quotation marks & two full stops. And how on earth can you tell if I was smug through reading my post?!

Another vote here for paper plates in the evening for your buffet with some paper napkins. I did it once, game changer

Disposable baking trays
Prepare everything ahead
Wash up as you go

Best advice, don't make a huge roast dinner! Massive waste of energy and time which could be spent relaxing. Although, that is a hugely unpopular opinion at Xmas. 😆

ShoopShoopShoopShoop
Easier or more easy. No quotation marks & two full stops. And how on earth can you tell if I was smug through reading my post?!

I try really hard not to have leftovers so I buy less and prepare less
EVERYThing goes in the dishwasher which runs at least 4 times
I ask someone for do the table and expect children to pitch in

Because you felt the need to post a 'correction' to the OP, despite it being incredibly obvious what she meant, nobody had any issues understanding her. So it really didn't matter or needed correcting.

It comes across smug and superior that's all, and it contributed nothing helpful to the conversation. 🤷‍♀️

You forgot the full stop after "There you go".

It's annoying isn't it? You know, when someone picks you up on every little thing. Even though we all knew exactly what you meant...

Have to agree with @ShoopShoopShoopShoop here.

It is really rude to pick up on grammar or spelling or phrasing when it is obvious what the OP meant, but if you want to be 'that person' then you should, at least be above reproach yourself.

Of course the meaning of the title was obvious - that’s not the point.
DM was an English teacher so I do sometimes find myself correcting stuff like this. I don’t correct spellings because the person posting could be dyslexic ( I have a family member who is). Certainly had no intention of being rude, smug or superior. Apologies.

ShoopShoopShoopShoop the full stop was at the end of your username, which at this point I am heartily wishing was a short one 🤣

Get everyone to help!

Do the veg Xmas eve, with everyone helping. Xmas day everyone helps. Noone goes home until done 😄

@mytoiletbrush

Could you make things a little easier for yourself by booking a supermarket food delivery, including as many easy to prepare items as possible?

That would save you having to go to the shops to get everything.

I'd cook everything as much as possible in tin foil trays so when the food is cooked they'd go straight in the bin and not added to the washing up pile . Same with side plates , serving platters id get pretty Christmas designed paper plates and then chuck out . I'd draw the line at plastic cutlery though .
It's only one day and you should be able to enjoy it aswell rather than being a slave to the endless rounds of washing up

I'm on my own this year but in years past I cooked or prepared as much as possible before Christmas Day.

The day before: Made the stuffing, cooked the swede and mashed it, cooked the potatoes and put into the tin ready for roasting, prepared all the vegetables. Laid the table.

Never had too much to do the next day which gave me more time to enjoy a glass of wine without racing in and out of the kitchen.

Oh, and wash up as you go along helps too. 😃

So he gets to do what he enjoys, creating a ridiculous amount of mess in the process, and you get to be Cinderella? Um, that'd be a no from me! I'll bet he wouldn't cook like that if he knew he'd have to clean it up. If you were my sister I'd be telling him I'm really disappointed in how he treats you. Aren't YOU pissed off with him? He gets all the fun and glory, you get all the mess. I'd be very, very cross if I were you. Does he sit back and watch you run around cleaning, knowing you've been working while he was cooking too?

I'm stunned that your parents and in-laws don't offer to wash up/chop veg etc.

DC1 please would empty and fill the dishwasher?
DC2 your turn to empty and fill this time please.
DC3 last round of dishwasher needs doing, would you mind?
Everyone, please help yourself to tea, coffee, drinks in fridge and snacks. Don't wait to be asked!

Prep the day before. As others have said, foil trays. Sink full of hot soapy water, when starter plates and cutlery come in, a quick dunk to get the residue off and then into the dishwasher on a quick wash. Do the same when the main course plates and cutlery is finished wish and the same with dessert. Just keep going. It doesn’t take too much effort. Lower standards on Boxing Day. The floor will be there on 27th.

This.

tbh my main issue is with DH. He loves to cook. But the mess. The amount of utensils/dishes/pans he uses, he gets SO flustered but still insists on doing it all and making it all from scratch. Sigh. He will hand me something out of the fridge and tell me to 'do something with it' (literally his words). This means he has filled the fridge with his cooking and there is no room for whatever he has handed to me to. Not sure what he expects me to do with it. I have also known him to throw away 2/4 pints of milk etc as there is no room in the fridge.

and to top it all off, he says he will only eat his own cooking and no one else's (excluding going out)

I don't ask in laws or parents to help out as I want it the day to be relaxing for them, they are getting elderly now.

Christmas day for me is being on edge over xmas gifts (a whole other thread), handing out drinks/keeping everyone topped up (DH is quite instant on this, this makes him sound controlling which he isn't, he just desperately tries to be the ultimate perfect host), keeping everyone out of the kitchen as DH gets SO flustered with the cooking anyway and then people asking him questions takes him over the limit And tidying up ALL the mess, of which there is a hell of a lot DRAINING

Never hosted in my life.
Haven't missed out on anything.

It sounds as though you r DH needs to learn that 'hosting' isn't just the showy stuff like loads of home-cooked food and lots of drink and presents - it's keeping the household running at the same time. So many men want all the praise for stuff while ignoring the fact that someone behind the scenes is having to clean and tidy and keep the wheels going round.

But, having had one of these, I'm damned if I know how you stop them doing all the 'show off' stuff and trashing the place.

Knock the stupid brainwashing on the head and don't be a sheep.