Christmas Eve meal

[littlemousebigcheese]

Please help. DHs family are staying with us over Christmas, arriving Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is obviously sorted but I've agreed to make dinner Christmas eve and have no idea what to make. His father won't eat onions, mushrooms, peppers or fish. His sister wont eat red meat, his niece won't eat anything that isn't a chicken nugget. I've got no clue! Take away would be ideal but we live in the arse end of nowhere and none will be open. I've suggested jacket potatoes and a 'toppings bar' but that's been shut down, no one will eat a lasagne which is my other go to for big groups!
I was thinking buffet with nice nibbles but we're doing that Christmas Day and Boxing Day so that's out too!
Any ideas?!

I think go with something that can be made in advance. Have they said what the issue is with your suggestions?

Sausage casserole and mash (basically sausage, mash and onion gravy but simpler as you do sausages and gravy together)

Chicken fajitas - make a load of lightly spiced chicken, salad, grated cheese, salsa etc and people can add what they like.

Pulled pork, Rolls and salad. Sweet potato fries if you need extra carbs.

chicken and chorizo pasta. I get those little bits of chorizo, fry with chicken and add onion, garlic. Add smoked paprika, tinned toms and cream cheese. Stir through pasta and serve with grated Parmesan and salad.

Buy a few nice ready made curry or Chinese dishes from M&S or Waitrose plus sides (or a couple of those big mixed boxes).

chicken tikka masala in the slow cooker with rice, some supermarket bhajis and samosas and naan.

bung some chopped chicken in the slow cooker with some supermarket Chinese type sauce - black bean or similar, cook for a few hours, add veg 15 mins from the end and serve with rice or noodles, bought spring rolls and prawn crackers.

I always do a shepherd’s pie on Christmas Eve - you could always just not put onions in it?

For fussy buggers like this lot I'd do a load of pizza, obviously with side helping of chicken nuggets. I just wouldn't be trying to fit around that list of requirements, just get a load of nice fresh pizza from Lidl and bung them in the oven, slice them up and everyone help themselves. If I felt generous I'd buy a few bags of salad.

Are you too far from a KFC? We like the Japanese tradition (where the Japanese think it's a British thing) of KFC on Xmas Eve.
In our version, we pile in the car, go and get it and park by the sea with a film we've downloaded from Netflix on the tablet and munch in the car.

The other option (we also do this) is go to M&S at 3.30pm on Christmas Eve and raid it for all the cheap stuff. Once again we all pile in the car and do a supermarket sweep. In your version you could let everyone loose to get their favourite and it has to have a yellow label on it. Anyone who gets something that
requires cooking must then do that themselves. Them are the rules. Remember you can apply any old Xmas eve rules, they don't need to know 2024 is the first year of the tradition!

How many people will there be in total? Pasta/pizza a pain if loads of people.

Oh, I would suggest not bothering missing out onions for flavour if doing a pie, curry or casserole (unless allergic of course). Just cook them first, then then blend in a bit of stock. The onions won't be noticeable in themselves but will make the savoury base. Had a fussy ex I did this with. He never noticed.

@OSU I love a last knockings Christmas raid! 1 year, tescos had an entire pallet of brussel spouts left, and each packet was 1p!!!

Another year, there was a single, lonely looking turkey left and discounted to $5.

I do big gammon, stuffing bread rolls salad etc. This year doing that plus dominoes for whoever wants it

I would sugget that as you are cooking Christmas dinner maybe can bring food for Christmas Eve.

Other than that, a traybake or one pot meal will have to do them. I might stretch to chicken & chips but no more than that.

Chicken and chips in a basket. 😕

What bargains!!

We always have Waitrose Curry on paper plates on Christmas Eve. Each person chooses their 'dish' I cook up rice, poppodums etc and we pile it all on the table. Then everything gets thrown away or recycled; there's plenty of cooking to be done on Christmas Day so we take it easy on the 24th.

I think the jacket potato idea is a good one as well!

We always have a picky tea for christmas eve.

Jacket potatoes, huge bowl of salad, selection of meats and cheeses, sausage rolls, other salady bits and condiments and some part baked rolls
Then a trifle or other desert. This works for all our dietary requirements as everyone can eat jacket potatoes and then they just choose what to have with it.

Also easy to prepare and keep if you're waiting for people to turn up.

We always have macaroni cheese and salad for Christmas Eve supper. I make it with crayfish and a tomato/ cheese/ breadcrumb topping, but macaroni cheese is so adaptable you can tweak it how you want.

Turkey mince chilli con carne. No peppers or mushrooms and use onion powder.

Serve with wraps, guac, sour cream and rice.

Bung some nuggets in the over for the kid.

We coke a ham in the slow cooker and have it with mash and pickles.

How about a pot luck dinner and get them all to bring a dish? Failing that cook what you want and if they don't eat it tough, if they are hungry they can make up for it christmas day.

Fuck that shit.

They've refused your suggestion of baked potatoes so now it's their turn to think of something and bring it with them.

But ready made pizza or lasagne, salad and garlic bread is probably a good suggestion.

I'd either do a pasta bake (and add garlic, herbs or chilli), macaroni cheese or it'd be pizza, salad and coleslaw for everyone, but that's because I'd be more than happy with it.

You could just mention that that's what you're doing (or if you really want something you prefer) cook it, and if anyone wants to add anything they really fancy alongside, they're welcome to bring. If DH doesn't like the idea, up to him to come up with an option.

Just tell your husband to sort out his fussy awkward family. Problem sorted 😀

Assuming these are your guests’ preferences rather than allergies, I’d stick with your idea of jackets and a choice of toppings and salad. Bung a few chicken nuggets in the oven too.

Only just realised you mentioned jacket potatoes which I'd enjoy. Tell them that's what you're doing and if anyone really fancies anything else, please bring.

Fish and chip run I say

Do a Jacob's join? They each fetch something they would like to eat, either pre made in a slow cooker or they would be willing to cook themselves. There's only so much you can do, you've got to think of your mental health, if you're doing buffets the next two days then it's not unreasonable to ask someone else to cook when they shoot down your suggestions.

I'd be thrilled to see a load of jacket potatoes, cheese, coleslaw, salad, veggie sausage rolls and some quiches. They're just being dicks if they say they won't eat this. You could do nuggets and crudités for the child.

How about e-mailing the fussy eaters & asking for suggestions for dinner that don't involve all the normal foodstuffs that you've listed?

Or you could feed the fusspots & the child chicken nuggets, while the rest of you have something with onions, red meat etc 😀