I’m 46 and I’ve never made a Christmas dinner

[nevercooked]

And I don’t know where to start.

Just me? Anyone?

Whst joint of meat are you planning on cooking

Turkey - I don’t actually like it much but I am vetoed!

I'm 65 and have never made one (husband always cooks), and I've no intention of starting now. Try looking at Jamie Oliver's recipes, he usually makes it look good but yet easy to do. Or - just eat what you fancy having.

From experience, I can say, you won't be short of instructions. Every form of media will be publishing a detailed, timed, countdown for a Xmas dinner round about now. Take your pick.

Time management is just as, if not more, important as culinary skill.

If you've cooked a roast dinner...it's the same.

I haven’t

Nor have I and I'm 52. DH does all the cooking in this house. I mean, I can cook perfectly well, but he's much more into it.

It's just like a traditional Sunday dinner , but more hype.

I actually do the cooking at home, but roasts have evaded me.

Yes … the problem is I’ve never made one of those either!

Don’t start.
let someone else do it 🤣

Have a look at Jamie Oliver as previous posters have suggested. There are loads of recipes/ guides on YouTube or the good food website. Is it a whole bird or just the crown

Don't make it too complicated.

Don't bother with the Jamie Oliver gravy, it's hours of work for something you can create with the turkey juices, some white wine and seasoning in the tray once you've finished cooking.

Do as much in advance as possible such as make the potatoes and freeze them then re cook from frozen.

I cook a turkey upside down, stays juicier. But we never put it on the table whole, I strip it and put on serving platters first.

Good luck. I've done 16 Xmas dinners in a row. Three years ago we swapped to beef filet with m&s chips. My life is infinitely better now that Xmas dinner doesn't consume me.

How many are you cooking for?

It's really not difficult. Just work out what needs to go in the oven and when.
And cheat and cut corners where you can.

Neither have I, they're shit.

I'm with this - if you've never done a standard roast dinner, then a full-on Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings is not the place to start.

either get someone else to cook it, or do something that you are confident you can cook..

I find making a roast dinner one of the easiest dinners ever! So if you're an average cook, shouldn't be a problem.

Outsource it.

Get aunt Bessie's potatoes, veggies etc, turkey crown that's been prepped (usually I'm a cardboard box) and follow the instructions in the packets.

The actual cooking is quite straightforward - the main trick is to have a written plan of when everything needs to go on to all being ready at the same time.

Don't forget a turkey will be more moist for being taken out of the oven and hour before you want to serve it to rest. This also gives you more flexibility over when your trimmings need to be done.

Write a list of all the things you want to cook. Work cooking timings backwards from when you want to serve. Remember the turkey can rest under foil/ tea towel for a good hour to free up oven space.

Prep as much as possible the day before- par boil potatoes, make pigs in blankets, chopped everything for stuffing. Or even cook it- like braised spiced red cabbage, the cauliflower cheese can be half done ready for the oven. Dress and prep turkey the day before. Cold starter or just soup to take the pressure off

It's pretty easy, plan ahead and you won't need more than an hour altogether in the kitchen on xmas day. Cheat if you are worried- buy ready made gravy and sauces.

I probably did my first when I was 12, it's not that hard, start basic just add some good flavours to everything.

I prefer Delia Smith, she's tried and tested!

Prep all veggies night before
Get a list of times - how long will turkey take to cook? Will I have room for roasties, parsnips, stuffing, pigs in blankets? If not cook turkey first then do the rest together.

workout how long each veg takes and put on accordingly.

Buy. Pigs in blankets, stuffing (m n s is amazing), roasties if you want to and gravy.

It’s just putting stuff in and taking it out of the oven at the the correct times. It’s not really cooking, more moving stuff about.
I like Nigellas time table but really you just need sit with a pen and paper and all the packets in front of you and work backwards from when you want to serve it.
Turkey can come out and rest under foil for as long as you want whilst you cook the other stuff.
The roast potatoes must be freshly served and hot, ditto gravy.
Don’t go too mental on the sides for this year.
Good luck!

I write a time line working backwards from when we want to eat.

A really useful thing to know is that M&S and many other reputable supermarkets can provide any side that you might want. I buy gravy as we go through a lot. And it's a faff to make while the kitchen is full of pissed people popping champagne and I'm not very good at gravy.

I make my own roasties as they are v good - practice them if you haven't done them before.

The other really useful thing to know is that the turkey, once cooked needs to rest for at least 40 minutes and can easily rest and stay warm for 2 hours or more if you put a bit of foil on and a tea towel. So cook it - take it out and let it sit there while you do everything else.

Buy a meat thermometer and a turkey baster.

But in reality for the last 5 years DH has done Christmas dinner.

A roast dinner is tricky at first, and that's easy to forget once you've made a few. Having to try one for the first time in such a pressured environment isn't fun, and no way to spend your Christmas.

I agree to simplify as much as you can, like @fanaticalfairy says. Easy cook or ready-made versions wherever you can, including gravy. There's very good versions of most things if your guests are likely to be picky. Cook does a great Christmas lunch for reheating.