To not do a Christmas dinner this year ?

[mamatomany]

We have a big roast most Sundays on beef and the trimmings, that's the only meat i like so i don't bother with a turkey anyway.
My MIL always makes a big fussy about how she'll pay for ALL the food and drink and then gives us £50 to cover three adults and three kids, ie about a third of what it actually costs lol.
To be fair DH does a lot of the cooking on the day but we will have a 6 month old baby this year, all the usual commitments, Church, school stuff etc by the time the actual day comes around I like the idea of bunging a couple of pizzas in the oven and then having a nice cheese cake for pudding.
What do you think, will the world stop turning if I bow out ?
The alternative is to eat out but that will cost over £200 and MIL thinks she will be paying for it, but her contribution doesn't and I haven't the heart to ask.

Why not have Christmas Day without anyone else, just you and DH and the baby? Then you can do whatever you like.

I understand why it is tempting to you as I sometimes feel the same - I have told DH I am NOT doing Christmas here this year, for the first time in ten years .

But I would be worried in your situation that I wouldn't feel very christmassy with pizzas and cheesecake.

TA All hell broke loose on Christmas eve last year between DH and I, as a result MIL got her Christmas dinner sent over on a plate to microwave the next day which I felt really bad about in amongst all the nonsense that she was on her own. The truth is though I don't think she actually enjoys being in a house with 4 children and not having the run of the TV so I might ask her what she wants to do.

Even snacks or a buffet would be nice sandyballs I just want everything to be relaxed really I think.

I am seriously considering doing christmas dinner on christmas eve this year. I'm fed up with christmas day being taken up by cooking i would like for me and dp to just be able to chill and enjoy the day with the dcs.

The dcs dont want to stop playing withthere toys to sit down and eat a big meal anyway. Dp only get 3 days off for xmas this year, so it will be nice to just soend fun time together and eat buffet type stuff through out the day washed down with alcohol lol.

If you do decide to go for the full xmas dinner a great way to achieve it whilst spending very little time in the kitchen is good old M&S! Budget permitting of course.

We have had a buffet for Christmas dinner for the last 3 years and everyone (ds's, in-laws, parents and us) prefer it. People can pick as they choose to, the kids love having a 'party' tea and nobody is stuck cooking and clearing while the others veg out. It works well for us.

Usually I cook for everyone (my family plus MIL) and feel a bit descended upon. Spend most of Christmas day cooking and clearing up. This year I am just cooking for me,DH and the DCs. Everyone else can eat in their own houses. Have yet to tell MIl, but don't want her and her new man ensconced in my house all day.

Anyway, my point is that it is your christmas too and sometimes you should have what you want. Tell your MIL in advance, so if she is not happy she has plenty of time to make her own arrangements. Christmas should be fun, and it isn't if you spend all day cooking food that you don't even like!

I do all the veg prep the night before

-peel potatoes and par boil them
-chop up carrots and store in water
-make mashed swede
-cut up pasrnips
-make red cabbage, store in fridge
-make pigs in blankets and stuffing
-do sprouts and par boil
-do the brine method for turkey

Then on the day no prep.

Think you can do a dinner for £50 if you don't spend a fortine on organic turkey (which I don't, frankly, I just buy one for £30 from Sainsbos)

I'm sick of cooking for everyone and their fucking dog. My mum is by herself so I feel I have to invite her over for christmas dinner,same with MIL. I've said that we are off to the pub for dinner this year and whoever wants to join us is welcome.

Mind you I love all the christmas cooking stuff- I get royally pissed on amaretto doing all the prep in Christmas eve with music on full blast.

Hmm....I'm still invited to Mums house as she likes doing it herself...we did it at sis's once and it was beyond awful...she lives in a shack cottage in the country and we all froze...hairy dogs all over the place, miserable BIL and the kids wanted to be at home in centrally heated house with their pressies.

This year we're ging to Mums and helping her early....I think your Pizza idea sounds cool myself....just get lot's of nice festive snacky things.

I'm with Getorf but I also cook the turkey the night before and reheat in gravy < mind you I also bone it out and stuff it with a joint of gammon and sausage meat stuffing>
And on the day I have very little to do .

Also reheat Christmas pudding in slow cooker ...frees up hob space and no steam. Make a lid from foil and start off in hot water about 3 hours before you eat.

I agree with GetOrf - peeling everything in advance is an important part of Christmas Eve :)

I have only ever done the traditional christmas meal once. The oven died, the drains started to overflow-it was a disaster. Took that as a sign and reverted to festive lasagne (or whatever we fancy). Our family visitors know the deal and still come. With crackers, decorations etc. it still feels like Christmas.

I love Trumpton's top trumps re boning her turkey and stuffing it with a joing of gammon.

If I tried to bone a turkey after consuming a whole saucepan full of mulled wine with amaretto chasers I would probably end up in A&E!

After all my christmas dinner prep I then go and wrap all the presents. They tend to look like they have been wrapped by a blind man.

I love my christmas rituals.

I am not cooking christmas dinner this year either, ds has food intolerances to wheat and gluten as their is only the two of us i dont see why i should spent hours cooking, so instead we will either just have a buffet of random different things or homemade pizza, so no i dont think you are unreasonable

Mind you, OP, I never cook roast dinner in the normal run of things, so Christmas dinner is the only one I cook all year.

If you have a roast dinner every week can see the point of having something different on christmas day.

If you don't want a turkey & trimmings (and I totally understand why) how about a ham on the bone? Still traditional & it can even be prepared the day before & had cold, or cooked the day before & then glazed & baked on Xmas day.
Serve with mash or roast potatoes, glazed carrots & some greens, buy in the puddings, get in some nice cheese & crackers & fruit for snacks.
It doesn't have to be turkey does it?

No £50 at M&S doesn't cover the Christmas meal never mind all the nibbles and alcohol.
Seriously last year we were very careful and everything came from Tesco's, not very exciting and still came to over £100.

I prep the veg the night before, so not a lot to do on christmas day itself. Or DH does it whilst I wrap the pressies.

I make my stuffings weeks in advance and freeze them, same with the sausages in bacon.

The turkey gets cooked overnight too.

Always buy christmas pud, a few minutes in the microwave takes care of that.

Many years ago I used to go totally over the top, but in reality it's only a posh sunday lunch, no need for it to take up the whole day if you don't want it to. It's really the leftovers that make it christmas for me.

I think it's the trimmings as much as the turkey I object to Mojo, you either do it yourself within budget or buy it all ready made and costs a fortune.
I am going to be scrooge himself this year !

I'm doing christmas dinner myself for first time this year for aleast 8 people and I'm really looking forward to it.

However, I wont be doing it every year, and I'm sure I'll bully rope someone else into doing the washing up. Can imagine doing it every year especially for people who might be very picky (my gran's friend used to cook 2 christmas dinners- one with turkey and all the trimmings, and one for some very fussy vegetarians) or people you don't like, would be really crap.

We don't have Christmas dinner on Christmas day either.

We have our meal on Christmas Eve instead. Then on Christmas Day we have brunch and then a picky tea later on.

We tried it for the first time 2 years ago and explained to the in-laws what we were doing. They were happy to go along with it. And said that they loved the relaxed Christmas Day. Dd was happy as well as she got to eat what she liked on Christmas Day without getting any grief about not eating any of the main dinner.

Worked out a lot cheaper as well as I only pay for the roast for us and then a few extra bits for Christmas day.

I would do what you fancy. I can't see why you have to have a roast on Christmas day.If you tell your MIL now she will have time to get used to the idea. just work on the basis it will be more relaxing for everyone.