To order a takeaway for Christmas dinner when I'm hosting?

[thirteendolphins]

I have 2 DC's - nearly 4yo and 10 months at Christmas. I have invited my parents round for Christmas dinner, MIL, brother and partner and a friend. So 7 adults and 2 kids in total.

DP will be working on Christmas day and won't be home til about 7pm.

To be honest I get stressed out just making a roast dinner, the number of dishes to wash etc freak me out, the kids are going to be hyper, we'll have different guests visiting the boys late morning, the house will be a bomb site. If DP was here he'd make the Christmas dinner because he doesn't mind and is the complete opposite to me when it comes to cooking i.e. he is unflappable.

I, on the other hand, will get completely stressed, will be in the kitchen most of the day cooking and tidying up, will also be trying to keep up with the constant demands from the kids and trying to entertain the guests. I can feel my anxiety levels rising just thinking about it.

So I've thought about getting an Indian takeaway meal instead and providing pudding. My parents do this most Christmas days so I know they won't mind. It just seems so much EASIER. But I LOVE Christmas dinner (when someone else is doing it). I feel like I'm cheating.

But then I think surely the most important thing is that we're all together and I'm enjoying the kids and the guests and it's relaxed. Surely it won't be much fun for the guests if I'm flapping about, bright red and on the edge of tears???

AIBU??

YABU I would be so disappointed if I was your guest, but would not mind helping out in any way at all to make it easier for you. Ask them to help!

They could always come to ours on boxing day instead when we'll be having a proper Christmas dinner when DP is here grin

Yes, suggest that! I genuinely think that's a much better idea. If you do go ahead with your plan then whatever you do don't tell them that you're having a 'proper' Christmas dinner the next day, as then I think they'll feel really cheated!

For the rest of this thread I will be sitting in the corner counting how many people suggest a 'nice quiche'

Mumsnet has so much love for a nice quiche.

If you don't like cooking Xmas dinner , M&S is your friend.

Everything comes in tinfoil dishes so there's very little washing up. Just make a timeline of when everything needs to be chucked in the oven and sit back and relax.

You can prep the majority the day before, even cook some and reheat. It's really not that hard once you work out timings. Just any other meal. You don't have to spend all day in the kitchen if you have everything ready to go. I usually do another roast on Boxing day as well and have family both days. We will be having a quieter one this year but there's still 8 of us (7 I guess as the baby won't be old enough for food other than milk still by then).

OP - no need for a drama. Go to M&S or similar and just buy everything pre- made (inc turkey crown) and throw it all in the oven on the day. No need to be peeling potatoes, parsnips, brussels all morning. It's not cheap, but you'll probably end up with less wasted food. And I'm sure people will help you serve /clear away if you have two babies.

Okay okay. I think I will look into this pre prepared stuff you all talk of.

Am I too late for M&S???

YABU. I would be pretty shocked to be invited for xmas dinner and be given a take away curry. I recommend M&S.

But why did you invite everyone for Christmas dinner if you didn't want the hassle?

I agree.

Yes, re-invite them on Boxing Day and say you want to have a proper Christmas dinner with DP there as well.

Not Indian takeaway! That's not Christmas dinner. M&s get good reviews for their Christmas food, pricier than a takeaway but surely better!

Either you have a takeaway curry or the guests cook as well

Just order everything from M&S. Simple.

I think do what you like, I wish the Indian takeaways where I live we're open on Christmas!

There are lots of ways to easily cook a Christmas dinner though. Last year we had a 6 week old baby and we did meat in the slow cooker and everything else was pre prepped and bought in little baking trays from Aldi. We just shoved it all in and took it out.

I've already said that I invited everyone because I thought DP would be here but now he's working it.

I wouldn't like a take away for Christmas dinner, sorry.
However I would be happy to help out a flustered host.
We often have in-laws and friends over (usually between 14-18 plus the 6 of us) on Christmas Eve. The day before PIL come round to help peel the veg. If my friends are here they help with washing up.
I make the gravy base at the beginning of the month and freeze it, same with pigs in blankets, stuffing, cauliflower cheese and pudding.

On Christmas Day we usually have my family round. If they are here my sister and her partner bring the starter, my Mum makes the pudding and my Dad does the washing up.

I think op, maybe you have a different view to others as you are used to having.a takeaway for Xmas dinner as that's what your mum did, for many of us a takeaway is something uou do on a sat night.

So maybe different perspectives.

Go for the pre-prepared stuff, I'm sure you're not too late.
And write a timeline so you can pop each dish in the oven at the correct time. That will reduce stress even further as you won't have to read the packet a million times trying to remember which one takes 30 mins and which one 40.
Good luck

There are plenty of ways of minimising the stress of doing a roast on Christmas day. We prep everything in advance and simply cook on the day and I get help dishing up and then washing up.

It would be worth investigating.

No of course you're not too late for M&S. Just go a few days before. Maybe you can pre-order it all and get it delivered if you're worried.

There are lots of places from which you can order "Christmas dinner in a box" for 8 people, for example:

www.riverford.co.uk/shop/christmas/dinner-boxes?tldr=tldr

Or go with everyone bringing a component and you basically just do the turkey, perhaps online order pre made mince pies as well.

I'd be more than happy with a take away personally, and I can certainly see why you don't want the hassle and don't want Christmas dinner two days in a a row, but I think if you actually invite people over for Christmas dinner you're meant to give them Christmas dinner

I agree, pre-prepared is the way to go. Then on Christmaa Eve, get the kitchen surfaces totally decluttered to give yourself plenty of working space as you take things in and out of the oven, get the crockery and glasses ready and work out a little timetable for it all. I rest the turkey on a platter sitting on towels on the draining board, covered in foil and more towels to keep warm, then the oven is free for all the other bits.

I would be actually quite annoyed to be invited for Christmas dinner and presented with takeaway

Buy all the m and s stuff (not to late until 4pm Christmas Eve). Your prep then becomes reading all the cooking times and working backwards from serving o'clock. If you get a turkey with bones rather than a crown, it'll hold the heat well enough to rest for a good half hour before serving during which time you crank the oven temp up to max and put the stuffing / roast pots in etc. Provided you work out the maths on the timing and write it out in a way that even a very drunk person can interpret, you'll be fine. Christmas pud can go in the microwave. Guests will help clear up - don't be afraid to issue small jobs around the place.

x-posted - yes to Riverford, everything delivered on Christmas Eve, no delivery charge and you don't have to wait in, they leave it outside.