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??

bet you dh volunteered to work on Christmas day, knowing his would be a bloody nightmare

check with your guests, I would rather stay home, have the normal dinner and visit you another time

also cant people HELP you a bit here

What's with some of the snotty comments and humphy faces?

The OP asked for opinions and has decided what she's probably going to do, she isn't suggesting serving up dog shit on plastic plates to her in laws.

Also the ability to serve up a roast without breaking into a sweat is NOT the measure of a person

I'll echo what everyone else is saying. Order your Christmas dinner from one of the supermarkets or Cook and your only issue will be working out timings on your microwave.

My preference is M&S, but most of the choice Christmas pick up slots will now be gone. However you can still check what dates you can get and if that's not a possibility then all the other supermarkets offer delivery, or you could just buy as much as you can frozen in advance - turkey, sausages, stuffing, roasties and then make a quick dash into the store to get the prepared veg and gravy a couple of days before the advance.

If people want to get stuffy about roast potatoes not being home made etc. I'd point out that if you go to a restaurant or pub on Christmas day you'll pay about £50 per head for the meal and probably end up with a pre-plated microwaved job, so this is much better than that.

To be honest it's one meal and in my mind I actually find it easier than a lot of meals to prepare - at least you don't have to fanny about thinking about what to make.

I'd go for the Christmas dinner, get your guests to entertain your DCs and try to relax about the whole thing.

Are Indian Takeaways generally open on Christmas Day? I had no idea? Do the children eat takeaway?

Honestly if I was told that Christmas dinner would be an Indian takeaway I would offer to host instead or I would eat a Christmas Dinner at home and only come to you for a bit.

If I was you I would practise doing Roast Dinners between now and then, the most effort is peeling veg and you can buy pre prepared. You can buy everything ready to go into the oven or microwave, even Asda, Tesco etc not just M&S.

If you order from M&S online within the next 5 days and spend £80.00 you get a free bottle of plonk!
christmasfood.marksandspencer.com/l/mains/all-mains

Really difficult to choose from, though, I think, it looks a lovely selection!

"remember that time we were invited to thirteendolphins for Christmas dinner and we had to bring our OWN food and WASH the dishes after?!"

I would think that it's preferable to the one where everyone asks 'do you remember when we were invited to thirteendolphins for Christmas dinner and we had a takeaway!'

I think it's generally accepted that when people come for Christmas dinner they will bring something; nibbles/dessert/starter and be prepared to help.

I enjoy an Indian takeaway but I'd be sorely disappointed to be given one on Christmas day.

Buy everything prepared, use foil dishes, buy good quality disposable crockery and cutlery. Get the people coming to help you. It needn't be too much work.

Your invited guests are quite naturally expected a traditional Christmas dinner. Tell them now you are just going to get a takeaway instead. Then sit back and watch your guest list disappear. But hey, you got your wish.

expecting

Why don't you have a takeaway for Christmas dinner then have traditional turkey roast for Boxing Day dinner that you & your husband can cook together?

I wouldn't bother buying disposable crockery and cutlery, but disposable foil trays for roasting are a good idea. 'Good quality disposable crockery and cutlery' will probably cost more than real stuff in somewhere like Ikea. The guests will probably offer to wash up, and if they don't they should be asked to.

Some takeaways open Christmas Day, some don't. We have a Chinese buffet near us that opens on Christmas Day and also areas of the city where a significant proportion of the population are Muslims and the shops and takeaways that they run are open as normal.

I'm biased as I have ibs and curry would kill me! I love cooking but our ndn hates it and our local farm shop does a pre made local ingredients Christmas dinner all set in a foil tray with oven instructions and an individual carton of gravy for each one and they were surprisingly reasonable wouldn't cost more than takeaway and you would get your Christmas dinner if somewhere nearby did this?

Love all the outraged posts from people who've not bothered to RTFT.

OP, you're doing Christmas Day on Boxing Day - explain to the guests that your DP now has to work so the invite has moved to Boxing Day. Simple. It's only a day...

I'd be very disappointed too. Christmas dinner is only once a year, after all.
I know others may well like a change, though.

It really doesn't have to be a massive chore, esp. if you buy ready made or do lots of the prep beforehand. Or get guests to bring ready prepared this or that - it's perfectly reasonable to ask when you've got very little ones.

The way not to be in a flustered panic on the day is to work backwards from the time you actually want dinner on the table. So, turkey needs to be ready at least half an hour before that to rest - it will keep hot even for an hour if wrapped in foil with a couple of tea towels on top. This gives you plenty of un-rushed time to cook veg etc.
And write all the timings down, and stick it on the front of the fridge.
So, turkey on table at x o'clock,
So out of oven at Y o'clock
So it goes in the oven at z o'clock
So switch oven on at w o'clock.

Potatoes in oven at A o'clock
So, on to parboil at B o'clock
Etc.
And set a kitchen timer to remind you.

And get guests to help with whatever they can - laying the table, washing up - most people honestly won't expect you to slave away all on your own.

Tbf the Op doesnt want indian take away on Christmas day she just is paniking about the stress of cooking turkey

YABVU. The right thing to do is to pull out of hosting. People do not generally want or expect a curry for Christmas dinner. It would spoil my day

I think if you've a lot on your plate it js fine to pull out especially if you do it soon. But serving a takeaway is not on! Sorry!

But if you don't cook a Christmas dinner then where are the left overs for Boxing Day lunch? The cold Turkey, sliced ham, little sausages, stuffing, honestly, the baked potatoes and salad won't be the same without them........

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

Then there's really no problem, is there

I feel like I'm cheating

Your parents surely won't, since they do Xmas takeaways themselves?

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

Yes. Your family aren't coming round to watch you cook and be stressed about it.

Much as I like Christmas dinner not sure I would like 2 in 2 days which would appear to be the case here as OP is planning to have one on Boxing Day when DP is home.

Circumstances have changed since the initial invites were made. I would let guests know that traditional Christmas dinner is going to be on Boxing Day if they want to swap. Then I would probably do something like a casserole with jacket potatoes on Christmas Day. You could make the casserole the day before so you would not be stuck in the kitchen on Christmas Day.

If I was invited somewhere for Christmas and was offered takeaway I might be surprised but would not flounce off in a huff, which some people seem to be suggesting they would do.

It appears that some of the guests going do not pitch in to help, which when there are a large number of people coming, is rude especially when OP is now hosting alone and with young children. If they don't help in any way I don't really think they can complain as long as they get a dinner, whether that is turkey or something else.

My DH is more than capable of cooking a traditional Xmas dinner (and has done many times in the past) but we have 3 DCs and decided 2 years ago that we didn't want one of us in the kitchen for half the day. So we now get an Indian takeaway on Xmas Eve (minus rice) and reheat it on Xmas Day and cook some rice. We usually have it in the evening & do a party food buffet lunch for everyone. Far less hassle all round and the kids love the buffet lunch.

We got tire of always spending Xmas day in the kitchen so we moved Xmas lunch to Boxing Day one year (think I got the idea from MN somewhere) and have not looked back since. We have a hot breakfast which lasts us a while, put out a cold collation, and together with a snack of avocado/vinaigrette a bit later and plenty of booze (essential!) we have a fine time.

It also means we can share Xmas lunch with friends as they're more likely to be free on Boxing day. We'd do it Xmas eve, but that's when we do the tree.

I like the idea of prepping as much as poss and freezing before hand to just bung in the oven/ping. Will have a look online at m&s online and also see what's available in other shops that can be put in the freezer.

You can prep everything in advance. Last year ours was a turkey crown from Waitrose, already sealed in a bag for the oven. Prepped the veg the night before and bought in pre-made Yorkshire puddings etc that I could simply pop in the oven.

Laid the table, gravy in packs waiting to be heated, Christmas pud ready for the microwave, pre made vanilla custard ready to be heated. It was quite simple really. Just a bit of organisation and it worked.

When I work I do the turkey the night before so it's just needs reheating and buy all ready cut veg and ready made stuffing and gravy.

Also use disposable as much as I can.