Is my Christmas dinner unreasonable?

[shivermytimbers]

I have just done a big chunk of the Xmas food shop today. I'll be cooking for 10 including PILs who haven't had Xmas lunch with us before. I luuurve Christmas dinner and all the leftovers so tend to make a bit of a feast. DH has happily tucked into said feast for many years. I'm doing...
Smoked salmon starter
Turkey
Pigs in blankets
Stuffing
Roasties
Parsnips
Sprouts with bacon
Red cabbage
Gravy
Christmas pudding with brandy butter and cream

Apparently, according to DH, PILs will not be happy because 1) pigs in blankets are a bit common 2) sprouts shouldn't have bacon anywhere near them 3) starters are unnecessary 4) it really is too much food to be able to enjoy it.

My response was that I've bought the food, I will cook the food and if they don't eat it I will happily consume the leftovers. Therefore - tough bloody luck if they don't like it!!!

I know I'm right... aren't I???

We have 2 starters. Soup. And then melon or pate. Then main. Then pudding. Then mints.

If there one thing I've learnt in over 30 years of cooking Christmas dinner, or any roast, it's always do twice as many roast potatoes and twice as much stuffing as you think you will need!

Where's the problem? More salmon and pigs for you 😋😋😋 Honestly though, your meal plan sounds like perfection 😏 I have a very adventurous cooking daft dh who customarily serves up home made sushi or pork taquitos for festive food. No complaints, it's always very delicious, but I occasionally dream of a traditional Christmas nosh up like yours.....

Best announce at the beginning of xmas dinner...well I've enjoyed cooking for you all (for free ) and I'm delighted that we'll be coming to yours for the next 9 years( you judgy freeloaders I hope dinner chokes you) dh. Thinks it will be great fun and we're all looking forward to it( big generous smile) #jjustsaying.
FWIW I am a freeloading relative that rarely cooks xmas dinner( our location is difficult for family members) we buy the wine and cheese and I would never ever critisize a meal cooked for me.

When did they start being called pigs in blankets? For so,long they were just bacon wrapped sausages.

I have a Good Housekeeping cookery book published 1970 and its 'family Christmas' section (my bible when I was new to cooking Christmas dinner) has bacon wrapped sausages on the menu.
Did some celebrity chef think it up? A lot more snappy than the other term, anyway.
Anyone who thinks they're 'common' must be a pretentious twat of the first order.

I have no idea when pigs became an actual thing. When I was little and even not so little they went bareback

Pigs in blankets in the US, where I think the term originated, are wrapped in pastry, not bacon, so it makes even less sense!

I used to be an enormous pig but my appetite has got less recently. I used to be able to eat as many roast potatoes as I was offered (6+ over two helpings easily) but now I reckon 4 is my limit for a plainer roast, and 2/3 now for Christmas dinner. My roast potato peak is passed!

Sod them, I'll come round for Christmas dinner, sounds just like what we have!
We've stopped inviting DH family for anything - they don't like the food we serve. They especially don't come round for Christmas dinner due to the fact we have venison - they don't like eating Bambie! MIL brought her own Turkey one year.

This came up in my Facebook feed. Enjoy!

Storm in a mulled wine cup .
Leave off the things they don't like or let everyone serve themselves that way portion size is no issue .
Do the smoked salmon as canopes which you offer from a tray before sitting for dinner ....

There are two of us for Christmas lunch but my DD and partner will/may be turning up in the morning and their lunch is going to be around dinner time apparantly. So, thanks to pinching the idea from MN, I will be setting out a running buffet of non vegetarian friendly canapes all lovingly prepared by Sainsbury to include:

pigs in blankets
scallops and black pudding
pork belly squares
tempura prawns
pork, apple and crackling lollipops
lobster and king prawn rolls
pork sliders
duck beast in plum sauce

Then after DD has gone, DP and I will have

rib of beef
gammon
yorkies
red cabbage
cauliflower cheese
roasties
swede and carrot mash
green veg (probably cabbage)

Chocolate bombe pudding for him/traditional pudding for me

Cheese and port later if we can move off the sofa

I am hoping to have enough left overs to last until New Year.

We don't have pigs in blankets. I now think we are weird. We have always done bacon rolls (rashers of bacon rolled up tight, threaded onto skewers and baked) and chipolatas separately.

Anyway, it will be:

Seafood based nibbles at lunchtime.

Late afternoon:
Turkey
Bacon rolls
Chipolatas
Chestnut stuffing
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Brussel Sprouts
Green beans
Carrots
Cranberry Sauce
Vat of Bread Sauce
Gravy

Pudding
Xmas pud and cream (for my DP)
Limoncello trifle for everyone else

Many booze.

Stupid games.

My mum only does Yorkshire puddings with roast beef, so we'll have to soldier on without them.

Reading of all the fine fare on here reminds me of when I was once in Italy and telling an Italian gentleman what we ate for Christmas in England. I listed turkey, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, red cabbage, stuffing, carrots, peas, gravy, bread sauce, cranberry sauce etc etc etc then Christmas pudding, trifle etc etc.

He looked at me with barely-disguised horror and said, "No pasta?"

Sounds like he's having a little panic about his parents 'disapproving' since they've not been before- just do it anyway and they'll probably surprise him by being polite, nice and eating the lot and being complimentary. Men!

I think what's really 'common' is pitching up at someone's house and complaining/turning your nose up at what they've cooked.

How rude. I'd tell em to sod off.

My MIL makes the best pigs in blankets. She uses sausage meat. They're the main reason I stuck with DH.

They are being invited to share in YOUR Xmas dinner, from which they can eat whatever they choose. It would be very rude of them to judge or disapprove of it in any way, even if they would cook a different selection. Your DH should be cordially invited to take a hike, along with his beloved parents, if they do not feel u have made the correct menu for them!

tell him youre going on strike and he can do it himself

Great menu

YANBU - which bit does he think you should miss out?! Maybe put him in charge of welcome drinks or something so he gets out of the kitchen? x

It is possible that what your DH is trying to say is your menu is very rich? Literally every item on it is fatty in itself, or cooked in fat. I'd struggle with it, and my parents would really struggle with it as they are in their 70s and don't have the digestions they once did. Maybe add a steamed veg option, and some fruit salad? I'd put in a request like this is my DH was planning such a rich menu for my parents. I hope I'd phrase it better than your DH though.

You cook yours and let him cook his own. Then everyone is happy right?

Sounds lovely, although as someone said above it might be worth having some plain cooked veg for contrast. But that is a minor point.

My MIL is very like this. We eat our main Christmas meal in the evening and, instead of lunch, I do a series of canapes during the afternoon while we open presents. She spends the whole afternoon saying, "not another canape, no-one wants any more, this is too much" blah blah blah (meanwhile my family devour them). As long as you're not force-feeding anyone fois-gras-goose style, they can fuck off, no?