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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Am I a big failure if I don't produce the perfect xmas dinner?

139 replies

Lilifer · 20/12/2016 12:17

My in laws are coming to dinner this year. They live very nearby and I get on pretty well with them. FIL is quite old fashioned and stuffy in his views at time, product of his upbringing etc would think all domestic stuff is the woman's work and men don't get involved in the kitchen.
I've no issue with that but the thing is I am not very domesticated, I don't really enjoy cooking as I do enough of it every day as a SAHM of 5 kids so for me xmas day is just another day of cooking except with much more pressure and expectations attached.
The last time PIL came to us i had decided to change things up a bit a do a roast beef instead as we are not that fussed about turkey but FIL expressed such horror at this departure from tradition that I backed down and decided to cook turkey.
This year I will cook turkey as it's just easier than upsetting anyone but I'm a bit worried that my dinner won't be up to scratch cos
A. I don't bother cooking a ham (too much extra work and kids not that in to it)
B. I don't do sprouts cos most of us loathe them
C. I don't bother with a starter cos there is so much food in the main course and dessert that a starter is not really needed esp when kids have been snacking all day on quality street (and me too if I'm honest!)

Does that sound totally pathetic to you? The table will look lovely and the food I do serve will be tasty and hot, it's just a scaled down version of the norm, but it means that I get to enjoy the day too without having to spend all day either prepping food or washing up.
I fear the PILs will feel a bit short changed though Blush

OP posts:
Lilifer · 20/12/2016 13:02

Smiletotes thrilled at the thought of buying the roasties!!!

OP posts:
GrumpyOldBag · 20/12/2016 13:02

We never do ham on Xmas day.

Surely that's for Boxing Day, to go with the leftover cold turkey, if you have a crowd to feed?

We don't do a starter either, but will have canapés with the drinks before lunch - usually smoked salmon on little squares of brown bread or blinis, maybe some posh pate too.

We are a 'traditional' family.

Bogeyface · 20/12/2016 13:03

Anyone who feels shortchanged by a meal that someone else has been good enough to cook for them can fuck off and not come back.

My mother criticized the Xmas stuffing for 2 years, apparantly it was too chunky. So I said I wouldnt make it one year as she clearly wasnt happy with it, she was gutted (it is a special family recipe that we only have at Xmas) and hasnt complained since.

I think some people forget that you may be family, but that doesnt negate the rules around politeness and gratefulness. I am so shocked at the posts I see on MN, especially at this time of year, about people demanding certain things in someone elses home. "I want X and Y for Xmas lunch..." then stay at home and cook it yourself you ungrateful shit!

Lilifer · 20/12/2016 13:04

That Asda ad is fucking depressing !

OP posts:
user1471470316 · 20/12/2016 13:05

If it makes you feel any better, the first Christmas I hosted, I had 12 people.... and I served them raw turkey.

I had a small weep and was gently nudged to one side, handed a vodka and coke and all hands on deck ensured that disaster was (in the main) averted.

So whatever you serve, think of me on Christmas day. You won't get it as bad as that, I'm pretty sure!!

ElBandito · 20/12/2016 13:05

Agree with srslylikeomg except all veg should be prepared the night before so...
DH I want these vegetables prepped and ready by midnight. But first pour me a glass of Champagne.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 20/12/2016 13:05

B. I don't do sprouts cos most of us loathe them

Heathens.

Bogeyface · 20/12/2016 13:05

We do ham on Xmas day, as well as enough pigs in blankets to sink a ship, but thats because we all love it and we share the cooking between us. Well I say share....I get the labour intensive jobs and my dad gets the "Bung it in the oven and come back in 2 hours" jobs....daft he is not! But while its nice and I would be slightly disappointed to not have any, its hardly the main part (or point) of the meal is it?

gamerwidow · 20/12/2016 13:07

I'm never do a starter, no need the dinners massive already. I am doing a ham but only because it's my DDs favourite not because it's an essential component.
Just do Christmas your way and don't worry about what else thinks.

SapphireStrange · 20/12/2016 13:08

Anyone who feels shortchanged by a meal that someone else has been good enough to cook for them can fuck off and not come back.

This with (festive) bells on.

BarbaraofSeville · 20/12/2016 13:10

Of course you can buy frozen roast potatoes and yes, you can tell. Sorry but they aren't as nice as fresh. M&S ready prepared (fresh) are a good compromise though. And if no-one likes sprouts, have other vegetables instead. Last time I checked, there were several different types of vegetables for sale in the supermarket Smile.

However, you are of course not a failure if you don't produce the 'perfect' Christmas Dinner. Perfect to who, anyway? It is beyond rudeness to be anything other than grateful and polite about an invite to any meal or it's contents/quality.

But you should really stop putting pressure on yourself and instead, simply stop giving a damn about what other people think or say. If they complain, it says more about them, than you.

You are not a failure for living up to their expectations, they are a rude sexist old idiot for not appreciating the effort you have gone to. One of DPs uncles once made a 'joking' comment about my poor housekeeping skills because we had cobwebs and I handed him the broom and suggested that he may wish to deal with them, or else I could find something else to do with the broom.

IME the people who complain have often never cooked anything more than toast or other very simple things. Anyone who has cooked day in day out for a family will probably be much more grateful they haven't had to cook for once.

There is a piece in The Times today about how Victoria Coren (I think) says that she now enjoys Christmas so much more now that she approaches it like a man and does very little and just takes it how it comes.

Sorry to say that sometimes it is the women putting the pressure on themselves expecting everything to be 'perfect' while the men in general don't care whether there are 3 different types of meat, bacon in the sprouts, or how the table is dressed. So don't martyr yourself and just do what you want and can manage Smile.

Krampus · 20/12/2016 13:11

You may be a failure at cooking what they think was the perfect Christmas dinner. But that ain't gonna have any long term effect on yor life, I hope Xmas Grin Sprouts, starters and ham are not components of what I think would be a Christmas dinner, it's all personal and they will have to cope the best way they can. Do what you can and maybe appease them slightly with easy wins, like doing some sprouts at the very end.

Failing to cook what they think is perfect, is not the same as being a failure at cooking a great Christmas dinner or being a failure in general.

By the way, get your husband to help!

Imknackeredzzz · 20/12/2016 13:12

Your DH sounds a bit shit tbh

KitKats28 · 20/12/2016 13:13

Get the miserable git one of these. Job done for 2 quid

Am I a big failure if I don't produce the perfect xmas dinner?
BarbaraofSeville · 20/12/2016 13:15

The Morrisons advert from the same year was even worse. It seemed to say 'Women - Martyr yourself' as it featured a tired, miserable woman single handedly doing all the work of putting on a family Christmas while her family did fuck all but then said 'but you wouldn't have it any other way would you?' Hmm.

I so wanted the Morrisons ad the following year to show the woman from the year before sat by a pool far away in the sun sipping cocktails served by a young handsome waiter while her family sat expectantly round an empty table in an undecorated house. Grin.

TheSparrowhawk · 20/12/2016 13:16

Your FIL may be a misogynistic waste of space, but why why why is your DH letting your mother, who is in a lot of pain, stand in the kitchen cooking? Does he really just not give a shit at all?

icanteven · 20/12/2016 13:18

Order this: Cook Christmas Lunch for 12 If it's too much food, have a few Mumsnetters over and we can finish it off for you and discuss the patriarchy over a few bottles of champagne. Grin

Krampus · 20/12/2016 13:21

Agree about those adverts, hideous.

pklme · 20/12/2016 13:27

Lidl does frozen roast potatoes and parsnips in goose fat. They are great!

I'm taking it easy this year for various reasons, though I'm normally pretty fussy so...

This year I have a cook from frozen turkey crown from Iceland. It's a bit small, so i'm glad I'm doing the ham anyway.

I do the ham because it gives me soup from the stock and several post Christmas/Christmas Eve meals without any real effort.

Another easy cheat is to pour cheese sauce over a shallow dish of frozen broccoli and cauliflower. Roast for about an hour. Done. All you need to prep is the cheese sauce which sits in the fridge til it is needed.

Meemolly · 20/12/2016 13:29

'Can you imagine being outright horrified that somebody else wasn't cooking a ham for Christmas lunch? I feel a bit sorry for that person. Don't they get out much?' Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

EnglishNotBingo · 20/12/2016 13:32

Loads of people don't do ham for Christmas.

Jewish people for a start.

[do I have to insert 'joke' here to avoid someone taking me seriously? ]

JeepersMcoy · 20/12/2016 13:34

If Christmas dinner is a hassle, just don't do it. Nobody will arrest you if you have something else and your family should just be grateful they are getting fed at all.

One year my mum just got a massive Chinese takeaway for Christmas dinner. My nan was horrified, but mum said she had a lovely Christmas enjoying herself rather than cooking dinner. Of course all the kids thought it was awesome as we were allowed to order whatever we wanted Grin

This year I'm not doing a traditional Christmas dinner at all. I have planned an extensive phased buffet and we will just stuff our faces steadily throughout the day.

Clankboing · 20/12/2016 13:36

Aldi frozen roasties in goose fat are lovely. And just like home baked. Really yummy.

dollydaydream114 · 20/12/2016 13:40

Your in-laws are guests in your home and they can bloody well eat what they're given - it's incredibly rude to go to someone else's house and criticise what they've cooked for you. If they want a starter, ham, turkey and sprouts they can cook it themselves and invite you to their house instead. What you're cooking sounds great to me; I'd be delighted if someone served me that!

I do a starter on Christmas Day, but only something very simple and there will just be five adults round the table - there is no way I'd be doing one if I had kids or was cooking for loads of people. We never had a starter on Christmas Day when I was a kid and my parents and mum-in-law would never expect one. In fact my mum has been sending me Facebook messages for weeks telling me not to go to any trouble and that I should just buy ready-done veg and Aunt Bessie's spuds.

squoosh · 20/12/2016 13:46

Ditch the turkey, keep the ham.

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