AIBU to not want to spend my entire Xmas day cooking?

[Honeybooboo123]

last year we had a join family Xmas and expressed this desire to my SIL. I have two DC, she has one. I stated let's make life a bit easy and buy in a few, nice , ready made bits to take the pressure off.

I shit you not, we ended up making everything from scratch. From 7am onwards. Could have cried.

This year, bigger family Xmas, with another family and mum involved, also with two DC.Already getting emails about turkeys and menus.

How to I get across that I DO NOT WANT TO SPEND ALL SODDING XMAS DAY COOKING A MEAL I THEN HAVE NO INTEREST IN EATING

?

Second time lucky?

What you need is my system. DH is my Kitchen Monkey and peels garlic, chops veg, picks stalks off cranberries. DD actually thinks it’s fun to peel carrots.

I stand by the stove, sipping wine and taking all the credit.

Lol Mrsterry!

when you make the cranberry sauce from scratch and every vegetable known to man, it takes 7 hours

Buy the cranberry sauce and cut down on the range of veg. And get some of the others to help with prep.

A couple of years ago, DP and I cooked Christmas lunch for 19 or 20 people, at SIL's house (the only one big enough!). We arrived at about 11 and made everything bar the cranberry sauce, Xmas pud and brandy butter (bb and one of the stuffings were homemade, but done the day before). We had one middling size turkey and a couple of crowns, so they didn't need hours in the oven, and a big gammon. Everything was ready by about 3.30.

The veg were potatoes, parsnips, sprouts, carrots and cauliflower cheese. The 2 grannies present helped with peeling veg and clearing up around us, so we always had plenty of space to work. After DP had made the 2nd stuffing, a niece rolled it into balls, another niece assembled the pigs in blankets.

I was in charge of Yorkshire pud (wrong in my eyes, but they have Yorkies with any roast dinner) veg and gammon, DP in charge of turkey, gravy and bread sauce. BIL was in charge of making sure that I had G&T on tap from midday onwards. Everything was perfect and it is still spoken of as the best Christmas dinner they've ever had.

Once the bird is in the oven, there's plenty of time to do the veg imo, as long as you don't do 10 different sorts. And the gammon doesn't take any longer to boil than the turkey does to roast.

The only year I've had a problem with Christmas dinner was when the gas pressure was so low that the turkey timed to be ready at 3pm wasn't done till 6. It didn't really matter too much, by 6 everyone was so pissed and hungry they'd have eaten beans on toast.

I stand by the stove, sipping wine and taking all the credit

I think we could be related.

I have 4 or 5 of them monkeying at anyone time so obviously I need to stand back with a large glass to ensure its all done properly

Thanks for this post OP. I needed this to remind me not to be Cookzilla at xmas! Left to my own devices I am the person who makes the cranberry sauce and 6 different stuffings from scratch... but I'm not a home this year and will be sharing the cooking with others, so i need to rein myself in. I'm glad I saw this before our own "turkey" emails started flying about!

One year FIL took DD and DH for a ‘lovely walk before lunch’ on Christmas Day and ruined the system. I never forgave him.

Cranberry sauce can be made weeks in advance, most veg can be prepped the night before, then it's just timing it with the roast. I can cook for 10 from scratch in 3 hours, I do the prep work before hand.

Christmas cake and pud already made. tiramisu will be done the day before too. why on earth would you do all the cooking and prep on the day?!

Lidl/Aldi goose fat roasted frozen potatoes. Also parsnips.
Aldi stuffing loaf wrapped in bacon
Iceland turkey crown in a bag
Ham done for Christmas Eve.

Last year I had DPs family so we were 13 for dinner. My dad had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I was in no mood for massive cooking. The above worked like a dream, and I’ll be doing it again this year.

Previously, I have made everything from scratch, brined the turkey, served three courses. Not going to this year.

I've been doing Delia for the last 25 years.

I prep my veggies and do a few other advance things on Christmas Eve. I cook the plus the turkey on Christmas Day - a total effort of about 1.5 hours. It's not the whole day.

Cranberry sauce from scratch takes literally five minutes.

I tend to prep on Christmas Eve, peel the veg, stuff the turkey, make the sauces etc and on Christmas Day DH does most of the cooking. My son has started making the stollen which he brings with him.

I have the opposite problem. I want to go out and no one will go unless DH and I pay for it. Alternative is to buy as much as possible from M&S but I know that extended family will have cats bum faces at things out of a packet. They want me sweating in the kitchen from 7am slaving over a 4 course roast cooked from scratch whilst they all sit round sipping sherry.

Don't worry, I will be doing loads of packet stuff and just ignore the cats bum faces.

Buy everything from m&s. Take out of wrappers/jars/packets and put in your own trays. Tell everyone you prepared it the day before. Done.

Also just shove the ham in the slow cooker on low the night before and it'll be cooked by morning

The only stressful thing about cooking on Christmas Day in our family is when I start serving and everyone wanders in to “help”. I always end up getting cross with them all under my feet when I just want them to sit the fuck down and make excited noises when I bring it all out.

We visited PILs before Christmas and asked what they were eating on the day.
" Oh we cooked and ate the turkey last week to get it over with."
That's the way to do it!

As PPs have said:

• write a full list
• divide it up equally
• make it clear to everyone coming exactly what they are expected to bring and how many people they are catering for

It divides the cost as well as the hassle !

We've been doing this on Christmas Day for years now and its so much easier.

The first year we did it though, we were less organised - we had everything but someone ended up with 12 different desserts, and 12 servings of each, so 144 servings of desserts for 12 people !!
My brother-in-law at the time was a fireman so took all the spare desserts to work with him that night

we start on Christmas Eve....everyone in the house is involved in Getting Ready For TOMORROW!

"So tasks from sorting out the fires/wood/kindling to dogwalking to filling the fridge to sorting a big bucket for bottles that won't go in the fridge, to prepping veg, to last minute wrapping all get delegated in order of priority
we also commence the festive drinking so the most essential things have to be done first just in case of over indulgence."

Same Here! That is what Christmas is all about. We all get prepared the day before then we can ALL enjoy being together on the big day, with minimum faff.

Do not give in OP, just TELL your relatives, you aren't prepared to spend all day faffing about in the kitchen.

I love it, means I don't have to speak to the mother in law for longer than neccesary

Not read all the replies, but screw that. Do what I do. Get DH to do all the cooking then I can scoff chocolate and drink Bucks Fizz

Mental load comes to mind here.

As in, you are being mental to choose to take it on if you don't like it.

As in, you are being mental to choose to take it on if you don't like it.

This. I just don't get why some insist on doing it when they profess to hate it?
Those saying "ooh, I can't serve anything that's already been partially cooked, they'll cats bum mouth" etc.
Bloody let them! Is it them cooking? No. Are you hosting them and cooking them Christmas dinner? Yes.
I swear, some are just martyrs and secretly love it all really.

The only reason it takes ages to cook Christmas dinner is because turkey takes ages to cook if it's a large one so yes, you would start around 7am for a 1sh lunch (good reason to breakfast on loads of chocolate and have a late lunch). Can't understand why anyone would have an issue with homemade cranberry sauce. It's one of those things that is next to no effort to cook and it impresses people so means you can get away with loads of shortcuts as obviously, the type of person who makes their own cranberry sauce can't be accused of scrimping on effort.

So I'd recommend smoked salmon or similar to start, no more than 2 veg, preferably bought ready prepped so no major cooking. Same with roast potatoes. Buy a bag of good quality stock to add to your gravy granules. Throw some port in the gravy too. Drink lots of champagne while doing all this. Buy in desserts.

Make cranberry sauce from scratch and everyone will think you're a total domestic goddess.

So everyone else just waltzes up and eats? Nah, fuck that.

It's been said already but we always divide up the separate items equally and you can cook or buy as you choose. It's always worked for us. Except once we forgot to bring the bread sauce that was on the list...nearly ruined the day