To be scared of hosting Christmas - help!

[goodbyeeee]

I’m hosting for the first time ever. My family are very easy going but my in-laws are coming too. They’re very nice but it adds extra pressure. MIL has been unwell and I want to make sure they enjoy themselves.

It’s the dinner that’s worrying me. I’m a competent enough cook but have never cooked for 12 and I don’t do roasts very often. I’m not looking for a gastro extravaganza but tasty, hot and all ready at the same time would be good....also preferably with time for me to drink a lot of

My plan is to do cold various starters (pate, dips, crudités etc) then a
Turkey crown with all the trimmings. Then lots of cheese. I’ve not got much further than this though ....

Any tips from the Christmas dinners experts of mumsnet gratefully received! [santa]

Yes to foil trays and just do as much prep as you can ahead of time (but not cooking the turkey!) e.g Red cabbage can be done the day before and stored in the fridge.

Christmas food is as much about the trimmings as the main event so I’d do a couple of homemade stuffings prepped and oven ready in foil trays the day before, also if you are making your own cranberry and bread sauces (both are easy peasy and well worth the small effort involved) you can do this the day before.

Another couple of easy thing that makes a real difference are parboiling your roasties and drizzling honey/orange zest and brown sugar over your roast parsnips.

Drape streaky bacon over your turkey whilst its cooking.

Finally, a nice change to normal steamed or boilef sprouts is to finely chop some streaky bacon and fry with some chopped roasted chestnuts (you can buy these vaccum packed) then finely slice the sprouts and saute gently in butter. Just before serving turn up the heat and slosh in some double cream and either a splash of white wine or a tiny drizzle of maple syrup then bubble for a couple minutes and serve.

Write out your timings as specifically as possible. People may want to help even if it’s not that helpful (!) and it’s so much easier if you can direct them to something that says “10.15 potatoes on to boil, 10.30 oven on for turkey” etc.

My top tips

Do a timing plan - I follow Delia
Make Jamie's get ahead heavy
Prep all veg day before
Don't be tempted to do everyone's fave veg - do want you can manage and do it well
Borrow a hostess trolley
Do canapés- to keep hunger at bay
Don't do starters
Give guests jobs..drinks monitor, etc,washer upper
Wash up as you go
Shoo them out of the kitchen of they get in your nerves - you do t need an audience
Have a break between main and pudding
Have a cheese board for later

Have a glass of fizz on the go

You're all fabulous - thank you.

I'm going for casual cold nibbles/starters that will be out on the side for people to pick at - paper plates ( Christmassy ones though). Sit down for main meal.

Will do as much as I can on Christmas Eve but there is a pre Christmas family do to attend, husband is working and I've got two smallish DC but will do a Wonder Woman pose and crack on!

You’ve got this op! Come back and let us know how it went

I have a list of all the timings for Christmas dinner stuck in the back of my Delia book.Everything is on it so all you do in-between things is reset the timer.
We eat at 3pm and this list means that after breakfast I can relax and join in opening pressies,chatting etc.
It was especially useful the year me andy sister in law drank a bit too much champagne,when I finally remembered that I should be cooking I found that my ex had taken over seamlessly (and he never mike's my list again).
I made in the first place because cooking a roast and having everything ready I found stressful!

Forgot to say,ham poked the day before,pigs in blankets done and in freezer,take out before bed Christmas Eve.
We have breakfast then eat at 3pm,have break before pud,another break the cheese and biscuits.This means no extra cooking of tea etc

The freezer is your friend!

Whenever I'm doing something like this I prep something most weekends in the run up to the day and freeze it.

Braised red cabbage freezes really well
Stuffing mix (I always do double and freeze in takeaway cartons)
I've even done roast potatoes before and frozen then reheated them and made really nice gravy from roasting chicken wings and veg and white wine and frozen that too

Just make sure you write a list of everything and take it out the freezer the night before

Also I do a load of lists. When you've got people talking to you and drink is involved it's so easy to completely forget to shove something in the oven so write everything down and tick it off

Prepare the things you need to do on the day in the morning before people get there (eg setting the table if you can eat your lunch anywhere else, peeling veg and put it in the pan with water, making salad dressing or wrapping sausages in bacon etc)

Even if you're making the majority of stuff home made buy a couple of posh sides or sauces from somewhere like m and s

Ask someone else to be in charge of say passing round nibbles and making sure everyone's glasses are full

Everything everyone's said about timings plan, prep and table setting the day before. Also write a plan for everything that needs to go on to the table - bread sauce and spoon, gravy and spoon, cranberry sauce and spoon, drinks, etc.

Make sure you know what serving dishes you're using and get them ready, get everybody to come and help carry in so all you have to do is tip into serving dish and pass to the next pair of hands.

Don't forget about pudding - make sure that's on you plan too, and that everything is ready to go and nothing is forgotten.

My mum brings a small Christmas pudding as only she and my sister like it....we’re a cheese family really

Yes, but what about your in laws? Make sure it's big enough for them too!

Good point bridget

Can I cook my pigs in blankets in advance, freeze then cook from frozen?

I’ve done roast potatoes from frozen using bbc good food website. Parboil, then toss in goose fat and flour, freeze on a tray then into bags. You can do this a few weeks before. Red cabbage freezes really well and cooks nicely in a slow cooker.

My MIL is a master of prep. For Christmas dinner she cooks the turkey the day before, saves the juice from the roasting tin cooks slices of turkey in it in the oven on the day. Only takes 20mins in a tray covered in foil.

She par boils and ruffles potatoes the day before, oils, seasons them and oven cooks them for an hour on the day.

Veg is chopped, rinsed and put in plastic bags in the fridge the day before to be steamed on the day (steamer takes up less room on the hob). She reckons leaving the veg in water overnight makes it soggy hence the bags.

Pigs in blankets are cooked the day before to be reheated in the oven.

My tips are Cauliflower cheese can be made the day before to be oven cooked on the day and aunt Bessie's Yorkshire puds!

The turkey is picked clean the day before (slices for the day, the rest frozen) and the bones can be boiled for stock for the gravy, ready to be reheated with a little cornflour and seasoning on the day.

Pots, pans, roasting trays etc laid out and the table set the night before.

I'm having a bit of a lazy Christmas this year, I've not been feeling great for some time now. So I will be using my go to for lazy but amazing meals.

It's a bit pricey, but £70 to do the entire main course for 6 adults without any of the stress (literally, just chuck everything in the oven - full instructions are included - and all done in 45 minutes)

www.donaldrussell.com/christmas-simplicity-box-d2998.html

I really can't recommend them enough.

There is some great advice in www.mumsnet.com/Talk/Christmas/a3423631-Hosting-my-first-Christmas-Dinner-this-year-Any-cheats-tips-advice-welcome this thread on the Christmas board, which may help.

Enjoy it is my main advice - think it through in advance and then enjoy the process!!

Defrost your pigs in blankets,don't cook from frozen.If you rest your turkey and cover it you oven will be free for 45-60mins so you can wack the heat up for roast potatoes,parsnips and put in thing that need reheating in for a shorter time with foil on.
I did the pigs at the end of the turkey cooking n and arranged the round the turkey when it was resting and kept the whole lot warm.I put plates in for the last 5mins if the roasties cooking so that everyone had a hot plate.

You're a braver woman than me. I've a thread going atm about boxing day, I'm doing a cold buffet

Serve the starters as an early lunch around midday so it buys you time if lunch is late getting ready. If the main meal is served between 3-4pm then you can get away with the cheese course & Christmas cake as a light supper.

Does anyone live nearby that you can ask to bring a few cooked sides or use their oven? That'll take pressure off you a bit and reduce cooking times.

Spread out the food & alcohol during the day so people aren't starving and drunk by the time the lunch is served. Add in the bad weather, extra people in a confined space and it's a miracle that arguments don't occur.

Give people jobs to do to keep them busy whether it's entertaining the kids or keeping drinks topped up. I usually encourage my guests to go for a walk after lunch to get fresh air, try out the new bikes and aid digestion. I put the first load in the dishwasher before we go so it's almost done by the time we return. Then we're ready for coffee and cake, t.v. and board games. The walk breaks up the day nicely.

Lay the table first.

When l cooked for 13 at Christmas I did the following.

Slow cooked the beef in red wine. The liquor was then used as the base for the gravy.

Bought some of the vegetables in packs that could be zapped in the microwave

Bought some of the side dishes that could be put directly into the oven

Pre-cooked the roasted veg (carrots, parsnips) the day before and just re-heated on the day

And to anwser your question.....YES YES YES to Yorkshire puddings on Christmas Day

I hosted last year for the first time - my parents, my in laws, my brother in law and sister in law. Until about September last year I'd never even cooked a standard Sunday roast before as I don't particularly like them!

I fully understand why you're anxious but don't be. Honestly. Mine went well, apart from my son (then one and a half) having conjunctivitis that flared up on Christmas morning so I had to dash out mid meal to a pharmacy as it was only open for an hour so no one had pudding!

Good luck. Try to enjoy it!

Thanks all.

Have lined up people to bring cheese, red cabbage and cauliflower cheese. Have written a plan to do what I can in advance over next couple of weekends.

My sister will sous chef on the day. DH is in charge of drinks and starters/nibbles. We can do this!!!

If it all goes wrong I'll just drink gin and let everyone fend for themselves!