Skip to main content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to talk navigation

Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Saved Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

AIBU?

To think Christmas dinner is actually a posh Sunday roast?

180 replies

wineoclockthanks · 14/12/2019 17:07

I was chatting to a friend who was stressing hugely about her Christmas dinner (for 6 people). She was saying she would have to be up at 5am at the latest to start preparing and would need to be in the kitchen for at least 5 hours etc

I know everyone does things differently but I'm not quite sure what the heck she'll be doing in there.

How much time will you (or your other half) be spending in the kitchen?

OP posts:

Thanks

Share

Report

Am I being unreasonable?

AIBU

You have one vote. All votes are anonymous.

BitOfFun · 15/12/2019 10:40

Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Roast onion
Mashed potatoes
Carrots
Swede
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Courgettes
Peas
Green beans
Sprouts
Cabbage

Mashed potato is beyond the call of duty, and courgettes are an utter abomination.

Thanks

gamerwidow · 15/12/2019 11:26

I don’t like precooked veg either (nor do I own a microwave). But for people who don’t cook - it’s ideal.
It’s not pre cooked it’s pre-prepared. Most supermarkets do a decent Christmas range of veg in baking trays which you bung in the oven as part of their special pre ordered Christmas food offering. It’s not like ready meals. Won’t be as nice as what someone who is a great chef and enjoys cooking would do but better then a lot of people would normally serve as part of a roast.

Thanks

Parker231 · 15/12/2019 18:58

Pre prepared are brilliant - saves so much time. Who wants to spend their Christmas peeling vegetables and stuck in the kitchen.

Thanks

joystir59 · 15/12/2019 19:07

We will have a very simple dinner, no starter, probably mash, a few roasties, Yorkshire puds(Aunt Bessie's), stuffed turkey crown joint, peas sprouts and gravy. Dessert of fruit meringue eaten hours later. A glass of Prosecco (just me)! There will only be me, OH, MIL and the Dog. OH is recovering from.major abdominal surgery so little light meals, no alcohol. MIL eats like sparrow. Dog loves a good dinner but he is only a little JRT and I don't much like turkey so will eat mainly veg. It is just one day!!! We love Christmas but not over eating to excess.

Thanks

MulticolourTinselOnTheTree · 15/12/2019 19:13

I have found that braised red cabbage, pre-cooked, frozen and then re heated often tastes better that making fresh on the day.

Thanks

MulticolourTinselOnTheTree · 15/12/2019 19:18

I meant to add my mum found cooking the dinner stressful, because she hated cooking. I took over as soon as I was able, often cooking at their house. Dad and I have it all under control.

Thanks

Willow2017 · 15/12/2019 20:26

That sounds grim
😂😂😂 most cafes do that with every meal they put out!
How do you think you get your Sunday roast dinner or your chicken curry so quickly?

Thanks

ivykaty44 · 15/12/2019 20:28

Jamie Oliver isn’t my favourite chef but he’s on channel 4 now and showing how so many dishes can be made ahead ready for Xmas day

Thanks

The80sweregreat · 15/12/2019 20:37

It's way more than a normal roast.
I get hot and fed up : mostly worrying about if the turkey is properly cooked and the last minute dish up bit! Keeping things hot is also hard.
I'm not a natural cook though.
It is a posh roast , but it can be a headache.
Christmas is just stress really!

Thanks

ivykaty44 · 15/12/2019 20:42

I use a warming dish/hot dishes and pop in the four containers the vegetables- cook these al dente and pop in 46 minutes before we’re going to eat, so it’s meat and gravy and plates in oven with potatoes and parsnips

Thanks

Notso · 15/12/2019 20:52

It's a roast dinner so you're not wrong.
However despite being what I'd call a competent cook I find cooking Christmas dinner a bit of a labour of love.
It's not so much the food but that on top of being knackered from Christmas Eve,
knackered from being up at the crack of dawn with the kids, being hungover and a bit pissed at the same time, being pestered by the kids, visited by various family members, etc.
For me it's not the wafting into the kitchen bunging this and popping that in and out of the oven that it seems to be for many on MN.

Thanks

PoodleJ · 15/12/2019 20:59

It’s Christmas dinner because it’ll have sprouts and pigs in blankets. I’ve even given up on turkey and just do chicken.
You can either view me as lazy or efficient.

Thanks

Snooper22 · 15/12/2019 21:02

Xmas dinner is easy..same as a Sunday roast!!

Thanks

sue51 · 15/12/2019 21:28

Its a Sunday roast with a few extra bits. For us roast spuds, loads of veg, roast salmon and beef followed by christmas christmas pud and mince pies. Usually 8-10 people. Everybody helps with clearing up.

Thanks

Redcherries · 15/12/2019 21:57

We do the whole lot every Sunday. I don’t understand the stress.

Thanks

Parker231 · 15/12/2019 22:20

We rarely have a roast on a Sunday as we go out for brunch to our local deli. Roast, or similar is when friends or family visit. I’m not really interested in cooking but DH is good and we’ll have a lovely turkey and trimmings although no where as extensive as some of the posts I’ve read. Lunch will be turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes, sprouts, parsnips and carrots.

Thanks

joystir59 · 15/12/2019 22:32

62 here, wouldn't know where to start to cook a Christmas dinner.

Thanks

BingoLittlesUncle · 15/12/2019 22:34

Yep. And to be honest I'd rather have a triple helping of shepherd's pie. That would be something special.

Thanks

GlendaSugarbeanIsJudgingYou · 15/12/2019 22:57

Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Roast onion
Mashed potatoes
Carrots
Swede
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Courgettes
Peas
Green beans
Sprouts
Cabbage

Sorry, but does this person hold a Christmas night farting competition instead of playing charades?

That's far too much.

Thanks

gingerbiscuits · 15/12/2019 23:09

That's ridiculous! Some people thrive on making their lives difficult & moaning about it! Christmas lunch is hardly any different to a Sunday roast!! I'm sure as hell not going to be in the kitchen for hours or up at 5am to do ours!!

Thanks

bridgetreilly · 15/12/2019 23:48

Sorry, but does this person hold a Christmas night farting competition instead of playing charades?

That's my dead grandmother, so no.

Thanks

AllergicToAMop · 16/12/2019 00:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Willow2017 · 16/12/2019 07:44

Good network are currently running repeats of stress free Xmas with amie and Gordon with loads of tips for getting ready days in advance so you aren't in the kitchen for hours. And lots of ways to cook turkey or other meats perfectly without hassle. Starters and puds too and leftovers after Xmas day. It's my guilty pleasure even though I don't do turkey or half the other stuff.😁

Thanks

Willow2017 · 16/12/2019 07:45

Ffs! FOOD NETWORK!!

Thanks

PineappleDanish · 16/12/2019 07:50

Is your friend my MIL? She's a terrible cook and will be in teh kitchen all day to produce a christmas meal about 5pm. I'm not quite sure what she will be doing but she is the queen of faff. And it takes a LONG time to cook broccoli to that stage where it's not quite soup and a lovely shade of grey. Plus you have to cook the gravy (beef of course, to accompany the cold turkey) enough so you can carve a slice for people. Disgusting.

Thanks

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.