What is your timing schedule xmas day?

[Molly333]

Hi all im trying to fit a tea in at xmas but usually everyone is too full . My timings work like this-breakfast is usually me and hubby only, as kids are not really interested . Guests arrive and dinner at 2 which can take 2 hours, then no one really wants tea later as stuffed . How does yr day pan out please?

Just two of us, we start with bake at home croissants, probably go the pub for an hour, lunch 3/4pm, turkey sandwich about 7pm, I love Christmas butties!!!

Breakfast until 10am. It's a bit of a rolling thing. DH prepares everybody's favourite breakfast. Presents are after breakfast is cleared away and everybody is washed and dressed. When DCs were small this focussed their minds!

Once presents are done people are given chores to do like tidying up wrapping paper, laying the table, prepping veg etc. DH will have got the roast on before present opening.

Starters will be at around 2.30. We keep this simple, smoked salmon and bread or pate and toast. The meal will take a couple of hours with chatting and clearing away between starters and main course.

Pudding will be later. Christmas pudding for the traditionalists and a chocalte pudding of some sort for the avant garde.

Much, much later people will have cheese & biscuits with grapes and nuts.

After all of that nobody should need to eat until about March but somehow we manage to tuck into leftovers on Boxing Day.

The big thing we have learnt is to just go with the flow. No strict timetable. We want people to enjoy themselves.

6.00.a.m. Cup of tea.
6.30.a.m. Listen to the Archers, followed by bile-ridden posting on MN TA thread.
6.35. a.m. Walk the dog.
7.30.a.m. Feed the dog. Put on "It's a Wonderful Life". Have oyster shoot: oyster+ tabasco+ vodka and salute the memory of my late DH.
Ordinary day until DD comes at 2.00.p.m for Christmas dinner: oysters, prawns and potato salad.
5.00.p.m Walk the dog.

It will be strange, the first Christmas Day I've begun on my own.

We normally have breakfast at 9ish. Lunch at 1 to 2. Then pick at bits from the fridge for dinner when hungry say 8pm. But it's just 2 of us. This year we're going to see family in the morning so will eat Christmas lunch at 3/4. Then probably do dessert for tea. But picking a little bit more during the day.

DH, DS & I have the morning together for breakfast, opening presents and food prep.

Guests will arrive at 2.30, swap presents & watch queens speech.

Starter at 4pm, main 4.20pm, dessert 5.00pm

Listen to music / chat / play with kids 5.30pm onwards.

We'll have nibbly bits in the fridge Incase anyone is hungry later on but they're never eaten. We end up using them on Boxing Day.

We get up around 8, luckily DC entertains themselves if they wake up earlier. We have breakfast (croissants and smoked salmon) while watching Patrick Stewart's A Christmas Carol which takes us up to 10:30/11, we then open presents and roughly 12pm we go for a walk in the local woods. Back home and start preparing dinner. While dinner is cooking we have a starter type thing at 2pm or so, and then have the main meal at 5pm. I definitely would be too full for anything else later on in the day, but there is always a cheese board on the go for those who want it. Can I ask why you particularly want to fit in a tea OP?

Why are you trying to fit tea in and not just having leftovers, Christmas cake, crisps, deserts etc?
Cooked breakfast when it suits.
We then have Christmas Dinner around 3.30-4.30 and then chocolate/snacks/leftovers, from whenever they are wanted, mainly to help soak up the alcohol.

Get up as late as we can - maybe 9. Brunch around 11.30. Dinner will be around 6 or 6.30, normally just a main course. DH and I might have some cheese and biscuits later.

5 DCs aged 18-29, with DS's GF joining us this year.

Up about 9, DCs open presents/ DD1 arrives (she stays in an AirB&B or hotel as we have no room at the inn). Make coffee for everyone.
I have tea and toast.

Bake rolls for breakfast, DS cooks the rest of it (sausage, bacon, potato hash, scrambled eggs). Late breakfast about 10:30/11.00.
Clear away breakfast dishes, scrub pans, put leftovers in fridge.

Shower, dress, start preparing veggies and potatoes for dinner, make sure beef is defrosted.

Nobody ever wants a formal lunch but they nibble leftovers. Put all dishes used so far into the dishwasher and start it up. Sit around and chat, maybe read a bit, maybe have a glass of wine, maybe a G&T, maybe go for a walk.

Unload dishwasher. Set dinner table. Put on dinner beginning about 3.30, eat about 6. Dessert around 8 after a little time to get dinner cleared away and plates, etc. into dishwasher. Coffee with dessert.

Finish cramming the dishwasher.

to those missing someone this Christmas.

Up about 7am
open stockings

Go down stairs open presents, have breakfast

Eat dinner whenever it's cooked anywhere from 12.30pm to 2pm

Tea/supper whatever you can find in the fridge, whenever you are hungry.

Either bacon butties or crumpets for early breakfast, those who work out to work, big roast dinner around 2/3pm depends on when everyone will be back, then desserts at about 8pm

It's just me, dh and the 2 dc this year. We'll have breakfast when we get up (dh and dc2 will eat around 7 which is best for the rest of us tbh ), teen dc will grace us with his presence for present opening and family toast with something cold and fizzy (diet coke usually!) then will probably go back to bed while the rest of us go to church.
Once back, the oven goes on and we chuck in trays of 'party food' to graze on as and when. For them that's it for the rest of the day, I'm heading off to work for 3pm (NHS) though hopefully short shift will mean I'm home by 9 for a baileys and a mince pie!

So I'll be going back to my mum's and we're all adults. My sister will arrive at my mum's for about 9am and do presents then we'll head to 10:30 mass (although there were talks about doing midnight mass this year). Then we float about the house helping set the table, prep things, watch TV then people arrive at our house for 1/2ish. Then lunch is at 3/4 (we aim for 3 but usually closer to 4) then play games and party til about midnight and nibble on cheese and snacks as the night goes on. Definitely don't need a proper dinner!

Up at stupid o'clock with the kids.
No breakfast as the kids are too busy playing and me and dh don't eat breakfast anyway.
Huge dinner at 12.
Afternoon nap for everyone usually due to full bellies and early start.
Buffet type foods at about 6.30 for visitors and ourself ,cheese board,sandwiches cakes and a couple of drinks.
I love Christmas Day now because the pressure is off now we stay at home and no longer force the kids to go to the grandparents house and sit watching crap on tv whilst the adults( mil,father in law) use Christmas Day as an excuse to to get pissed.
The kids now have been known to stay in pjs all day and they love it.

Get up when the kids wake up
Santa presents
Breakfast
Play - make lunch (sandwiches) and prep dinner
Walk in the woods
Pop to the pub
Dinner
TV
Bed
Doesn't matter when any of it happens. No-one to see but us, yay!

Kids are 4 and 6.
6-7 - up and do presents. Chocolate for breakfast.
11 ish- bacon butties for us, pancakes for the kids
1 ish- family arrive, more presents. Nephews and niece were hungover last year so I made more bacon butties.
4.00- Christmas dinner
8/9 ish pates, cheese and biscuits, stand pie.
We have to have dinner late enough that we can open presents and get it cooked after everyone arrives but early enough that we've got room for supper. We eat a lot on Christmas day!

Open presents whenever the DC wake us up which is usually ridiculous o’clock. Takes up to an hour to finish that usually...
Then I make breakfast which is most often cinnamon rolls, homemade chocolate croissants and brioche which we all eat together (maybe around 8:30).
We don’t tend to have lunch per se, we just graze on cheese and chocolate till the Christmas dinner is ready at around 5pm.
DH and I usually pig out on chocolates in the evening too.

I like reading these, it's all about individual family traditions.

We celebrate Christmas Eve more because my Mum's Austrian and that's when we do it. We have a big unhealthy, mayonnaise-laden salad, lots of cold meats, boiled eggs, garlic bread and stuff.

Christmas Day at home just us, breakfast is low-key, everybody has what they want - dinner is about 3 or 4pm and this year it's sirloin of beef. Last year was steak and chips.

echt, I hope your day is better than you expect.

No small children in the house so up around 9, lunch around 1pm then drive to daughter's house for a vegan party tea with rest of family.
Sending hugs to those facing a difficult time this Christmas.

Before kids:
Breakfast at 9, lunch at 3, light snacks/ cheese and crackers at 8pm.
Since kids:
Breakfast at 8, lunch at 12.30, snacks and cheese at 6pm but adults can nibble on things into the evening.

We get up about 6ish depending on how excited ds is. Have breakfast about 8am then lunch about 1:30ish. If anyone is hungry later on we will have turkey and cranberry toasties with leftover nibbles. Dh sometimes has a cheeseboard with crackers. I normally struggle as I'm stuffed from Christmas dinner.

DH gets everyone up at 5.
Presents and a brew.
Leave for work at 6, back around 9.30. Visit in laws.
Home about 11.30 and have pork pie and cheese board.

DH leaves for work about 1.30.
Visit DM in hospital
Home and cook dinner
DH gets home about 5 and we eat about 5.30

We have breakfast about 7 after kids have done stockings. Then over to family about 11:30 after church. There are always sausage rolls/ nibbles on offer when we get there. Lunch about 2 which is full on starters, turkey then pudding. We never have a formal tea as we are all stuffed but often we will have nibbles/ more pudding about 8 if we fancy it. The kids will ask if they are hungry but normally they are to stuffed too.

Breakfast when we get up - usual tea and toast or cereal.
Lunch as usual between 12-2pm. A normal Sunday roast with pigs in blankets and turkey for a change.
Tea as usual between 5-7pm. This will be just a buffet type thing.

I like to keep it simple otherwise I'd spend all day cooking or washing up,it's my day off too.