To be dreading a crap Christmas dinner?

[Napqueen1234]

Prepared to be told IABU as I should be grateful to get one at all/someone to cook for me. Basically we alternate years with MIL and my family and this year it’s my in laws. For context I’m 8 months pregnant so as a non drinker food is v important to me this year 😂.

My MIL is a terrible cook and takes no joy in hosting. We offered to host but were declined (DH family all 5 mins away from each other and we are 40 mins from there so it’s easier for them I suppose). Won’t cook food she doesn’t like e.g sprouts, pigs in blankets so we end up with a dry turkey crown, not much veg as she doesn’t like it and just a slightly depressing meal.

My dad loves Christmas and goes all out is good cook etc. I just feel so sad to be missing out on my normal Christmas meal the other years it hasn’t bothered me and is obviously part and parcel of taking turns and just life etc but this year I just feel gutted.

Snap me out of this ultimate first world problem please! We have offered to Help (we are making a hamper as a Christmas present of treats and taking Christmas pudding etc so have tried that!). My DH is an only child and not going/ having lunch at home is not an option!

Just rock up with the bits you want. Take Tray with pigs in blankets, bring gravy granules with you, prepared veg you want etc.

As far as I am concerned, the one upside of BiL and SiL's awful divorce after 35 years of marriage is that we won't ever have to eat her appalling Xmas dinner again. She's lovely and what's happened to her is terrible, but she's a very poor cook.

All veg cooked in the microwave so they come out rock hard and nuclear hot, not-quite-enough potatoes to go round, all veg measured out into one tablespoon full per person because she doesn't want leftovers, her mother's sherry trifle surprise (surprise is NO SHERRY) and shop-bought mince pies . Awful. And the house is always freezing. We're going away this year.

I know how you feel. My PIL only do plain tasteless roast chicken (chicken!!), boiled broccoli, boiled cauliflower and boiled sprouts. Trifle for dessert. Thank goodness for Bisto gravy (and roast potatoes). We have been able to avoid going there for a few years but don’t have a choice this year. We usually do our proper Christmas dinner a couple days before.

We have the same this year.
My Sister wants to host.
She says no nibbles will be given, just a basic Xmas diner at 3.
They insisted, now found out my mum didn't know how to say no.
She has no idea that we are staying in a hotel and are planning a buffet in our room for later that night.

Agree with pp, definitely play the pregnancy card and bring extra food. My mil can't get her head round the pregnancy safe food guidelines at the best of times so she'd believe anything I said I should/shouldn't be eating.

That said, I've been 8 months pregnant at Christmas before, and despite DF cooking an excellent Christmas dinner, I couldn't fit a huge amount of it in my stomach because of how pregnant I was. So perhaps low expectations is the way to go.

I don't like pigs in blankets, but I cook them!
We had a funny experience one year, friends invited us to theirs and it never occurred to us that the meal might not be the usual feast.
On entering I thought it odd there was no Christmas roast smell I soon found out why! Turkey crown and croissant potatoes with frozen peas!

At 8 months pregnant I wouldn't be going anywhere.

I feel the same on the tube we go to PILs

They do frozen sprouts which is worse than no sprouts

Christmas day is about spending time with family not critiquing the quality of the food the host provides.

Offer to bring an extra special dessert, offer to do a (big) starter, or offer to do some extras at home. If your offers are declined then leave it. Do not take you own dinner or accompaniments, which need oven space, as the hosts offering are not good enough for you, that would just cause confusion, bad feeling and be exceptionally rude!

There are loads of other days in the holidays you can eat great food at home or elsewhere, get your priorities straight and just enjoy being with not so perfect family on the day.

I'd cook a fantastic Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve and then you won;t want much to eat on the day and you won't feel deprived either as you'll have had your fill of pigs in blankets and sprouts with chestnuts and lardons.

That sounds shit and very selfish from
Her. Who the hell doesn't cook pigs in blankets?! Blasphemy.

Frozen sprouts 😳

Mil is very very generous and loves the idea of hosting but in reality she is an utterly shit cook. We've agreed over the years that she can still host but I cook it.

I’m weird when I go to someone else’s home, especially for things like Christmas, it’s a part of being involved in their traditions I enjoy.
Obviously you cater to your guests in the way of allergy/dietary needs. But you don’t have to cater to their traditions.

I don’t serve nibbles between the late big breakfast and the dinner because, well why would I want people being full? Nibbles for afterwards. Obviously if a child or someone was hungry between they would be given something to tide them over.

As long as the food is safe to eat, do it. Better get used to it sooner or later because the day comes when your child cooks you their first meal, and many more as they learn.

Your cravings includes Brussels and pigs in blankets

Rather than making a delicious meal on Boxing Day I would make a delicious Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, then the notion will have gone past you by Christmas Day and you'll be happy enough with your crap dinner

Take the sides that you want cooked with you- just for you and DH. My MIL is very much like this, won't provide a veggie option, no veggie gravy for me, no veggie stuffing (not hard to get paxo, veg sausages and bisto so I'm not expecting homemade extravagance). I started taking my own then in the end just stopped going for Christmas.

Oh and I’ve never cooked a pig in blanket. Been hosting on and off for over 20 years. And oddly enough when others bring stuff, pigs in blankets have never appeared.

'She says no nibbles will be given, just a basic Xmas diner at 3.'

Who has nibbles on Christmas Day?! Surely you wake up and just stuff yourself with chocolate and treats until dinner time?

My husband is coming with me to my parents for the first time, and my mum has got a bit lazy (though still reasonable quality) with her Christmas Dinner since it's just been my dad and me.*

I'm taking pigs in blankets (we had a vegetarian and gluten free to accommodate, so there was enough to do), stuffing (she makes it from a packet and mine is just nicer), mash (she makes instant if she makes it at all) and cranberry sauce (we normally have chicken so she won't have it in).

I'll just be firmly but nicely telling her that it's to make my husband feel at home, and they'll be presented ready to just warm up.

*FYI, I have offered to buy and cook the entire thing myself, so yes I bloody well will call her lazy for not bothering to do a proper dinner!

My SIL does “ roast potatoes” that are boiled potatoes with some oil on them. I don’t think her oven goes above 150 degrees.
I just tell the kids to keep quiet, enjoy everyone’s company, and I cook some fantastic roasties when we get home after visiting rounds of aging relatives!
I must say though op , I do rely on the bubbly to keep festive spirits up, sorry you can’t indulge.
Actually I had my ds at the end of April and he chose Christmas Day to rotate and go head down. At lunchtime my bump was twice as wide as usual , and felt like a stampede! I couldn’t face any food. He was settled head down by tea time, so I ate my body weight in trifle to make up for it

On the plus side...in 10 days you might be feeling too uncomfortable to go anywhere. I'm 34 weeks and would struggle to sit in car for 40mins as the baby is squashing my diaphragm and I get light headed.

Oh no I adore pigs in blankets if I knew the cost wasn't making them I'd definately take my own!
I sympathise a bit though, my DH family are 'foodies' and rake food quality vert seriosily. DM I feel mean criticising her cooking but the turkey will be dry and mashed potato lumpy... DH is actually really good at making a fairly moist and delicious turkey. We're headed to my parents for Christmas and he offered to make the turkey but she isn't sure.... I can live with dry turkey (plenty of gravy it'll be fine) but DH might get sulky about it:/ I don't want to offend her by trying too hard to convince her!

Thank you for all the responses both those who have felt the same and those telling me to woman up (both good advice!). We have a 2 year old already and next year will be lovely for babies first Christmas (and obviously as many of you have said I can can cook ‘my’ Christmas dinner over the festive season at some point) so will obviously get on with it and appreciate her hosting. We are planning a house extension in future ~so we have space to host and can make a slap up meal~ so this may well be one of the last years of it anyway! Merry Christmas all

You can have whatever breakfast you want and if you don't eat a huge amount on the day and get home early enough you can have the pigs in a blanket as a late night snack. You also get to have whatever dinner you want on Stephens Day. I would turn up, eat up, and make all the right noises. It is literally one day every other year. I wouldn't turn up with food because you were basically telling the person they are shit which is not very nice imo.