To say sod it and have steak and chips?

[Sundancer77]

We live abroad and this year won’t be returning to the uk for Christmas. It’s myself, my dp, dd 17 months and our dog. I was writing the list for the Christmas Day meal/Christmas food.. the meat, veg, starters, desserts, breakfast, booze, chocs, cheese & crackers, nibbles, Xmas eve meal etc etc and we got to talking about the price..we’d be spending roughly the same amount for the food that lasts 2-3 days as probably a two week shop..plus, cooking time, washing up and so on. My dp suggested having a good steak, chips and wine..less cost, hassle, more time to relax and play with Dd and it tastes good...I do like the idea but still can’t feeling it’s not ‘Christmassy’ enough and should we do the proper Xmas day dinner with all the trimmings..what would you do?

Eat whatever you want for Christmas dinner, you don't need MN's validation to do that.

Do what suits you.

I was only saying to someone this morning that if there was a Chinese takeaway open on Christmas Day, that they'd be crazy busy.

Sounds much better. I'd do that.

I've never had to make a Christmas dinner and if the day ever comes when I do, I'll be phoning a takeaway.

@igotmylipstickon are you sure your takeaways aren't open? The Chinese and Indian by me are both open Christmas Day, they do roaring trade.

Have what you want for Christmas dinner! It's a lovely meal with people you love; not a turkey sales event

What Lockheart said.

Maybe do that and get a few buffet bits to nibble on

Deffinitely do what suits you, esp as ds is so young. However if you're worried about it not feeling xmassy could you do an ordinary roast without all the expensive extras, that's what we do every year but with crackers (have them bought a few years in advance and theyve run out I will go down a more eco friendly route) and a nice pudding after.
I think the day is what you make it

It's only been since DC were older that we've done turkey etc.

when they were small we had steak or a duck or similar as Turkey was just too big and DC weren't that keen on roast type dinner anyway. They had their favourite and cooked to request e.g. macaroni cheese or whatever, they just want to eat and get on with playing.

Now we are all adults so we do traditional dinner.

It sounds good.
The year Dd2 was born, beginning of December we had Steak, Chips and Veg followed by veinetta ice cream.
It was delicious

Stick a bit of holly on the steak and enjoy!

I live abroad too. Last year I had bbq for Christmas dinner. This year I have work 🤷‍♀️

I am having steak and chips and posted here about it recently (I was asking for chip recommendations)! Several MNers asked if they could come join me, so no YADNBU!

one year we just bought some sliced turkey (off the bone) from the deli counter and cooked it in a bit of gravy and covered it in foil. ds2 fancied trying turkey but it would still have been too big for 3. i do this occasionally with beef or chicken or turkey etc. when someone is in the mood for a roast and the rest aren't, just serve with all the usual trimmings.

Of course you can have steak and and chips. You can still do Crackers etc. I'm doing a buffet of party food as I love the stuff and my toddler is going to be glued to the table all day no doubt.

We usually go to family for Christmas dinner but the best Christmas we've ever had was the one where all relatives were elsewhere so we stayed home and ate Christmas Eve leftovers all day - a giant gammon and cauliflower cheese - plus all the chocolate and cake we could lay our hands on. We stayed in PJ's all day and just binge watched Netflix. It was bliss.

It's essentially about family time and trying to do something a little bit special so just do what suits you :)

Do it!

It’s just me and my OH on the day itself this year.

We’re having whatever we fancy for breakfast (probably scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on muffins, plus pandoro and Prosecco).

For lunch we’re having a Camembert baked in a cob loaf with cranberry sauce, garlic and thyme, along with walnuts and dried cranberries, and rosemary breadsticks.

For dinner we’re having surf’n’turf - sirloin steak with king prawns in a garlic butter sauce, with duchess potatoes and fried sprouts. A bottle or two of wine and that’s all we need!

I'd go steak and chips - if you end up feeling its not Christmassy enough you'll know for next year xx

@AnchorDownDeepBreath Am not in the UK and traditionally all businesses close down here on Christmas Day. However, as I haven't actively looked before, you could be right and perhaps some of the Chinese and Indian takeaways around here do open in the evenings.

OP - everyone agreeing here on doing your own thing ;-)

We did exactly this last year, when it was just the 4 of us. I said i’d cook everyone’s favourite meal, so DH and I had steak and chips, and the children had fish fingers and chips! It was the right thing to do, but i’m glad we’re with family this year.

You can always get one or two cheeses and some port for later in the evening as that will feel Christmassy and cosy.

We're having a large joint of beef cooked on the BBQ.

You can eat whatever you want.

You don't need to spend a fortune. It's only a roast dinner with a few extra trimmings.

Definitely have whatever you feel like. Why go to all the hassle of a traditional christmas for just three people anyway when you'd all prefer steak and chips.

We never do Turkey because quite frankly, none of us like it. It doesn't feel the slightest bit less christmassy. A few crackers and presents and bam, it's Christmas!! but I couldn't live without mince pies

If you want steak and chips but still feel it should be more consider something like a rib of beef or whole sirloin/fillet. You can cook it roast style but it's basically still steak!

That’s my Xmas meal ! I don’t eat the typical Xmas roast ... would you rather be in the kitchen or playing with your daughter on that day?

I've had steak Christmases before now - has to come with potatoes dauphinoises and a good red wine! Much tastier than turkey. And stress-free, apart from making sure that the steak is properly rare.