To feel guilty about ordering prepared Xmas dinner

[merrygoround51]

Just that. I orderEd a slap up meal from a local fine food shop /deli. Everything is cooked or prepped.

Cost is quite high but we can afford it but I have a niggling feeling that I should be doing what my mother, grandmother and aunties do/did - ie martyr themselves for 3 days prepping Christmas and Stephens day dinner. Maybe it’s particularly Irish but an exhausted, wrung out mother almost seems part of Christmas and I feel like I am somehow letting the side down with my laziness and am tempted to give in and prep it all.

I voted YABU to feel guilty. Enjoy it!!

I voted YABU To feel guilty about it.
Your family will prefer the less stressed version of you!

Enjoy it op!

I will read the full thread later and hope you give a full list of what you are having!

I'm laying the table the night before and have everything preprepared / frozen ahead apart from the bird (if I can pick one up at the supermarket! Pray for me.) and a tray of roasties. The kids will peel the potatoes so it's a case of slam in the bird then a few hours later set the rest off. I make thin gravy so no faffing with thickeners.

It will be easier than a normal Sunday dinner.

Irish here too, OP, I know exactly what you mean. The mounds and mounds of food being made in the week before Christmas to feed all the people 'popping in' before the stress and the drama of being up at stupid o Clock to start the damn turkey. All to eat at 1pm when I normally would just be having a sandwhich. I have my Christmas dinner down to a fine art, it is an Italian roast chicken recipe, as none of us like turkey, and store bought cranberry sauce, M&S trifle and M&S Christmas cake. My darling Granny would be horrified as she made EVERYTHING from scratch but life is too short to be fucking around with trifle. One of my daughters will be making her delicious spicy tomato soup with garlic bread and mozzarella at lunch and we will sit down to our meal at 7pm after a lazy day of TV, dog walking, pony riding and board games. Everyone should do Christmas the way THEY want. Above all, it should be a good day. Whatever you feel you have to do to make it a good day, do that and don't waste a moment feeling guilty about it.

I wish I lived near to a great restaurant doing takeaway!

Guilt is like a sack of rubbish. You can drag it around with you because you think you should OR you can just set it down and walk away from it.

It's very sensible of you and will free up time for your family to enjoy Christmas with minimal stress. What's not to like? Do you think a man would give this dilemma a single moment's thought or worry, let alive guilt? (Spoiler: the answer is no.)

Enjoy.

@DecemberDiana, loads of top-flight restaurants have been doing delivery nationwide, I've had a couple of deliveries from 1 star places during lockdown. Get Googling!

And yes re GUILT, I'm from a Catholic family, educated by nuns. I think it actually educated me out of guilt. You were supposed to feel guilty about everything, henceforth I felt guilty about nothing. It's completely pointless!

The only things one should feel 'guilty' about are heinous crimes, and I doubt the perpetrators of those feel guilty.

So why are you feeling guilty about anything?

I don't.

Ooh.

Maybe I'll do it for my birthday.

Well done OP. This is exactly what money is for, making your life less stressful ans giving to you precious time for your family. It sounds as though you've got your priorities bang on.

Good for you.

Christmas is a day when nobody should be harassed, stressed, sweaty or miserable because they’re stuck doing everything for other people. It’s supposed to be enjoyable for everyone.

It sounds lovely - enjoy it. I’m getting a beef Wellington this year as I can’t be arsed with even preparing a turkey.

This year we’ve ordered meat and dessert from Waitrose but I can’t not make my own roast potatoes, and there has to be Yorkshire puddings as it’s the only part of a roast my twins will eat... I’ve never had decent bought roast potatoes and mine are probably the best thing I can cook. Which is quite sad really isn’t it, but true!

Well I am happy to report that the meal was a triumph and I felt quite smug rather than guilty!!

Awwww nice!! Glad you've had a lovely stress free Christmas.