Christmas Day would be better without Christmas dinner

[BackwardsGoing]

Presents, nice fizz, nibbles, smoked salmon on brown bread, chocolates, more nice booze, games, family, a walk, cheese board, Christmas telly. That's all that's needed for a great Christmas Day.

Cooking and eating Christmas dinner just takes up too much time and is too much work and leaves you uncomfortably full. AIBU that we should just leave out that part?

I enjoy preparing and eating Christmas Dinner.
What I don't enjoy is having another Christmas Dinner on 26th at Mils. She always comes to us on Christmas day for dinner anyway and every year I suggest that she doesn't bother cooking but she always does.

We abandoned the idea of Christmas dinner yesterday - the kids were over tired and over excited and there was nothing to be gained by trying to get them to sit through dinner. Instead we’re doing it today when everyone is less tired and less full of chocolate.

Yes we have had a buffet for five years now, we go out for Christmas dinner on Boxing Day.

I agree my last 2 days have been exhausting with all the cooking but I do it so that everything is just so.

I sat and looked out our laden table whilst the dc were just interested in the crackers and table games. I was knackered! I didn't enjoy it as it had been so much stress.

I'm fed up of the "it's just a roast dinner" brigade. If you make so little effort in guessing you aren't much of a foodie. I like to up my game at Christmas so made much more effort. I am a good chef and prepped everything in advance but it was still hard work for the weeks spent planning and the days spent preparing.

Its my first Christmas dinner "my way" at the age of 42 so I went very traditional. Another year I will do duck or a beef Wellington but the sides take time. We barely touched it as a family of 4. But will use it up this weekend. Today I'm doing ham and a potato salad. Much easier than sodding turkey.

We usually have ours around 2pm and have everyone here, but yesterday we visited our parents for a short while each then had dinner at night at home, and it was much better that way - we didn't spend the day feeling too full then wondering what to have in the evening because we need SOMETHING but not feeling that hungry. It didn't take me long to cook either, we had one of those turkey things in the foil tray, 2hrs 20 to cook, meanwhile I just put pigs in blankets and stuffing on a tray, peeled a few potatoes to roast and near the end of the cooking time put the veg on. I certainly wasn't cooking for hours like seems to happen when it's on Christmas day lunchtime and it wasn't really much different from what I do on a Sunday anyway.

For the past few years we have had Christmas dinner on Christmas Day, but at 6-7pm. Late breakfast, presents, then a walk/exercise of some kind, nibbles, and then start cooking at 3ish. Works well for me.

Christmas Eve is when the big meal is cooked in much of Europe and also some parts of the US. I'm tempted next year to do this

I'm fed up of the "it's just a roast dinner" brigade. If you make so little effort in guessing you aren't much of a foodie.

You can be a foodie and not want to cook on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I enjoy food but I’m not going to spend time in the kitchen on a holiday that could be spent being with my family. Both my husband and I worked Christmas Eve. I can be a foodie any time of the year, no need to be one for the holidays.

I love Christmas lunch, enjoy prepping, cooking and eating it. However it feels like pressure on Christmas Day and we did it last weekend instead. So much more relaxed as there was nothing else happening that day. We saved Christmas pudding for yesterday. Did Canapés and finger food instead and it was great. Appreciated all the other nice Christmas food that often gets forgotten or neglected when everyone is over-stuffed from the turkey extravaganza.

I didn’t miss Christmas Dinner AT ALL yesterday!!!

I had far more fun spending hours playing with my children instead of hours in the kitchen.

My DH missed it, but I didn’t. I was quite happy with our fried breakfast, pizza for our evening meal and God knows how many naughty foods in between

Honestly the best thing I’ve eaten all week were some M&S brioche rolls! Glad to hear I’m not the only one that isn’t a fan of Christmas dinner!

I'm fed up of the "it's just a roast dinner" brigade. If you make so little effort in guessing you aren't much of a foodie

No, a foodie with years of experience on you, so it's easy to produce a fantastic posh roast without tiring myself out.

We haven't had christmas dinner for 3 years now. We just have party food - the sort you bung in the oven, it's what we enjoy. Same for today, back to normal food tomorrow.

Sort of agree. I enjoy today much more as I have had time for a walk and am now eating a cheese lunch and playing games.

Love Christmas dinner, even as youngsters so did my DC's. We eat late 4.00 pm, DC's always wanted it to be dark to have candles on the table. The food is a major part of coming together to celebrate.
Now they are adults Christmas dinner is the main part of the day, we enjoy cooking together, chatting, setting the table.

Perhaps it depends on your house too. We have a kitchen where we can cook together (sadly not this year) but in the past my old house and tiny kitchen meant I was tucked away cooking alone.

Forgot to add, the Boxing Day is fab, cooking all done, lazy day, reheats, buffet food and time for a good book or film.

We have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I really enjoy cooking but like to spend Christmas Day playing with my son rather than in the kitchen.

After my sister got divorced, she said she realised just how much she loved being single when she had pigs in blankets and chips on Christmas day.

@Swingometer

Just do what suits you

For me, Christmas Day is all about the dinner so I would never choose to forego it unless there was a very good reason but if you're all happier with a lighter/easier meal then crack on

^This. The best thing about Christmas is the dinner (well lunch!). By far.

We love food. Don't agree!

I read on here yesterday (can't remember which thread) a few posters were talking about their takeaway Xmas day meal and I just thought it is a brilliant idea, so we'll be doing that next year. No more slaving in the kitchen and epic clean up... Each to their own obviously, but the mince pies are the only thing that will make the cut next time.

Does no one else actually like being in the kitchen to get away from over excited DC and/or relatives that need 'entertaining' ?

After months of lockdown and DH working from home I never want to have another 'family' day again!

We just had leftover dinner for lunch and it was, as always, more enjoyable than yesterday. The next time we have a small Christmas we're having it on Christmas Eve with leftovers the next day so we have room for nibbles and more time to relax together.

I actually agree! A big family gathering with nibbles laid out in the day and a buffet mid afternoon is what I'd do if I was hosting (and if it was legal to have a big family gathering haha).

Nooooo Xmas dinner is the highlight of the day. Mind I am not the cook in this house maybe that's the difference. I do starter and bits of washing up lol