To ask for suggestions for alternative Christmas lunch

[hopalongnowplease]

I'm currently bed bound with a badly broken ankle. I'm due to have a third op on it in the near future but it will be a while before I'm walking properly.

My husband has been an absolute star looking after me and the kids.

He's not known for his cooking but has tried his best. However, he feels that cooking a Christmas roast and all the trimmings will be a step too far for him.

Rather than a sit down lunch, we are thinking of buying party food that he can just pop in the oven throughout the day, ie baked Camembert etc.

Any suggestions for something Christmassy that would be relatively quick and easy please?

Could you book to have lunch in a restaurant?

There's a recipe on the Lidl website that I famcied trying for a baked camembert with cranberry sauce. It looks simple but quite impressive really recipes.lidl.ie/recipes/baked-garlic-and-thyme-camembert-loaf

You could have that and then maybe some decent serrano, vine tomatoes, salt and pepper squid (from a packet). I'd love that!

I did think about this but will be in a wheelchair and need to keep my leg raised in front of it, so can't get close to the table!

How many people are you serving??

@hopalongnowplease yeah plus thinking about it. You would be more relaxed at home. I think restaurants deliver. Alternatively I know m and s do a ready made Xmas dinner my friend had it during covid when she couldn’t get home.

Can he follow packet instructions? You can order entire Christmas dinners that just need heating up, either from M&S or a restaurant kit. Here's a list from last year that might work again this year: www.olivemagazine.com/restaurants/christmas-meal-kits/amp/

If I didn’t have to cook for the kids I’d just do an all day buffet of crackers, ham, those buns you cook at home, pickles, cheeses etc. Then Chuck some party food in at your usual tea time.

Or just go to any of the main supermarkets and get piles of party food! Tiny quiches, pork belly on a stick, mini burgers, spring rolls, etc. We do this for Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

I don’t live in the UK but am always very jealous when my sister tells me what she has bought from M&S as party food at Christmas. If you can afford it I would buy some of that to eat throughout the day.

We never do a trad Christmas meal. In your situation I'd probably do an amazing buffet of lovely salads, and cheeses, cold meats, olives, bread, buy a beautiful cold pie from a posh delicatessen (not a supermarket one!). Big cheesecake for dessert.

Will last two days and no cooking. You could do the baked camembert and some garljc bread for the side.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

He can cook basic food but it's too much for him to do a Christmas lunch whilst maybe still needing to look after me and help me get round etc at the same time.

There are five of us who will all eat anything, so we don't need particular food for children.

I'm in a similar position OP. I'm due to go into surgery in the next couple of weeks and the recovery period means I may not be up to cooking a full Christmas dinner. My DH is a fairly capable cook but pulling together a Christmas dinner is a bit beyond him!

So we've decided on Christmas meat, pigs in blankets, roasties (frozen) ready made gravy and crusty bread. DH and DS's say they're looking forward to it more that the traditional roast!

We've done a takeaway for the last couple of years and loved it. No stress, no prep and no washing up.

I ordered a takeaway banquet last Christmas Day. Still had crackers and Christmas music on to make it feel more Christmassy.

Do any of your local restaurants offer a home delivery service.

We were going to go out this year to a restaurant as our boys are just turned 3 and 5 and I want to enjoy the day playing with their games and toys as last year I was in the kitchen hours (although I do love cooking but seems a waste of the day). Anyways, I was looking at restaurants and found one that does delivery as well so I've booked that.

Really hoping it's nice and we can now spend the day at our leisure

Do you have any family members who can come round and cook?

Although, tbh, I think your DH is overthinking.

A turkey crown from M and S just goes in the oven. Same for pigs in blankets and ready made roasties.

They do a range of microwaveable sides - red cabbage, posh sprouts and chestnuts, for example.

They even do a microwaveable pot of gravy, bread sauce, etc!

If there are five in your house, I’m sure between the four of them they can cope, especially if you’re there to give instructions and moral support!

How about roasting a crown on Xmas eve and having it cold for the next couple of days. Add in some other buffet foods and then at least he gets to enjoy the day too. I say this as a very capable 40 odd year old who panics like crazy in the kitchen. Whilst in the calm light of day the M&S everything prepped meal sounds a walk in the park and no harder than throwing nuggets and pizza in the oven and shoving peas on the stove, I know that cometh the hour, I’d be stressed, ill and I’d worry that I caused food poisoning for a good 24 hours afterwards!

Good luck with the op!

A nice thought but realistically no family members are going to leave their families to come and cook for us 🙂

My husband will have his hands full with the kids (SEN) and helping me get washed and dressed etc.

I just want to keep it as simple as possible for him.

If you're not a cook then the thought of
making a Christmas lunch is incredibly daunting!

How about chicken drumsticks? 35 minutes in the oven.

Any supermarket party food is good. Designed to go in the oven at the same temperatures. Take your pick from the range.

In that case, why not forget all the pressure, and just have a pyjama and favourite food day?

What’s everyone’s favourite? Cheese and biscuits? Pizza? Just a massive bowl of chips and dips?

Let everyone choose, with no rules. New pyjamas to get changed into after breakfast. Still have crackers etc, if you want, and mince pies etc for pudding.

Then it’ll still be special, but in a different way.

Pigs in blankets obviously. And see if you can get some cold turkey. A buffet with lots of party nibbles and some hot options sounds lovely.

Last year we had prawn cocktail then an Indian takeaway and later a pudding, we all loved it and plan to do it again this year. The food was spread throughout the day and plenty of leftovers.

I would go with the party food bits idea, or if you don't mind if the food is remotely Christmassy just do pizza or something. We've had pizza for Christmas Day one year for a change and it was really nice.

Maybe something easy in the slow cooker that you just have to throw everything in except browning off the meat. We normally go out for an Indian so like Shiraztonights idea as well if you cant get out.

I would get him to cook one of those turkey joints and have a ham. Some salad stuff and party food. You can make sandwiches or have a plated salad. Christmas pudding can go in microwave. You can always direct operations from your wheelchair.

One Christmas I was discharged from hospital on Christmas eve after major surgery and had to direct dh on the dinner and he managed perfectly lovely roast potatoes to his and my surprise. Though there was only the 2 of us.
You could do one of those stuffed joints the day before and on Christmas day just do the veg. Most shops now have veg that just go in the oven in their tin trays. I always do Marks red cabbage which I bung in the microwave.