To ask for your Christmas menu

[Leothebear]

I will be hosting this year and I need ideas!

Thank you and wishing you all the best for this Christmas season.

I'll start from when our guests arrive at the house! We don't have any young children to cater for but I would have thought this menu aside from maybe the starter would be OK for kids. Veggies/vegans would be more of a challenge as you'll need a different starter (maybe a veggie terrine or tart?) and main (nut roast or similar?), and to do some potatos not in goose fat...

On arrival (about 10/11am): Bucks Fizz and warm croissants/pain au chocolat (bought frozen from the supermarkets, take about 10 mins in the oven to warm through)

Through the morning: nibbles of crisps/dips, sometimes some trays of ready-done canapes/party food from supermarket, mince pies, selection boxes, whatever's lying around

About 1.30pm: light starter of smoked salmon and thin sliced wholemeal bread and butter.

About 2.30-3pm: main meal, roast goose, goose-fat potatos, chestnut and onion stuffing, pigs in blankets, gravy, bread sauce, loads and loads of veg (spiced braised red cabbage, honey glazed carrots and parsnips, saute leeks, brussels with pancetta).

About 4pm: Christmas pudding with brandy sauce, alternative for those that don't eat it (yule log or pavlova with fresh fruit or trifle, TBC). Cheeseboard with trimmings.

Through the evening for those not so stuffed they can barely move: leftover sandwiches with crusty bread, Christmas gammon (we cook/eat this for Christmas eve dinner so there's always leftovers for christmas day), more cheese, more dessert, mince pies, salad/coleslaw bits.

Obviously the booze flows freely through the day too! Personally I don't think the croissants on arrival are really needed but others seem to like them so I've been veto-d on the suggestion of leaving them out! DH is a big fan of a supermarket canapes as well, again for me I'd leave them off as it's just a faff fitting them into the already full oven and I think people fill up on them too much ahead of an already large meal but again they're popular so hey ho...

LOVE it! sounds like an amazing day filled with food and love 😍

Mushroom Wellington
Port reduction
Roast potatoes, parsnips and carrots
Sprouts with chestnuts
Mashed swede
Pigs in blankets (for DH and me)
Veggie pigs in blankets (for DD)
Stuffing

DD is cooking. she is vegetarian and we are not, but just love all foods. It is easier to just have a veggie meal than faff around with turkey as well.

We don't bother with a starter or pudding. In the evening we usually pick at leftovers and cheese and crackers.

Breakfast - full Scottish

Christmas Dinner

Starters: choice of salmon mousse, prawn cocktails, melon or pate

Main: Turkey, pork & sage stuffing, cocktail sausages, baby carrots, sprouts, parsnips, roast & mashed potato

Veggie: giant mushroom filled with sage stuffing, goats cheese baked in a red wine & bisto sauce - same veg as above

Deserts: choice of chocolate melting middle puddings, jelly & icecream, cheese board

Evening: snack on left overs

Prawn cocktails with home-made Marie Rose sauce and avocado to start with a fresh crusty bread

Cold cooked ham and cold, cooked turkey with a variety of salads, including Mexican rice salad, potato and bacon salad, watermelon and feta salad

Pavlova for dessert, individual mini ones, so people can create their own with mango, kiwifruit and fresh berries and cream

Later in the evening an extensive cheeseboard with Korean pairs and quince paste, homemade chutney

Chips, dips chocolates, nuts etc to snack on throughout the day

It's scheduled to be 32°C here, so we will be in an out of the swimming pool all day and taking naps in the hammocks (Australia)

We usually eat Christmas lunch at about oneish. We like haveing lunch at lunchtime and not mid afternoon. DH has had gastric surgery and can only eat little and often, and has to take medication an hour before meals, so we can't be as spontaneous about meal times these days.

Breakfast - chocolate
Lunch - microwave meal for one
Tea - cheese

Dress code - PJs
Entertainment - Coronation Street Christmas special

Lighthearted obviously but still very true!

Breakfast - choice of bacon sandwich or selection box sweets

Dinner - turkey, mashed potato, roast potatoes, turnip (swede), sprouts, peas, carrots, broccoli, pigs in blankets, Yorkshire pudding, gravy.

There'll be apple sauce, cranberry sauce, mint sauce, and stuffing for those that want them.

After dinner will be a choice of Christmas pudding or more selection box sweets.

Tea - whatever you can fetch from the kitchen yourself because I'm not cooking. Usually ends being a combo of dinner leftovers, crisps, and Celebrations.

We're not hosting this year so it'll be just us and the DC. I don't bother with starters because it's too much faff and the DC don't eat them anyway. Dinner is whenever it's ready, sometime from 1pm to 4pm.

2 adults & 2 20 somethings and ours is:

Wake around 12 (them not me) eat chocolate

Eat croissants & Danish pastries, drink champagne, whilst opening pressies about 1ish

Eat more chocolate

Fill the table with a baked ham, cheeses, olives, crisps, salads and other lush fishy stuff and graze for the rest of the day.

Dress code: leisure wear (aka pj's)

We have no kids so Christmas day will just be DH and I, we have Bucks Fizz with smoked salmon & cream cheese bagels for breakfast. Then for lunch we’ll have our starter at around 1pm, this year I’ll be making my twice baked cheese souffles with baby leaf & walnut salad and balsamic glaze dressing.
Then around 3pm we’ll have roast turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, sprouts with pancetta, honey roast carrots and parsnips, stuffing, yorkies, gravy and cranberry sauce (husbands favourite meal of the year). Then a bit later (usually whilst we watch Xmas Strictly) we’ll have xmas pud and brandy cream. Then around 9pm DH will make his super-duper xmas club sandwiches with leftovers. I cannot wait!

Just myself, dh and Ds (2)

Chocolate santas head in bed. Tea

Crossiants and juice

Lunch - goulash and Apple strudel in ski hut. Muelled wine

Turkey, Brie and cranberry toasties. Homemade sausage rolls, mince pies, gingerbread . Spiced hot apple cider

No plans of a full roast this year. I will let lunch be made for us, and spend late afternoon playing with Ds instead of slaving in kitchen .

I'm not hosting this year, but last year I did: starters - a selection of fancy pates, nice bread/toast and salad (I previously gave a choice of pate or homemade soup but found it was too much of a faff so just stuck to pate last time). For main: turkey, sausage meat, pigs in blankets, sage and onion stuffing (some with meat, some without), Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, roast parsnips in honey, roast sweet potatoes, roasted carrots, carrot and swede mash, red cabbage, broccoli, petits pois, mushy peas (my dad's choice!), cauliflower cheese, a leek, kale and garlic concoction (I made up by accident one year and is now a permanent fixture), sprouts and pancetta, loads of gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce. For dessert: Christmas pudding with choice of brandy sauce, custard or cream, or homemade Yule log.

We normally eat around 4pm so are often too full for another meal, but if anyone wants to eat more, it's normally just Christmas dinner leftover sandwiches, with sausage rolls, pork pies, coleslaw, salad etc. or cheese and crackers with pickled onions and chutneys etc.

Reading it all back, I'm not surprised I'm shattered by Boxing Day!

Breakfast is bacon rolls, poptarts and waffles with fresh fruit. Clementine Buck's Fizz for adults, fresh juice for kids.

Then this year we are having leg of lamb and pork for Christmas dinner. Duck fat roast spuds. Sprouts and chestnuts. Sliced cabbage. Carrot and Swede. Honey Parsnips. Big Pigs in blankets and bacon wrapped , sausage meat stuffing loaf. Tons and tons of gravy.

Pudding is whichever of the m and s desserts the kids chose for us to have.

Then for the evening a whopping big charcuterie board. Black cheddar, dolcelate, stinking bishop, Red Leicester, a sweet sheep cheese, a Stilton, crumbly white with ginger. A mix of extra special crackers in various textures and flavours. Salami, mortadella, nduja sausages and chorizo. Tiny pickled onions, cornichons, chipotle spiced honey, grapes, sliced apples. Fresh room temperature butter.

I can't wait!!

@maxelly - this sounds amazing! Have you room for any more🤣🤣

Breakfast : smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and bucks fizz

Dinner: turkey with sausage meat and sage and onion stuffing; roast potatoes; roast parsnips: brussel sprouts with bacon; carrots with tarragon butter: asparagus spears; artichoke hearts and pigs in Blankets.
Christmas pudding with rum sauce.

Nothing else too full

For main: turkey, sausage meat, pigs in blankets, sage and onion stuffing (some with meat, some without), Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, roast parsnips in honey, roast sweet potatoes, roasted carrots, carrot and swede mash, red cabbage, broccoli, petits pois, mushy peas (my dad's choice!), cauliflower cheese, a leek, kale and garlic concoction (I made up by accident one year and is now a permanent fixture), sprouts and pancetta, loads of gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce.

Wow. That is a lot of work. Do you really need three types of potato and Yorkshire pudding and nine different types of vegetables?

Croissants and scrambled eggs for breakfast.

For the main event at about 3, prawn cocktail to start (a very long standing tradition), then

Beef wellington / veggie wellington
Honey glazed ham
Roast and mashed spuds
Sprouts (🤢)
Cauliflower cheese
Honey roasted parsnips and carrots
Stuffing
Yorkshires
Gravy

Yule log with clotted cream and cheese.

M&S party food later if we can still move.

Washed down with gallons of prosecco and Bailey's.

Lentil soup with warm bread
Homemade Christmas pizzas
Not sure on desert maybe a pavlova no one likes Christmas pudding

just me and my partner

brunch – smoked salmon scrambled eggs, bucks fizz

dinner – mushroom wellington (really nice one in the NYT recipes section – a bit fiddly but worth it for xmas day), roast potatoes, carrots, parnsips, red cabbage, brussels sprouts

christmas cake (making that this weekend!) and mince pies throughout the day/evening.

Just myself, partner and two teens.
Breakfast - same as usual ( cereal/ yoghurt)

Dinner - Turkey/veggies

Tea - Sandwiches/fruit/ crisps

Cant stand too much food in the house and over indulging.

🎄🎅

Main event will be

Roast Rib of Beef
Roast Gammon (slow cooker on the day in coca cola)
Roast Turkey (cooked night before)
Roast Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Honey Roast Parsnips
Yorkshire Pudding
Cauliflower Cheese
Sausage Meat Stuffing
Pigs in Blankets
Peas
Cabbage and Leeks
Carrots
Gravy

Basically THE LOT yummmmmmm

ooh forgot the sprouts - definitely sprouts too!

Starter: Carrot and coriander soup with sourdough rolls

Main: Turkey, pigs in blankets, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes, gravy

Dessert: Apple strudel with custard, with an alternative of chocolate Yule log for DMum who likes neither apples nor custard!

Breakfast: bacon and egg butties/poached egg muffin

Christmas dinner:
Starter: prawns, avocado & pico de gallo/mushroom soup
Main: turkey/nut roast, with pigs in blankets, apple and chestnut stuffing, roast potatoes, mash, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, Yorkshire pudding and gravy
Dessert: trifle/Christmas pudding/chocolate torte

Tea: none, too full. But butties/leftovers/chocolate on offer!

Its just my parents, partner and I this year for Christmas Day (big family get together on Boxing Day) so we’ll be having

Breakfast 10am ish - Eggs Benedict with Buck’s Fizz
Lunch - quality streets
Dinner 6pm ish -

Pate

Roast Beef, Roast potatoes, Yorkies, mashed swede, cheesy leeks, roast carrots and parsnips, petit pois and red cabbage.

Sticky toffee pudding and ice cream (or custard for my weirdo DP who does not like hot and cold)

All the booze all day of course…

Boxing Day will be a buffet of cold meats, salad, supermarket canapés etc and my absolute favourite bubble and squeak made from left overs. A massive plate of ham, bubble and picalilly and I’m a happy lass!