To get takeaway food instead of cooking Xmas dinner?

[HelloHilda]

I know it's early, but I've been thinking about it recently.

I've never liked Christmas myself/feel apathetic towards it, but since having children I've tried to make an effort for them, but I'm sick of it. My oldest child is 13, and for the past 13 years, it's been nothing but stress and annoyance.

What is the point of christmas when I'm the only one who makes any effort? I'm also the only one who doesn't enjoy it. My husband is useless and doesn't cook, and we don't have a lot of close relatives to invite over, so every christmas it's just me and the kids and my husband eating the food I spent all day cooking. They just gobble it up and show no appreciation.

Also, I don't eat meat but I cook a whole turkey and ham every year for them. I'm not going through that this year. I don't see the problem in just ordering chinese takeway or Dominos pizza. We hardly every eat out, so maybe this would be a treat. I'll buy a cake and some sweets, and that will be it.

I don't see the point in "making christmas special" for people who show me no appreciation, and they eat fast anyway, so it doesn't even matter what the food is. As for decorating the house, I don't care. They can do it if they want.

does your husband muck in with peeling spuds, wrapping and choosing presents etc etc?

I don’t think Christmas dinner is the problem OP, you just sound really really miserable. I think you have to tackle that.

It would be easier to get Cook or m and s - whether it’s Christmas lunch or whatever you want - not many takeaways are open

I think it’s very clear he does not

I would introduce a new tradition.

Only those who help to cook the meal get a seat at the table.

Anyone who can't cook can sous-chef (wash pans and clean up mess) or waiter (set table, serve any starters and stack the dishwasher afterwards) instead.

Then I'd extend this tradition to every meal, not just Christmas dinner.

But takeaway also sounds good. Or failing that, a nice little microwave meal for one.

I like Cook Christmas dinners, it's all in foil trays that I bung in the oven so less time faffing with prep etc. But if you want takeaway then you absolutely should go for it.

https://www.cookfood.net/menu/christmas

I wouldn't cook for my husband ever if he weren't grateful

Get them involved in it all. Make as much as you can before Xmas. Give the kids a cooking book and a task- stuffing/sponge cake/whatever. They’d probably love to be given that responsibility and then understand a bit of what you go through preparing and making food .

Tell DH if you’re cooking he is cleaning. Decorate together but let the kids do the bulk- kids love to decorate anyway and if you’re not fussy with how it might end up then you may as well.

buy ready prepared roasties and veg from m and s. Get a chicken instead of a Turkey if you like. Get ready made (but nice) gravy, pigs in blankets and mash.

get the kids to help serve and clear away. Don’t be a martyr because it’ll never stop otherwise

I used to hate the boredom drudgery of having to provide fucking dinner a decent meal every day for my brood who ate and went. Ditto do all the fucking decorations as if Christmas was a miracle put up a Xmas tree.
Now kids adults and I'm single I love cooking and doing Christmas. I adore it all because I finally have time.
Back then in my unenthusiastic no energy days I have been known to get everything from supermarket in ready to go microwave bags including the gravey. Easy peas. Don't think anyone noticed. Never said.
Never thought of take away. That would be a treat....

My local Indian restaurant is open for bookings in Christmas Day. I would bloody love to go there - delicious food, no cooking, no tidying up or washing up.

As it stands my mum and I share the cooking and that works best for everyone for now.

Also, if I'm honest I do quite enjoy hiding in the kitchen for a couple of hours escaping the madness and drinking Buck's Fizz 😂

Yup tell DH it's his turn to do this

We moved into our current house on Christmas Eve (with a four week old) so skipped Christmas entirely that year and ordered an Indian.

My relatives in Dublin haven't cooked Christmas dinner since the local hotel started this.....

Plated up dinner (on proper plates), to take away. Part Roast spuds separate for bunging in the oven to keep 'em crispy and all that. The rest of the dinner is turkey, ham, stuffing , glazed carrots, Brussels, red cabbage, cauli and mash. Dessert served also. Choice of trifle, Xmas pudding, cheesecake, tiramisu etc. Irish don't have a tradition of piggies in blankets btw lol 😂
So they collect the prepared dinners the evening before, refrigerate, then all that goes in the oven are the roast spuds. They make their own gravy with EEK granules, Microwave the rest (apart from dessert obv!
There are six of them and it sounds like heaven. They pay €35a head (Ireland is expensive) plus €35 deposit for the plates and dishes which they return before NYE. The hotel is renowned for its food. Nothing is open in Ireland on Christmas Day, well no pubs or restaurants anyway.
I reckon the saving on stress, prep, and cleaning up together with the cost of cooking is great for them. There is a Queue out the hotel door for collections on Christmas Eve it is so popular!
Does anywhere do something like that near you OP?

My mother did this from when I was a young teenager. She still talks about how we all said we prefer pizza to Xmas dinner. We didn't. We could tell that she didn't want to cook and we didn't want to make her. Xmas lunch was a bit of an anticlimax though.

Shop bought pre-prepared Xmas food would have been nice enough.

Maybe a plan to cook some bits a day or so before, keep it simple and get the kids involved, opportunity to put on some Christmas music and cook together,

I usually do the full works but after my mother died I felt I couldn't face the normal traditions and as she was a great one for tradition decide to do something different. We had a large Indian takeaway. We all really enjoyed it and there was no stress. The next year we went back to normal. OP, you do whatever makes the day better for you!

If DH and the DC are that worried about Christmas dinner, they can cook it.

I personally wouldn't get a takeaway, but I would cook something easy that I really like, if the rest don't like it tough luck. I enjoy my Xmas dinner, dh does the meat, stuffing etc, I do the potatoes and veg, we don't go to too much trouble and it's always lovely. If I didn't eat meat no way would I do a turkey and ham though, too much of a palaver.

We have shop bought Christmas food eg pre-roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pud, stuffing etc. Turkey just has to be popped in the oven, gravy and bread sauce is from a packet etc. Fresh veg is prepared the day before by those not cooking.
Work is kept to a minimum and the food is really delicious and appreciated by everyone ( but DC grown now).
If you can afford it there’s no need to cook from absolute scratch.
There’s something special about traditional food.

For the lockdown Christmas, DH and I (no kids) had a takeaway Christmas Dinner from a local pub on Christmas eve then worked our way through a fridge full of buffet/party food on Christmas and boxing day. Missed seeing family but food wise absolutely the best Christmas ever!!

This sounds horribly miserable. Your eldest kid is 13, so they’re all quite young. How about instead of ruining christmas you try and involve them and teach them to appreciate what does into it? Do you honestly want them to think back to their childhood and remember their own mum not bothering to decorate for christmas and ordering pizza on Christmas Day?! Horrible. You seem like you’re trying to punish your kids. All wrong.

See I get this (wouldn’t be for me but I GET it). It’s not what the OP is suggesting though. To considering not decorating us just crap.

I stopped making Christmas dinner 3 years ago. We go to the Indian restaurant down the road now- all 13 of us. It’s ace!

I really want to do that this year as it's just my DH and me and he has been doing nearly all the cooking since June as I've not been well. I'm hoping to be much better by then but I don't want to do the whole shebang just for two of us.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a proper takeaway (not pizza or KFC) which is open at Christmas where we live, despite it being a small city. If I could find an Indian or Chinese (not much else around here) takeaway that was open on Christmas Day that is definitely what we would be doing - so go for it!

Yup, this.

Did none of you ( don't know if you had siblings or a dad ) offer to help out?