To ask if anyone else has NEVER cooked Christmas dinner

[OrtolanLBunting]

Or lunch depending on when you have the main meal.

I'm well into middle age but have never done it. Am happy to peel veg, set the table, clear away and wash up every single thing.

But cook it - never! wouldn't know where to start. And don't go saying it's just a Sunday roast cos I've never done one of those either.

Anyone else?

I have done roasts but never Xmas, my DH has always done ours as he is amazing at it and when I was single (or a child) my Dad did it. My Dad’s roasts are also brilliant.

When I was single I did sometimes make
my own roasts so I could probably do it. But wouldn’t be a patch on DH’s!

Tell that to my dad! He is 70 and will not let anyone near his Christmas cooking. It's actually a pain because now I have DC I would much rather host Chrismas at ours and cook myself than traipse all the way over to theirs (an hour drive) I. Christmas day, but they have always hosted Christmas and I just know that they wouldn't be keen. I think next year I'm going to say that we're staying home and would love to host anyone who wants to come to us.

I've never cooked a roast dinner or a Christmas one - very firmly middle aged.

I went home for Christmas until I got pregnant then my husband took over cooking duties where we share a meal because he's fussy and I can't be bothered with his nonsense when I'm cooking (hovering over me, making. 'suggestions', interfering etc).

My job is the clearing up - I'm happy with the balance and so is he.

I've never cooked a roast or a Christmas dinner - my late DH did all that, and we had them in the UK.
Since we came to Australia we never again had the traditional Christmas lunch, except for Christmas in July once, instead having oysters, seafood, potato salad and sorbet, which I helped make and now make myself.

I love Christmas Dinner, and if I have Christmas alone, I do the full works. I sometimes do a roast for just me. I haven't cooked a full dinner for others, but I have been to ones where I brought parts, the stuffing, bread sauce, pigs in blankets and a sticky toffee pudding for pudding (because no one liked Christmas pudding.) I'm good at cooking and roast is easy, so the only issue would probably be logistical- I don't have a large oven, so there's a limit to what can be cooked concurrently.

Nope. Never.

My husband cooks. We usually host a few family members. Since my mum discovered my husband is a really good cook she has decided she is not cooking Xmas dinner and is coming to us instead, which is all good.

I am in charge of drinks and other hosting.

Generally when we host he does savoury and I do sweet but for Xmas the main event is the roast dinner and we tend to just do shop bought desserts as often people are not up for pudding after a massive roast.

I am mid 30s and never cooked xmas dinner for the following reasons:

-Been to either mum or in laws who want to host
-Was at home in lockdown and was recovering from birth
-Tbh i often work most of the xmas week and don’t want to spend my day off cooking for hours
-I love the idea of getting an indian and not having to cook at all

I'm nearly 42 and have never cooked a Christmas dinner entirely on my own. Most years I have gone to my parents for Christmas dinner although when me and my ex-partner hosted our lodgers' family I tended to help out more rather than cook it all myself. My parents are in their 60's and still more than happy to host us for as long as they can or they would go to my brother's once they get to a point where they would no longer manage and I would be prepared to cook my own dinner for me and my children if needed.

Never

Mum does it, and when she can no longer then I will take us all out for Christmas Day

We do occasionally go out for Christmas Day - maybe once every 3 years, but mum's cooking is the best

My mother is 55 so I reckon I've got another 25 years of her cooking.. and by that stage eldest DS will be 34 so he might invite us over

Sorry but I just don’t believe all these older people they just love cooking Christmas lunch for everyone. Really?! My parents did it for flipping years love seeing them lolling about with champagne and grandchildren on Christmas morning while we do the lunch. We are always about 12-15 people so it’s quite an undertaking.

Me! DH does it if we’re hosting at ours. I do make the pudding but generally do this on Christmas Eve.

DH refuses all help and locks everyone out of the kitchen, but if we’re elsewhere I chip in with vegetable peeling and other general assistance.

I've never cooked one. Me and DH have been together since we were teens and Christmas dinner has always been cooked by either FIL, DM, DH or we've gone out.

I could cook the dinner but DH enjoys doing it. Plus we agree it evens out the work I put in organising and wrapping gifts.

If we're at home I lay the table, provide drinks to DH and guests and serve dessert.

Also, to pp who said it's awful to let elderly parents cook - my FIL is early 60s, DM late 50s. Neither are elderly and both absolutely insist on cooking.

I've never cooked the whole thing, I do all the shopping, help with prep, keep kitchen tidy and lay table. I'm not against doing it and feel I'd make a better job of it, but in reality DH would never cope with xmas day if he couldn't spend some of it in the kitchen cooking, away from my Mum.

I’ve never done it and I’m 56. Husband always did it and daughter (25) took over last year as she wanted to. I do all the washing up though and cook Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

I've never done the kind of Xmas dinner you read about on here where you're cooking for hours, slaving away in the kitchen, generating a weeks worth of washing up.

Anyone spending hours slaving in the kitchen generating a weeks worth of washing up is doing it wrong!
As a 75 year old I'm now a guest but when I did do Christmas and Boxing days my one wish was that people would keep out of the bloody kitchen. One memorable year my OH managed to cut his head open on the garage door because he never lifted it properly, he then spent a few hours in A and E getting stitched up, it was bliss!

The only parts of Christmas dinner I like are turkey and stuffing. My husband isn’t too keen on turkey, so I cook it, but he does everything else.

I have never cooked one, and never will. What a faff.

It doesn't need to be a faff though. One year when it was just DH and me I bought it all from M and S, and it was just a case of putting it all in the oven. I think I did some veg separately, but it wasn't a big deal.

There are only ever 3 of us for Christmas and no-one has ever spent all day in the kitchen.

If I don't cook there won't be any sort of Christmas dinner, even a basic roast affair. I wish someone else would cook for me/us.

Cooking is not in the same category as swimming or whistling though.
Basic ability to cook is a life skill.

I'm the same! I've never cooked Christmas dinner or a roast. My husband and kids aren't the biggest fan of roasts so I've just never seen the need.
We're hosting this year but buying the Christmas dinner in from a local restaurant!

I can see what it might be a big deal if you've never cooked a Christmas dinner and suddenly it all falls to you and you're hosting a larger group But the beauty of the traditional Christmas dinner is that anyone can do part of it, so the work doesn't have to fall to one person and any individual's contribution takes minimal time. The meat is roasted by late morning. DH does the Yorkshires and roast potatoes, I do the gravies and the stuffing and the kids chip in with the pigs in blankets, veg and veggie roast. There's no better roast than the one cooked at (our) home. We'll save the Indian and the Chinese for Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

I'm 39 and never done it - either my parents/MiL or DH has always been the main chef. I've peeled endless potatoes and chopped tonnes of veg, but never been the one in charge. I probably could do it fairly well, but the aforementioned people are much more keen than me!

Me, but only because I'm Jewish!

Me! I'm in my 50s and I can cook (I cook most days the rest of the year) but I'm veggie so I couldn't begin to handle a turkey. My husband does Christmas Day and Sunday lunches. He's a very good cook and enjoys it.

(It always slightly rankles that everyone who comes for Christmas dinner praises him to high heaven and tells me how lucky I am to have a husband who cooks when I do everything else for Christmas - all the 'invisible' stuff.)!