To ask about weird Christmas dinners?

[EightChalk]

And weird Christmases in general! My in-laws are totally normal, welcoming, the house is warm, and the festive food is entirely as expected, with no weird rules around present-opening or enforced games (and of course I think my own family customs are normal!). Grateful as I am for this, I love reading the threads about weird rules you've encountered at other people's houses, and was hoping that there would also be some tales from bizarre Christmases past!

My family is very working class my ex's. family were middle class, or so they thought, I fuckin hated it at theirs for crimbo, so false, everyone singing carols round the tree, parlour games in the afternoon 🤮fuck that, at ours you got up had gallons of tea to appease the hangover, ( adults obviously)everyone chipped in with the dinner, some went to pub, came home ate dinner, open presents, get pissed in front of telly,no enforced jollity, after eights consumed along with quality street and roses, and when I say dinner I mean dinner NOT lunch 😁,his family used to frown if I said crimbo dinner, FFS they were as northern working class as we were snobby twats😂

Oh my goodness, have a lovely Christmas xx

Ex’s parents had no mash. NO MASH. Apparently roast potatoes cover all potato needs. Nope.

We only have roast potatoes. Surely that's pretty normal?

We don't have mash? Is there any requirement for a double helping of potatoes when there are roasters available? All that food and more potatoes. Bulky.

I only started adding mash when I met my husband he loves mash. My family never had mash with roast dinners or Christmas dinner he was not impressed so mash is on the menu now.

We once took Christmas crackers to Italy for Christmas and my relatives took them super seriously and asked if they had a religious significance (I guess because of the crowns like the three kings).

When I was little we went to my grandparents for Christmas. Wasn't allowed to open any presents till after Christmas dinner.....very frustrating for a 7 year old me!!!! It all seemed very formal too 😂😂

I think everyone prefers Christmas the way their family of origin did it.

My Mum would go down and switch the tree lights on really early then we’d go down and open our presents first thing. Siblings and I alternated one gift at a time but they were all opened before 8!

When we got older, it was presents (everyone opening one each before someone else could open another), Buck’s Fizz and pastries for breakfast then everyone goes and gets dressed into their Christmas outfits (we stay at parents with spouses Christmas Eve, which is pub and a curry). Lunch about 3, turkey, ham, loads of veg, Christmas pud for those that like it, plus two other desserts. My Mum dresses the table beautifully.

Board games, singing, lots of booze and chocolates in the afternoon and evening then everyone goes to bed pissed, full and happy!

I spent a few miserable Christmases with an ex’s family who ate whatever off paper plates. It wasn’t proper Christmas food, one year it was enchiladas! And no alcohol because the grandmother didn’t approve!

I don't eat roast potatoes but I've never thought to cook mashed potato with a roast.

I've never eaten Christmas dinner on Christmas Day. We have a buffet lunch and a curry and quiz Xmas day night, a buffet and local football on Boxing Day and then the 27th is our blow out Christmas dinner day. Works so well for us :)

Yes we do!! As a child no stockings before 8am opened on parents/grandparents beds, no other presents opened until everyone assembled in the lounge after lunch then 1 person at a time! Did the same with mine and they now do the same with theirs! Just makes Christmas last all day and the kids aren't overtired at lunch and they get all boxing day to look at things properly. As a child it bugged me but It works for us.

@redalex261 White soup? Are you Jane Austen?

Ours was always the four of us DM DF and sister. Stockings at cockcrow after mum had had a cigarette. Then presents, no taking turns just tear in, one or two chocs allowed before lunch. Then mum made us go to church. One big present after dinner. Then could eat whatever we wanted! Was always a bit trashy - cheesy eighties decs, etc and I think I enjoyed the build up more than the day itself, in fact I still do. Haven’t had a Christmas Day like that with my parents for years, but this is the first year they’ve both gone and knowing it won’t ever happen again is a bit sad 😔

My parents weren't into Christmas dinners so the first time I had one was at my boyfriend's/future OH's home, his mother spent all morning in her very tiny cupboard/kitchen and he and I ate this meal at about one, she didn't join us but washed up in the kitchen. She then stayed in there washing up the meal and then at about 6pm she produced exactly the same meal again as an evening meal! I could barely move.

You're clearly unwell. Mushy peas are vile and spoil any meal for me. Christmas Dinner would ruined for me with bloody disgusting mushy peas.

My friend used to dread the deep-fried "roast" potatoes at his in-laws house.

If accidental weird counts here we go....

A couple Christmas's back ( first one living with new partner and our kids )

The open broke completely mid way through cooking a very large turkey.

I made christmas dinner spread across the camp stove , the next door neighbours oven , the slow cooker the air fryer and the outdoor bbq. Had about 10 alarms to manage everything

Can I come to yours for Christmas...

My Dad once BBQ'd Christmas dinner when I was a teenager - he did a whole bird on it!

Mines more of a food disaster.....my mum offered to cook for my dad's side of the family. Everything was going fine until they carved the turkey. Both ends were stuffed but they left the giblets in the plastic bag in the middle 🤢🤢🤢🤢 my poor mum ended up cooking everyone egg and chips. This was in the 70's before convenience foods 😂😂

No women had EVER gone to the pub. It wasn’t allowed. No point asking, it just wouldn’t

Rumour had it that in the late '60s a local pub wouldn't serve married women at lunchtime on Christmas Day as they should be tied to the cooker all day!

Not so much dinner, but for whatever reason my parents did presents so that we opened them in their bed. Dad would have been up at some unearthly hour to milk, and then would make tea and we'd sit in their bed, drink tea and eat biscuits then open our presents. I think there were only two Christmas' where there were other people there, but I can't remember what happened then.
Dh, ds and I do this, and it is a nice cosy time with the three of us.

My Aunt used to buy me Babychams 'because I know you like it', yes I did when I was about 8 and I was allowed half a glass on New Years Eve, 30 years earlier! I used to call it Chateau Tate and Lyle. A friend of my mother's always gave us a bottle of Bristol Cream sherry which became a raffle prize in a summer draw.

Being a vicar's children, we had to wait til after church to open the presents under the tree. This was fine because we had the contents of our stockings to entertain us (and pocket-fulls of chocolate coins for church). We still do it this way now and my kids haven't revolted yet.

But my in-laws. We have to wait until after the queen, it's terrible. And one year there were extra guests and we had to wait until the children were asleep to open adult presents. My daughter was 3 and a complete insomniac, it was about 9pm til I got to open anything.

However my brother in law is very into wine so I was merry enough that I didn't mind too much

I love mash with a roast and Christmas dinner is no exception!