Is this too much food for 5 people on Xmas day?

[Hoiz]

Breakfast
Pret frozen croissants
Cinnamon rolls
Coffee
Bucks Fizz

Houer D'oeuvres
Pigs in blanket (American style)
Chorizo and Scallops
Salmon and Cod Roe Blinis
Garlic Prawns
Caeser Salad skewer

Main Meal
Stuffed Chicken Joint
Roast Potatoes
Mash
Dauphinoise Potatoes
Honey Carrots
Bacon and Broccoli
Parsnips
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Pigs in blanket
Stuffing balls
Yorkshire pudding
Onion Gravy
Plain Gravy

Dessert
Sticky Toffee Pudding and Ice cream
Xmas Pudding
Yule Log
Cheese Platter
Mince Pies

Dinner
Leftovers

Drinks
Champagne
Wine
Bucks Fizz
Spicy Margharitas

Someone in the group is insisting on a starter but they have agreed to taking responsibility. TBC.

This will all be homemade (apart from pastries in morning and ice cream) so it’s a lot of work - 2 main people doing it. A third person will likely pitch in a fair amount.

Is it a normal amount of food? First year hosting but any less would not be what my family is used to. But I’m doing a lot more homemade stuff whereas in previous years some of the snack stuff and desserts would be M and S.

If you're happy to make it all, go for it! It sounds opulent and delicious and you'll have tons of leftovers to eat over the following days. It's Christmas, it's not about whether you "need" two gravies.

In a word YES

I wonder how much of it will get thrown away

YES.

I'd be full after the breakfast and the nibbles.

Why on earth do you need THREE deserts and cheese and mince pies?

We have one Xmas pudding. And that's it.

I'm gobsmacked to be frank.

What are ‘American style’ pigs in blankets?

I wouldn’t want all those canapés after a nice breakfast and before a big Xmas dinner, you’ll ruin your dinner! I would cut the lot, stick some posh crisps and nuts in bowls for nibbling on and be done with it tbh.

Full 😱at the person who suggested cutting Yorkshire puddings though. Idc if you’re supposed to have them with beef, they’re the best bit!

Probably an entire pig wrapped in another pig.

That's a ridiculous amount of food. Maybe if you were catering for 12 or more people it might be worth doing three kinds of potatoes and all those veg but for 5??? You are just undertaking a ridiculous load of work for what? -- one person to eat dauphinoise potatoes and two to eat mash, and similar on the veg? Who even has plates (or an appetite big enough) to fit all that food? And five different canapés for 5 people? How many of each are you doing - 2/3/10? If you buy they will comes in packs of 6 or whatever so you either have loads leftover and wonder why you bothered or people eat them all and are then full before the Christmas meal even starts.

I am now questioning timings as 4/5 don’t normally even eat breakfast. But my dad is not a flexible person…

Yes, definitely will scrap a few things as I would like to go the family dog walk before lunch

looks amazing but a bit too much. I would remove one of the appetisers (probably the garlic prawns), the dauphinoise potatoes, one or the gravies and the yule log

waaaaaaaaaay too much! Completely unnecessary and OTT

You don’t need to make every single guest their favourite items for every single course.

I get that it's nice to go all out at Christmas, but after 35 years of cooking and serving, I think that amount and choice is too much, believe me I've done way too much in the past and have seen everyone overstuffed by the main course never mind the pudding. I would skip hors douvres, just nuts etc. if folk want them.Small tasty starter, scallops based? , skip two types of potato, skip onion gravy,skip broccoli. Two types of pud , I would do one fruity, maybe Panna cotta , with a fruity coulis, and another heavy one maybe Christmas pud, mince pies and cheese for later, I would have eggs and smoked salmon for brekky as well rather than pastries not as filling. Good luck

Agree. You are not a restaurant, people are not ordering from an a la carte menu. If four people don't even normally eat breakfast, why do you think that you not only have to feed them breakfast pastries but then also an array of canapés before lunch at 1.30?

Yes. Way too much.

We will also have 5, and probably doing a 1/4 of that. Nobody is ever hungry for desert imo after Christmas dinner, so we do more nibble sweet style after so people can choose.

Here:
Breakfast - not sure yet. Something simple
Lunch 1pm ish: cheese/ sausage rolls/ charcuterie type thing. Mince pies.
Dinner 6pm: Turkey and beef, pigs in blankets roast potatoes, roast butternut squash cubes, green beans, carrots, Yorkshires, gravy.

Desert will be selection of homemade gingerbread, linzer biscuits, mince pies, nice chocolates. Muelled wine. All just put out around 7pm for nibbling throughout the evening.

there will be plenty of leftover meat for turkey Brie and cranberry toasty sandwiches on Boxing Day

I'd be concerned with all those HDs, that people wouldn't eat the meal at 1.30 so I'd definitely cut those back AND have the meal later. Can't imagine you'd need a dinner afterward too!

If 4/5 don't usually eat breakfast then I definitely wouldn't bother on a day when you will be eating more than normal anyway!
(& people will eat chocolate when they open presents!)

Canapés or a starter - you don't need both

2 potatoes, 3 veg
Don't need stuffing balls if chicken includes stuffing

Can you just buy a mini STP for your dad?

Dinner - leftovers, cheeseboard, mince pies

that is madness. It all sounds lovely but you're going to end up throwing at least half of it out. Because with the best will in the world, even though people say they will have leftovers, it never all gets eaten, and tbh that amount of food waste is criminal.

I can’t scrap the Yule log - the cake decorations came today 😂

Let your dad sort his own breakfast out if no-one else will want breakfast. I'm always surprised about the amount of pastries consumed on Mumsnet considering they're just sweet carby air and everyone always goes on about how they 'need protein' in the morning.

I'd ditch all the hors d'eurves except the blinis. Have the scallops and garlic prawns another time for dinner with bread and other tapasy bits. You're serving pigs in blankets as part of the meal so don't need them as a starter.

Also ditch the cabbage (too like sprouts) and Yorkshire puddings (you already have stuffing and 3 kinds of potatoes so it's not like anyone's going to go hungry).

Also get rid of the sticky toffee pudding, there's plenty of other variety.

I expect there will still be leftovers, but a big advantage of a feast like that is the leftovers, do it right and you won't need to cook again for a couple of days.

That’s probably enough to feed 20 people! I would reduce by at least 60%, even then you’ll have so much left over.

Ditch the onion gravy (that's for beef or sausages). And stick to one or maybe two types of spud. 1:30 is not a late lunch and, if you're all adults, you won't be eating breakfast at 7am having already been up for 3 hours, so stick with 2 or 3 light nibbles.

You seem to have a dessert each! Have a hot one, a cold one for people who don't fancy it and a cheeseboard that can double up as a tea time buffet thing.

Sounds lovely.
Personally I'd rather have the smoked salmon with breakfast but that's just me.
I could be wrong but I think American style pigs in blankets are pastry wrapped cocktail sausages rather than bacon wrapped chipolatas?

I'd drop a couple of desserts, one type of potato, one type of gravy and if you want a starter swap it for a couple of the appetisers (can't spell HD's)

But it's your Christmas! And all sounds yummy just a lot of work.

You need to join up with the sad Christmas dinner in laws and show them how it is done!

I am an over buyer, and was prepared to agree that, hey it is Christmas, but yes that is too much.

You don't need more than one or two Houer D'oeuvres, and you don't need a pudding each! Also, mash might be your sister's favourite and roast potatoes might be traditional, but if you aren't going to do a cauliflower cheese then the dauphinois will do really nicely with the rest of it, and you are the cook and should do what you want best!

The light breakfast is a good idea though...