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.

Dessert logic

Dessert
Sticky Toffee Pudding and Ice cream - dad’s fav so making it as a treat (sis not a fan)
Xmas Pudding - already made but is obviously disgusting and only my mum enjoys
Yule Log - only yummy dessert, making on 23rd
Cheese Platter - easy to shove some cheese on a board
Mince Pies - make regularly in Dec

obviously you do what you want and can afford, but since you've asked, yes that sounds ridiculous. Why on earth are you doing so many Hors d'oeuves? And 3 types of potato is just bonkers (never understood mash with a roast!) I'd also drop the onion gravy, one of the veg & one of the puddings and that would still be a groaning table that would feed you all for a good couple of days.

You can never have enough food at Christmas, it is exactly the one time of you can stuff yourself silly and enjoy doing so without any guilt. I would not be putting in all the work to make it though and would probably buy half of it ready made from the M&S foodle or something.

They're not things you want to leave out all morning, though, especially as your house will be warm, with the oven on.

That’s madness and I would also break down in the kitchen if I had to do all that! Also soooo many carb options - seems too much. I would do this instead

Breakfast
Pret frozen croissants
Cinnamon rolls
Coffee
Bucks Fizz

Hors D'oeuvres
Chorizo and Scallops
Salmon and Cod Roe Blinis

Main Meal
Stuffed Chicken Joint
Dauphinoise Potatoes
Roast Potatoes OR Mash (not both)
Honey Carrots
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Pigs in blanket
Stuffing balls
Plain Gravy
BREAD SAUCE! (Missing)

Dessert
Sticky Toffee Pudding and Ice cream
Xmas Pudding
Cheese platter

Dinner
Leftovers

Drinks
Champagne
Wine
Bucks Fizz
Spicy Margharitas

So what are you going to do with 3/4 of a leftover sticky toffee pudding, 7/8 of a Christmas pudding that only one person (who doesn't even live with you) likes?? A yule log which will get stale very quickly? It's all very well to say "oh lots of yummy leftovers" but actually lots of leftovers look very unappetising after the event, most people aren't there after the day anyway to eat them up, some people have other commitments on Boxing Day so by the time you get back to the leftovers some of them are inedible etc, etc?

Well I'd just have roast potatoes, 3 types is too much, do you need stuffing balls if the chicken stuffed?

I'd also cut down the vegetables.

We don't have a starter but that isn't make space for the cheese...

Would you really sit down and have leftovers if the same meal again after having all that for lunch.

I'd flip it, go straight for the main meal and the scallops etc in the evening.

What sort of Christmas dinners have you had before?

Most people have a light starter (if at all- we don't.)

Then

Turkey (or another roast)
Roast spuds
Carrots
Sprouts
Roast parsnips

Bread sauce
Cranberry sauce
A stuffing- sage and onion or chestnut
Pigs in blankets or similar
Gravy

Christmas pudding
Maybe trifle as another option

Yes don’t bother with sticky toffee or Christmas pudding if only 1 person likes.

Invite your dad over in February and make him sticky toffee then. Send the Christmas pudding home with your mum unopened if only she likes it, and she can eat it another day

What a lovely spread. Your guests are very lucky.

And yes it's likely too much but better than too little. You can eat the leftovers on Boxing Day.

And for posters complaining about the carb content- behave! it's Christmas!

It sounds delish. But so much for 5. We have 5 for breakfast and 7 for lunch. Breakfast is similar yoh yours, freezer croissants. Lunch is turkey and lamb shoulder, roast pots, dauphinois (MIL making and bringing), roasted carrots and parsnips, fresh veg, cabbage (I made a couple of weeks ago and froze), stuffing and pigs. Stuffing and pigs both brought in. One type of gravy, making that tomorrow or Friday. Puddings are brought in, a roulade and some profiteroles. Cheese/pate/leftovers for later if needed.

5 veggies, 5 puds… for 5 people? I get that people have faves, but are you actually going to have time to do anything other than cook and eat?

I would serve pigs in blankets with the main, bit weird to not.

A lot of people are divided over Christmas pudding vs cake, but if you know what they like fair enough.

Are you not having condiments at all or just haven't listed them other than gravy? We do cranberry sauce, bread sauce, mint sauce.

We do fresh pancakes for breakfast and use the rest of the batter for Yorkshires with the dinner, so it's easy to do but fresh, not sure I would want frozen pastries. Also fruit would be nice.

I’d ditch the cabbage, mash and hor dourvres.

It’s a ridiculous amount and variety of food

Very sorry but it's gluttony at its worst.

Just a ridiculous amount of food.

Why not give half of it to a homeless person who may have nothing?

That does seem excessive for 5 people!

Do you really need roast, mashed and dauphinoise potatoes?

I would pull it back a bit!!!

Sounds perfect to me. If you are happy to Cooke it all then why not…. Tell me more about the bacon and broccoli, this sounds interesting

Think this is mad. Who need mash and dauphinois? Just pick one and do the other another day.

also 2 puds is enough.

loads things being doubled up on unnecessarily IMO

It’s ridiculous and you’re setting yourself up for a very stressful day - but despite people pointing out that it’s excessive you’re obviously going to ignore them so crack on

Hoover doofers 😂

It's not the last supper, you will all eat again. There is no need to have each persons favourite foods shoehorned into one day.

It sounds like you’re all going to be doing nothing but eating all day.

Obviously, in addition you’ll be cooking too.
I hope you’ll be getting help clearing/ washing up.

Not much time for anything else by the sound of it.

I was comparing what you have with ours (we are 4 adults) - and your main course is similar in terms of sides, although we have two different joints and a veggie main course for me (first time we've done the two though).

I would wonder about whether you have too many starters there - unless they are really small, you don't want people to be full from the starter when you have so much else to eat. We don't normally do starters but DS asked for one so we are having pate - ready made so easy to just pop on a plate .

I'm always very happy if we have left overs from dinner (and I expect it) as DH likes his cold meats and pickles and the Christmas bubble and squeak fry up on Boxing Day is one of my favourite meals .

Too many potatoes I’d just go for roasts and I’d have Christmas pudding plus one other dessert
I would put the cheese and biscuits out in the evening if anyone’s feeling peckish

Id personally scrap everything before the main meal ( except coffee and Buck’s Fizz) , keep all the main meal ( the best bit) and take it down to three desert choices.