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.

It won't be too much if you invite MN along, too.

No one eats like this regularly. Apart from my dad who could afford to lose a stone we are all a healthy weight. Brother participates in iron what’s it calleds

Far too much food. I would look at what people have suggested and cut out loads of the veg. I would probably save the hors doevres for Boxing Day when you will be calmer and able to sit down and enjoy them.

Save the Yule log to serve in the evening, people will enjoy it more if you present it whole. ditto the mince pies and icecream. Good coffee and hot tea and they will go down a treat.

Sticky toffee and Christmas pudding, plus the mystery pudding will be plenty at lunchtime , no one will want to eat much of them and will only have a token mouthful.

If you are not careful you will end up with a fridge heaped full of unappetising looking leftovers on precariously balanced plates that no one fancies picking at, or worse hidden in Tupperware that will only be opened in January. Better to serve a few freshly prepared things that get mostly eaten .

I would definitely get rid of the dauohinoise as much as I love it, I'm doing cheesy leeks this year so still have the cheesiness but not so filling.

Yes too much. I'd knock off 3 items from the dinner and 2 off the dessert. You'll need 2 soft drinks e.g. lemonade/coke/J2Os and orange juice for breakfast.

Way too much food, but it looks amazing.

After a few years of hosting and constantly making too much food, I have it down to a reasonable amount now.

Huge amount of canapes - that would be a full meal in itself. I suggest pick one or two (ie. the easy ones) and have that as the starter. Or something like soup instead.

I do get that people have their own favourite sides but that is an awful lot with 3 types of potato, and three types of greens as well as the parsnips and carrots. I suggest send out a list and tell people to vote for their 3 faves, then count the votes and make those.

Leftovers for supper is a good idea (if anyone wants supper - may be worth getting some nice bread in for people making sandwiches out of the leftovers)>

She has a massive salad on Christmas Eve

It's definitely better to do a smaller number of things really well. It's also a more special xmas for everyone if you are not exhausted by the cooking!

I think it sounds incredible but, it feels a bit off kilter.

I would add a small ham, ditch the brocoli and bacon and cabbage and potato choices.

Save the cheese (dont offer it at lunch) until and offer it up with ham in the evening.

Unless your chicken is massive, I am not sure how much leftover chicken you will have so without the ham, you will be serving left over veg and potatoes in the evening which sounds really heavy .

But it does sound amazing.

Right, if your brother does ironman then I suppose he is allowed leftovers as a second meal in the day 😁

You can say I allowed it 🤣

Updated

Breakfast
Pret frozen croissants
Cinnamon rolls
Coffee
Bucks Fizz

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

Main Meal
Stuffed Chicken Joint - sister will debone and stuff
Roast Potatoes
Mash
Dauphinoise Potatoes (If it were up to me I would only do dauphinoise but it’s out of my hands)
Honey Carrots
Bacon and Broccoli
Parsnips
Brussel Sprouts
Pigs in blanket
Yorkshire pudding
Onion Gravy
Plain Gravy

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

Sorry, just realised there is a mystery starter, not a mystery dessert!

Way way too much!
I think I’d leave some of the veg an dessert dishes until the buffet at dinner time so there’s something to “pull out of the hat”, maybe some of the bacon sides, dauphinois potatoes, sticky toffee pudding and Yule log.

We don’t eat dessert straight after the meal.

Does the person who wants a starter know about the canapés, because I think if you eat at 1330 and have planned breakfast too it needs to be one or the other.

I agree with the general opinion that you need to streamline a bit. It's lovely that you are taking into consideration everyone's favourites but do they all need to have their favourites on Christmas Day itself? Christmas is spread over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, then you have NYE and New Year's Day too, I think it's fine to spread the favourites out over those five days rather then cramming them into one.

On a practical level work out your oven space, table space and serving bowls. Can you practically facilitate it all? Also work out timings.

It sounds like you're a wonderful host but I do worry that you won't be able to leave the kitchen.

All fine but I think you need another choice of protein, not just stuffed chicken. Gammon or beef ?

We like to have a big variety of food and then just have a few meals of leftovers.

Also what is a stuffed chicken 'joint'? That's smaller than an actual chicken so you may find there's not enough meat?

I still think you should cut two potato types. And definitely dauphinoise which I don't think have any place on a Christmas dinner as they don't go well with gravy. Why not have them as the star of the Boxing Day leftover buffet - it's what we do. You can better appreciate them and they get to be the centre piece.

Still too many potatoes! If you really want/need mash and dauphinoise, do you have to do roasties?
What is the starter, as this will affect the choice/amount of canapés? It is a lot after a fairly bready breakfast.
Also still a lot of dessert options. If I was a guest I'd be quite overwhelmed with all the choice. Hold the cheese and mince pies back for later.

That's loads! I'd be comatose and I can eat a lot.

For context, we hosted nine people last year and this was the menu:

Breakfast: Christmas chocolates

Snacks: Bowl of Nuts and Crisps out. More Christmas chocolate.

Lunch: Roast chicken, Stuffing, pigs in Blankets, roast potatoes, sweet potato Mash, sprouts, Carrots, Yorkshire pudding, breadsauce, Gravy.

Pudding: shop bought Toffee and Pecan Roulade, or Mince Pies or ice cream.

Dinner: left overs, Cheese.

More chocolate.

Drinks: Fizzy. Tea. Coffee. Wine for DM.

I'd also swap the broccoli for braised red cabbage.

Oh if it's what you want and you can be bothered to make it all keep it as it is!!

It can be eaten later or the next day

It's still a ridiculous amount.

Do you all eat these quantities normally?

I can't imagine anyone having appetite for the main dinner after all the rich pastry for breakfast and the starters.

What time do you plan to eat dinner? If it's lunchtime, you are offering far too much before it.

You don't need 3 sorts of spuds.
Or two sorts of gravy.

On the other hand I don't know what a 'chicken joint' is.
One chicken between 5 people won't go very far unless it's massive, battery farmed monster.

And 3 puddings?

It's traditional to have Christmas pudding, or one option for anyone who doesn't like it.

And no one needs cheese and mince pies as well.

Honestly, I can't believe this is for real!

Good grief, my stomach hurts reading that