What are ‘all the trimmings’?

[HurricaneZeldaAndToto]

After a slightly disappointing Christmas dinner at a relative’s house, I wondered if my idea of ‘all the trimmings’ was massively out of whack with the rest of the world?

If you did turkey dinner ‘with all the trimmings’ what did you serve?

AIBU to suspect this means very different things to different people?

What is everyone making for 2 types of stuffing?

We do sausage meat and sage and onion.

Mash, roasties, beef, turkey, pigs in blankets, sausage meat balls, sage and onion stuffing, pork and leek stuffing, red cabbage, kale, garden peas, carrots, roast parsnips, brussles with bacon and shallots, gravy.

For me, “all the trimmings” would be the extras served in addition to the meat, veg and potatoes. So, such things as:
cranberry sauce/mint sauce/horseradish sauce/mustard (depending on the meat served).
gravy (made from the meat juices)
pigs in blankets
chopped bacon and chestnuts added to the sprouts
stuffing - flavour of choice (we had apricot stuffing this year)
yorkshire puds if beef being served
bread sauce if liked (I don’t).

I don’t think there’s any hard and fast rule, really. It depends what you prefer, and what your meat of choice is.

Roast and mash potatoes
Pigs in blankets
Sausagemeat stuffing
Roast carrots and parsnips
Brussel sprouts
Mashed swede
Yorkshire puddings
Cranberry sauce
Mustard - because we have beef as well as turkey.
Turkey gravy and beef gravy

Everyone's "trimmings" are different, traditionally all the trimmings, to me, would be nicer and large selection of things I don't do with my standard Sunday chicken roast

mash with butter and cream and roast potatoes done in goose/duck fat
selections of veg - sprouts, honey roasted parsnips and carrots,
sage and onion stuffing
pigs in blankets
luxury sausage meat stuffing
homemade cranberry sauce
gravy

There are modern interlopers I wouldn't class as "trimmings" or would feel out of place with my Christmas turkey dinner (although we usually have beef now!).

I’ve been there done that with feeling it a bit lacking so now will only host!!
never got the Yorkshire pudding thing. Nor mash. or bread sauce!

we had
turkey
pigs in blankets
Stuffing x2
braised red cabbage
Brussel sprouts with bacon and chestnuts
roast potatoes
maple glazed parsnips and carrots
cranberry sauce
gravy

for me it’s also the other ‘bits’- cheese, dates, sugared almonds- basically rather piggy!!

I think it’s different for everyone personally I ditch the yorkies, most of the stuffings and potatoes and have a ton of veg as I’m low carb!

however I catered this Xmas and after a discussion with all involved it was decided

roast pots and parsnips
sprouts and leeks
carrots
peas
Yorkshire pudding
3 x stuffing ( 1 vegan )
pigs in blankets ( at least 8 each !)
gravy ( 1 vegan 1 not)

previously I have added roast pork or gammon , broccoli , cranberry sauce and every sort of pickle known to man to suit a different set of tallies tastes .

We used to eat this : Roast Turkey, Bread Sauce, Sage & Onion stuffing, Cranberry Jelly, Roast Lamb, Redcurrant Jelly, Pigs in Blankets, Roast Potatoes, Roast Parsnips, Carrot & Swede mash, Sprouts, Broccoli, Cauliflower Cheese & Gravy.
Now we just can't manage to eat so much at one sitting, so this year on Christmas Eve we had pigs in blankets with roast parsnips, sweet potato wedges and cauliflower cheese. On Christmas day we had a simple roast lamb dinner, then just snacky bits later on in the evening.

Trimmings are anything additional to the meat

I think, for us, mash was a big thing because the oven wasn't large enough for enough crispy roast potatoes for everyone and a huge pot of mash was easier. We would get as much mash as we wanted but roast potatoes were rationed!

It was always dads job to mash the huge pot of potatoes while mum got on with everything else!

I did

Turkey
Beef
Lamb with a walnut, cranberry, apricot and rosemary crust
Mashed potato
Roast potato
Honey glazed parsnips
Mashed swede
Cauliflower cheese
Braised red Cabbage
Carrots
Peas
Sprouts
Stuffing
Pigs in blankets
Gravy
All the sauces

I also did Yorkshire puddings but only because I was serving beef.

We’re doing Xmas dinner 2 tomorrow.

we’ll have exactly the same as we did on Xmas day, so

chicken, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, roast parsnips, stuffing, cauliflower cheese, red cabbage, sprouts (broccoli for the sprout haters), carrots, pigs in blankets and gravy.

I’ve also made another trifle 👍🏻

This was my understanding as well (although I'm not British).
OP what you were served sounds fine to me as long as it was nicely prepared and good portions, no skimpy plates 😁

If it was up to me and we were having turkey (fresh out of the oven)- it would start with meatballs, then there's a big cabbage salad (like slaw), a big plate of sliced tomatoes, mashed potatoes, mashed turnip, and bread stuffing which is actually cooked in the turkey. White wine (good Niagara chardonnay perhaps) Followed by short breads and iced grape nut chews. Liqueurs.

But normally it's up to the OH so turkey cooked the day before, ham roasted, pigs in blankets, roasties, peas, sprouts, parsnips, pork meatloaf aka crap sausage "stuffing", cranberry sauce, bread sauce. White wine. Christmas pudding with cream, mince pies with brandy butter. Coffee, liqueurs. Cigars. Port. Indigestion.

pigs in blankets are the law at Christmas, as are bread sauce and sprouts

All the trimmings for a christmas meal (IMHO) is:

Roast potatoes
Brussels sprouts
Parsnips
Red cabbage
Broccoli cheese
Pigs in blankets
Stuffing
Yorkies

Plus cranberry & bread sauces and gravy.

I'm a vegetarian so I don't eat the same meal but that's what my family would expect!

Oh and gravy with either dinner though the type I make is much nicer.

To me the trimmings are,pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, bread sauce and stuffing both in bird and as balls on the side.

All the trimmings for me is:

Roast potatoes
Mash
Sausagemeat stuffing
Brussel sprouts
Roast parsnips
Yorkshires
Pigs in blankets
Gravy
Turkey
Cranberry and other sauces

What is not a 'trimming' in this house is:

Cauliflower cheese (no place on a roast meal of any kind)
Red cabbage
Bread sauce (I mean what is the point)
Any other veg
Anything that has Chestnuts in it

We had;

Beef
Gammon
Turkey
Salmon Side
roasted sprouts - one with bacon & one without
roasted potatoes
roasted parsnips
Toasted Carrots
Pigs in blanket
Sausage meat stuffing
red wine gravy
white wine gravy
cranberry sauce
mustard sauce
bread sauce

Stuffing, pigs in blankets, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes, honey roasted carrots and parsnips, red cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli cheese. Then leftovers served Boxing Day.

Plus cranberry, bread sauce and gravy

Oooh bit late to this but our house Christmas dinner is probably not typical - just 2 of us and one is a cardiac patient so ours was
Turkey
Piggin' blankets (a local term!) - strictly rationed!!
Dry roast potatoes
Spiced cabbage
Carrots
Butternut squash
Sprouts
Cranberry sauce
Cranberry stuffing
Gravy

In previous years we would also have had proper roasties, roast parsnips, bread sauce and a sausage meat stuffing.

But absolutely no Yorkshire's. Oh deary me no!! shudder!

Australia here - all the trimmings with my mums xmas lunch would include - Pork, lamb and chicken for meat. roasted potatoes, carrots, sweet potato, and pumpkin. Peas, and corn. Broccoli and cauliflower cheese. Smaller serves of cabbage and parsnips as 1 or 2 of us like them but not everyone. Gravy and stuffing. Feeds an army which we don't have these days so it's roast for days. Leftover chicken etc goes onto the platters for night time/boxing day. We only have ham cold on the platters.

We actually tried a bbq instead this year and it really wasnt the same, it took years to talk my mum into it and i dont think it will be happening again lol, also one of the cooler days we've had for Christmas which just made it worse cause our main selling point for the bbq is that we wouldnt be sitting in the hot house with the oven going etc and can all be outside enjoying the pool. Too cold for sane people to swim.

Very surprised you need to ask 🤷‍♀️