Christmas menu/Christmas week help needed

[BuntyCollocks]

I have reached the grand old age of 29 without ever having to prepare Christmas dinner, or indeed even be in my own house over Christmas. This year, however, DD will be newborn or imminent, and I'm not driving 4 hours plus to go home to our parents.

I have NO clue what I need for Christmas week and Christmas dinner. I'm trying to sort my Christmas delivery slot, and having a slight panic as to what to buy.

There will be me, DH, DS (23m), DM, DDad, and DGM (and potentially a newborn, obv!). Imagine mum will be doing most of the cooking, but I want to make sure no one is running out on Christmas Eve.

Christmas meats will be turkey and beef - but I have no clue for starters - was thinking something like pear and Parma ham (does that work?). Desserts are fine. The accompaniments I have no clue on.

As for Christmas week - wtf should I have in for this many people!

Thanks!

First decide what your menu is going to be
Starter - we normally do soup or prawn cocktail
Main - meat, potatoes (roast/boiled and/or mash), pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, mustard, bread sauce, gravy, vet (parsnips/carrots/Brussels/cauliflower cheese/ swede/peas etc)
Pudding - Xmas pud plus maybe a cheesecake, cream and custard

Crackers

Make sure you jar selection of real fast stuff - cereals, toast, fruit etc. lots of milk and whatever hot drinks everyone drinks

If you do a buffet Boxing Day then need to get stuff in for that - rolls, cold meats, cheeses and party nibbles, dips etc

Rest of the time do easy to cook meals - lasagne, spag Bol, casserole, jacket spuds, sausage and mash etc

we don't do a starter on Christmas Day - too much other stuff... but if you do want to do a starter, something light. Pear and Parma ham sound perfect (or melon also goes well with Parma ham). Or prawn cocktail as jojane suggests (I like prawn and melon cocktail).
Worth investing in a Christmas book e.g. Delia's to help you with timings and ideas for veg and other meals.

On Boxing Day, we put turkey and all the leftover trimmings in a large dish, cover with white sauce and top with ready-made puff pastry for an almost instant and totally delicious pie.

Christmas Eve we often just roast a joint of pork , then have hot pork rolls with coleslaw while watching a film!

Do you have a freezer? If so, you could start making things for other meals now and freezing? e.g stews, bolognaise sauce (which could be used for chilli or lasagne or just spag bol), fish pie. Soups for lunches.

oh and don't do what I did the first time I hosted a house-full over Christmas and buy in stuff for 3 meals a day, every day... ended up throwing a lot out as people didn't really want to eat as much as I thought. The freezer is your friend (sorry if you don't have one).... have things in like crumpets, bread rolls, breaded fish, chips, peas ... hope that helps

I wouldn't bother with a starter, and I'd do as much in advance as possible - like roasting parsnips and potatoes and freezing them. As you will have baby or big bump I would have a big list for the day. Alot of magazines have step by step countdowns. I make bread sauce inadvance to, and just leave it to defrost on top of the cooker, and stick it in the oven at the last moment to heat through. Make sure there is plenty of alcohol and then no one will care if you make a total mess of it forget something

And don't forget that, while trekking around doing a FULL shop won't necessarily appeal, the shops will be open again on Boxing Day or 27th, so as long as you have enough to get through the couple of days, someone can run to a local corner shop for anything else needed afterwards.

Thanks everyone! Got some great ideas, and dinner is ordered. Mum is bringing a lot down with her for the week, too, and any little bits that are missing, ie bread milk butter, DH can pick up before tesco closes or it can wait until Boxing Day :)