How do you make Christmas dinner for 11 when you can't cook and...

[StarlightMcKenzie]

will be out of the country until the evening of 22nd, don't drive, aren't loyal enough to any delivery companies to bag a grocery shop, have a tiny fridge and freezer and 3 children under 6?

Frozen pizza I guess and lots of alcohol before it.

Blimey... book a table at a nice nearby restaurant for the main meal and then have alcohol / nibbles / chocs / desert waiting at yours for afterwards (all things you can buy in advance and have stored in the cupboard!!!!)

Oh, can't do restaurants. Sorry. Don't mean to be difficult but my eldest has ASD and would not cope with that.

Hmmmm that is a complication indeed... you will just need to plan to the last detail I guess, buy all your store cupboard items in advance and then have a definitive list of fresh things to collect on the 23rd, I usually do a last minute shop on the 23rd and its fine, I wouldn't do the standard family shop in that chaos but a small list of perishables will be fine. Will someone commit to giving you a lift on the 23rd or maybe book a taxi before you go abroad??

You biggest issue is the size of your roasting meat if you cant freeze it, do you have a local butcher that you trust to order and keep it for collection on the 23rd?

Do you have a freezer or is it a tiny one in the fridge?
Are you able to ask someone to mind your children for 2 hours on the 23 Rd ( might be difficult I realise with your child who doesn't like chAnge)

M&S christmas food. Pre ordered for collection on the 23rd.
Or if money is no object... Caterers will cook it, deliver it and you just have to warm it up.

M&S or Waitrose collected on the evening of the 24

Okay, M&S preorder, and taxi. That might work. Unfortunately money really is an object. M&S isn't usually even considered but perhaps the situation calls for it.

No idea where my local M&S is but no doubt it will be easy enough to find.

Do they run out of slots? If not, then WHAT do I order. I'm guessing turkey and brussel sprouts and yorkshire pudding. Is the rest just whatever we fancy or will guest be offended at forgotten items?

Also how do you get it all ready at the same time for 11 people? Do you just dish it up and stick it in the microwave?

shop on Christmas eve - supermarkets are open, and most butchers too. you'll be able to get a cab back with the shopping.

Keep the food in the car boot or the shed or wherever outside that is fox-proof - that will be plenty cold enough if the meat is fresh. in fact, a large joint should be left out of the fridge a good few hours before you want to cook it anyway, to come to room temperature.

oh - yep I know a waitrose (though probably take 6 hours to get into carpark in the centre of Kingston).

Keep food in car - ooh, good idea.

x posted.

our oven is tiny. i roast the meat first, in a disposable foil tray thing. get it out of the oven 1 hour before you dish up, cover with foil, and let it rest. it will still be warm if it's a joint big enough for 11 people. then you've got room in the oven for 2x trays of roast spuds, plus one veg - parsnips maybe. make some braised red cabbage the day before and cook on the oven floor. they'll also keep warm with foil for 10-15 minutes while you cook any last minute veg on the hob.

oh, and NO starters - just nibbles.
I also make a cold pudding the day before - Delia's truffle torte thing is good, and i think trifle is really festive too - so I'm not worrying about pudding timings as well

get everyone to bring a dish?

You dish up the bird, which can rest for 10 minutes or so, whilst you make a start on dishing up the rest, then the bird goes to the table and someone starts carving whilst the rest of the veg etc are carried through, then people help themselves once they have their serving of turkey.

I would highly recommend buying frozen roasties, if you can fit them in your freezer. Otherwise I might be tempted to buy them anyway, on the 24th, and stick them in the fridge to defrost slowly overnight, then adjust the cooking times - I think they would keep and still be OK if you did this.

Or could one of your guests buy the frozen stuff (I would go for roasties, roast parsnips and maybe chipolatas in bacon), and bring it round to your house on Christmas morning, if you reimbursed them? Might such a friendly and helpful relative also be able to buy some of the fresh stuff for you too? If this is possible, then Aldi would be your friend - and the shopping could be done ahead of time too.

You can also pre-order your bird from Sainsbury's, which might be cheaper than waitrose or M&S.

Can't go wrong with m&s and if you buy the boneless turkey it's even smaller for your fridge. Arrange collection for 23rd or 24th.
The key is prep. Last year I peeled and prepped all my veg of 24th once kids in bed, potatoes, carrots, sprouts or what ever veg you want. Don't go over board. These all went in saucepan covered in water and in the garage or outside the back door. Or m&s sell the veg pre prepared. You can also order the pigs in blankets etc. i would recommend ordering online soonish to guarantee a slot you want, but still be prepared to queue. All booze and juice keep outside or in car or garage as its cold enough don't waste fridge space.

Marks and Spencer food to order. You don't need a slot, just give them a date and a rough time scale to collect.

They do all the hard work for you so you only need to collect and cook.

If you can't cook then get two ready-dressed turkey crowns, frozen roast potatoes (you will probably need two bags for 11 people), jar of cranberry, packet of bread sauce mix and whatever veg you feel comfortable with. Cook the turkey crowns, cover with foil to keep warm while you cook the roasties. Ask the other guests to bring starters or desserts if you want them, otherwise just serve nibbles like nuts and crisps instead of a starter. Waitrose do an order online and pick up service, so you can collect everything last thing on 22nd or first thing on 23rd.

I usually buy frozen turkey breast rolls, which are fairly small and compact. A ham is preserved and should keep, so could be bought beforehand - depending on how big and how expensive it is to be left (wouldn't trust a £200 ham to be OK, but a £20 ham would be fine).

But all non-fridge items beforehand (puddings, crackers, sauces etc).

Then on night of 22nd (if possible) or morning of 23rd go to supermarket, but veg, dairy, and another roast for those who don't like turkey (if you want to give them that option).

Cooking isn't THAT hard, it's a roast (bang it all in the oven), veg (prepare and cook just before meal) and dessert (I buy already made puddings and custards etc).

Stressful, but do-able.

Sorry, but why on earth would you??? If it's friends and family they would surely understand your circumstances and not expect miracles - can you suggest everyone brings a dish so you don't have so much to do?

Can you get home delivery on 23rd from Asda? It doesn't help with the prep, but at least you don't have to drag everyone out of the house to get it.

I get ours from Marks and Spencer........Its ram in the oven/ microwave stuff and its easy. Also pick up christmas eve.... :} I think if you order now you get free stuff [cava]

Guests can't bring much as they live 300 miles away and a selection of them are also away with us abroad (returning to their 300 mile away house before travelling to us).

'We par boil potatoes in the steamer, & steam all veg. If you don't have one they are very cheap, ours was £11 or so from Argos, comes out once a year, & frees the hob for everything else.'

oooh - good idea.

Not sure I can get an ASDA slot.