Last time I checked, Christmas was meant to be fun!

[DrSeuss]

Following on from last night's thread in which some poor woman got slated for wanting to serve frozen food for Christmas dinner, I want to put the feline among the flying vermin by asking, why the Hell not?

Sure, the meal would be nicer if everything were home made and fresh. However, what would her day be like? Would she enjoy it? Would she see people open the presents she had spent time choosing? Would she not turn into the Asda mum, all doing, all organising, knackered and pissed off?
My late mother would accept no help with Christmas dinner and would never take short cuts as this was almost seen as cheating. Most Christmases saw us sitting there in an atmosphere of tension, waiting for her to blow. A truly fun way to spend the day, let me assure you.

Christmas is meant to be a nice day, you know! If you hate your family so much that you prefer to spend the day in the kitchen, fine. Otherwise, Aldi have some great shortcuts!

Did someone really get flamed for admitting to Xmas dinner shortcuts?? It makes me laugh how some people get so indignant over things that have no impact on their lives.

I agree OP if someone is not excited by the idea of doing it all themselves from scratch then absolutely nothing wrong with 'cheats'

I have honey gazed parsnips ready for the big day in the freezer a la Aunt Bessie cos I can't be faffed worrying about parsnips... I love really good roast potatoes but can never get them right so will probably enlist help from M&S on that front too :)

I have a pre stuffed boneless turkey covered in bacon from lidl, aunt Bessie will do the side bits and it will be followed buy a shop bought trifle and a shop bought cake. Maybe some party bits from Iceland too

All on pretty Christmassy paper plates and bowls so we can scoop the whole lot into the bin when we've finished

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/1624251-to-provide-this-food

Well that poster was taking it to extremes.

It is possible to cook a decent lunch and still enjoy the day surely - I seem to manage that every year. But you need to be organised and do as much prep as possible in advance and decide which corners you are happy to cut. So for me mixed frozen veg/frozen potatoes would be a bridge too far.

I shortcut whatever I can - I prep and blanch veg the day before (then it just cooks with butter and foil over on the day), pre-roast my potatoes and freeze them, and use frozen parsnips. I don't stuff the turkey, instead I stick the stuffing in a tray, so it cuts in slabs, and I'll buy bacon/chipolatas ready prepared if no bugger is going to help me wrap them.

I still make my own stock/gravy and bread sauce, but a lot of that is ritual, because I love the smell of it.

I get time to go to the pub with my family on Christmas Day for pre-lunch drinks now, which never used to happen.

DH does Christmas lunch. He likes recipe books and weird stuffings and getting the timings right.

I set the table. Win-win.

It is, it is supposed to be fun and it doesn't have to be perfect (because perfect is never fun).

But I do agree that its quite possible to be the one in charge of cooking Christmas dinner (that would be me then) and still have plenty of time for present opening/drinking in the morning. We get round this problem by having our main meal in the evening. We usually have home-made soup and naice bread for lunch.

it's Christmas fgs, not the Normandy landings!
How hard is it to pop some meat in the oven, prep some veg the night before, few nice sides from m&s. pudding either home made on Xmas eve or shop bought.
What's the issue?

I will be using as many short cuts as i can , i want to spend time with my dc's not hours in the kitchen cooking food that probably wont get eaten, i dont see the problem?

Not like you're cooking to michelin star standards ffs, its Christmas dinner for your FAMILY. No family should care whether you serve beans on toast fgs, its not about that!

DP and I have been arguing discussing whether a frozen pizza would be acceptable for Christmas Dinner. We still haven't decided but now I'm glad I didn't put the question to mn and get flamed. Neither of us want to spend Christmas Eve cooking but we want Christmas Dinner to be special...

My mum is coming this year so she will cook and bring the meat.
I just have to provide drink, beg and sides and pud.
But even if I was doing the meat, it's not rocket science is it?
And we don't do Xmas food either...none of us like mince pies or Xmas cake of Xmas pud so pud will be a selection of cream cakes, apple and cinnamon crumble and cherry crumble with either cream, ice cream or custard.
Xmas eve am doing butternut squash soup and cheese biscs after the crib service with a home made pud.
I have ordered ready peeled and chopped butternut squash, ready chopped onions - I am a terrible chopper! - ready made roast potatoes, yorkshires, pigs in blankets and bread sauce.
Don't see what the issue is tbh.
If you want to spend the whole day cooking then fine.
But if you don't then a few short cuts are sensible.
Oh, and we will probably be having ham and chicken this year...don't like turkey either! :)

YABU, it's not fun, it's a competition and a measure of your worth as a person.

Anyone who doesn't raise their own pudding from an egg, grow their own turkey and go out and shoot their own vegetables in the wild is unworthy and should bow their heads in shame.

We have our Christmas dinner later about 3ish but I avoid all this crap by inviting us to in laws, they enjoy cooking, they don't have young DC to entertain, we're all happy. I get to drink Buck's Fizz and eat chocolate in my pjs until 2pm.

Someone...oh well, that's me fucked then :)

Someone, that made me giggle. Shoot their own vegetables

I saw the thread, commented on it actually. Thought the op got flamed quite harshly.

After attempting to do Christmas dinner two years running with young children (I didn't learn my lesson the first year), we came up with a far more enjoyable option.

My parents eat Christmas dinner late and love entertaining, so we do Christmas morning and afternoon at home, then abandon the mess at about 3/4pm and drive to my parents nice shiney clean house where dinner is already being prepared and have a nice late afternoon and eat at around 8/9pm, then spend the night there before heading back to the bombsite that is our home after 3 children in fits of Christmas excitement have ripped through it.

My parents are happy as they get to do the entertaining, posh bits but don't have to put up with being woken at the crack of dawn to children shrieking in excitement (their idea of hell.... they never got up with me on christmas morning) and detroying the house with wrapping paper and packaging.

We're happy as we get to enjoy our kids being kids without my parents sniffing and humphing but don't have to deal with dinner.

Win win

You need to work out what works for families.
We have a lovely tree although I do pay for someone to bring it, decorate it (and then remove it at epiphany). Secondly none of the children want presents - their choice. I would be happy to buy them. We are not very materialistic so they have money.

Thirdly we go skiing as snow and pretty mountains looks more Christmassy and of course is easier for Santa's sleigh if they were still in that phase. So the hotel will do all the cooking. I won't buy or cook a single bit of Christmas food and I will be waited on over Christmas.

I will also spend it moving all day and outside which tends to make people happier than being cramped inside with relatives eating food which makes them ill.

There is no obligation on anyone to do anything and of course it is prime time for women to prove they have fairness and no sexism at home and it really is a moral duty to ensure this.

And, Xenia, what about the poor hotel staff who want to be home with their families for Christmas? Do you not have a moral duty to them?

I have never been able to get my head around why people stress so much about christmas dinner. It's a glorified roast, most families cook one every sunday - what's the big deal?

I buy a turkey crown most years and cook it. I've never bought a ready made roast potato in my life and I don't intend to start now, but really, wtf is the big deal?

Oh Xenia...sigh.
Sometimes Moral duty is for people who can afford it.

quote of the day:

"We are not very materialistic so they have money"

thanks xenia

This reminds me of when someone I met on a course said 'my mum was a feminist so we always had a cleaner'.

Xenia I do think you live in a parallel universe. Getting someone to decorate your tree indeed!