Random Christmas Questions. Feel free to add.

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The question "Why are you talking about Christmas in September" won't be entertained. 'Tis The Christmas Topics.

OK

1: Do you like to host or be the hosted. I read lots of threads where people write "As long as I don;t have to cook" and go to family to avoid it.

2: If you have visitors or you go to someones house. Who's "Traditions" do you follow, if you have different ideas.
The House Traditions or The Guest Traditions? Or do you combine them?

3: If you buy M&S or similar that you put in the oven in foil trays, do you decant it all into nice serving dishes or serve it up in the kitchen, thus avoiding a load more washing up.

4: Do you stick to a set menu or do you ever think "Why not sausage and mash". Who says you have to eat turkey? Why not a curry?

1. We hosted for the first time last year, it was hectic but I loved it. We'll be hosting again this year. ????2. We've combined traditions from both sides of the family and have a few of our own.????3. I bought special Christmas crockery last year and everything goes in that. It can't go in the dishwasher though so it means lots of washing up!????4. Our Christmas dinner is pretty traditional. I'm a veggie but everyone else eats meat so I do a turkey. I got a recipe from MN last year that involved cooking sprouts in brown sugar, it went down well!

I prefer to host. Not to blow to my own trumpet but I am the best host/cook/party planner in both our family's and no one else does Christmas the way I like it!

We do my traditions mainly but only because everyone wants me to organise it all!

I cook from scratch and everything goes into serving dishes.

I stick to the main Xmas dishes but mix it up with different starters etx

My house is too small to host anyone except our family so we don't have any extras over!
Went to MIL last year who is lovely but SIL is a pain in the arse so I don't want to go there again! Hoping FIL and his wife invite us this year ; )

I wouldn't want to stay overnight somewhere, just incase they don't open all their presents in the morning! Waiting til after lunch would kill me!!

We spend Christmas Day alone together as a family and host boxing day. We usually have a another night over the holidays as a get together with other members but order in so everyone has the night off cooking.

I don't bother with serving dishes, waste of washing up but I know what everyone likes so easy to plate.

1. I'd prefer to host, but what do I know - I've only done it once!

1. We've only hosted one Christmas (last year, the first in our house, DS was a little older and DH's mum had recently died). I have never had Christmas with them and the only tradition I know of from their family was them opening their presents one at a time and clapping. Yeah. So we don't do that! Oh, and it is just 3: Fil, Sil and Bil. We don't have any grand traditions: big walk along a big beach, back for a late lunch, then they go home and we veg in our pyjamas

1. Doesn't happen. But if it did, I'd decant. Washing up doesn't bother me.

1. Different dietary needs (no sodium Fil, no gluten Sil), so lunch is varied. Last year stuffed vol au vents and salmon for lunch, Sil brought homemade tiramisu. * Disclaimer: I am abroad and unable to get a whole bunch of traditional - to English me - food: stuffing, mincemeat, cranberry sauce, crackers... So we cook fod that is fancy, expensive, and that we don't touch the rest of the year. This year won't be so 70s

DS is a December baby. My mother visited for 3 weeks immediately after his very tough birth, over Christmas to.... actually, I'm not sure why she visited. She didn't make a cup of tea, buy any food, push the pram, help prepare Christmas lunch - actually complained about my homemade Christmas cake. Not a single thing. DS is soon 4yo, she hasn't been invited back. And Christmas will never be awful again.

Either me or my mum host... we both cook together every year though. There is always at least 10 people for dinner. We put all food into dishes and lay out in kitchen for everyone to plate up their own dinner and take to the table.
I love Christmas... we don't make a big fuss, just a turkey and pork roast dinner. Don't do starters, just various puddings.

I have never done Christmas anywhere but my parent's or mine...in fact since dh and I had a place together, it's never been anywhere else!

All from scratch, it's an all out roast dinner fest....turkey and pork as a minimum, all the trimmings and then some. All prep is done on Christmas eve though, and that is also when the festive drinking commences, I like to keep topped up esp if we have guests

any variety depends on what bargains I find in the festive reduced....once had a goose as well, another year a GIANT bit of cow

Once the Christmas Lunch is done I try not to cook for at least 48 hours....it's cold cuts, cheeses, pates, pringles, quality street and chocolate pennies. Then any leftovers are trned into some sort of festive pie....either with puff pastry and a turkey, ham and stilton gist, or the last couple of years I have done a raised pie with hot water pastry, layering in all the last bits, and using the cranberries, some chutney, and then that'll do for a day or two :0

1. We don't have visitors over Christmas. I invite my mum/MIL every year but we live 100+ miles away from them and they prefer to sleep in their own beds and just have dinner with other relatives who live closer. So I only have to cook for the 5 of us. We've had Christmas at home for at least the last 18 years.

1. Not really applicable.

1. Most things are cooked from scratch although I will do anything that can be prepared in advance and frozen (I like cooking but I'm not a martyr ). Things are dished up into serving dishes.

1. There would be a riot if I didn't serve turkey and ham and the usual trimmings although I have been known to tinker with veg and puddings without too much aggro. Last year we went out for a late lunch on Christmas Eve and that was a huge hit so we'll probably do that again. Boxing Day is always "Christmas Dinner Pie" (turkey, ham, stuffing and gravy with a puff pastry lid) served with mashed potatoes and veg. That is the very best meal of the festive period imho.

1: Do you like to host or be the hosted. I read lots of threads where people write "As long as I don;t have to cook" and go to family to avoid it.

We are not great at being hosted. DD has ADHD/Aspergers, so when we do go "down home", we rent somewhere near both DPs and DPILs houses (they are 15 miles apart, we are over 200 from them). Just to be able to escape in between times and sleep somewhere "neutral". (We say it's for DD, but it really helps us ALL!). Neither family will come up to us - caring responsibilities in one house, and "what would the children do" wails in the other (youngest DC is now 31 and most can't/won't come home for Christmas anymore, none live at home anymore either).

So recently, it has been us hosting ourselves, calling on some extended family members locally on Christmas morning after Church for drinks and nibbles, but cooking evening dinner for ourselves (3) at home.

2: If you have visitors or you go to someones house. Who's "Traditions" do you follow, if you have different ideas.
The House Traditions or The Guest Traditions? Or do you combine them?

We've combined DH and my traditions, and added a few we've developed as "us". If anyone ever does come, they will be expected to fall in with those.

When visiting, we have to fall in as guests. But as we sleep separately, we can still have our Christmas Eve hamper (new PJs for all), without raising any eyebrows.

3: If you buy M&S or similar that you put in the oven in foil trays, do you decant it all into nice serving dishes or serve it up in the kitchen, thus avoiding a load more washing up.

We cook from scratch on Christmas Day, mostly. But on Boxing Day it is M&S all the way for our "at home" event. Yes, they get decanted. We have a dishwasher that gets well used over the Christmas period.

4: Do you stick to a set menu or do you ever think "Why not sausage and mash". Who says you have to eat turkey? Why not a curry?

We tried pheasant, we tried duck. It's not a completely set menu, as we change side dishes etc, some years we have ham, other years not, and the same for spiced beef. But it is a traditional turkey roast, with roast potatoes, stuffing, vegetables. DM makes me a pudding every year. We don't usually have starters - maybe a box of M&S nibbles or crisps/dips while opening presents.

We like it, and enjoy cooking it. But we have changed things to suit us over the years. And we don't stick to traditions on the days around either - we have a few special dishes of our own and we are very happy to try new things different years too.

If we were hosting, we would DEFINITELY have to be traditional - but it doesn't bother us. We eat a lot of different world cuisines during the year, and don't have a Sunday roast every week, so having traditional for Christmas works.

1/ I always 'host' since I moved away from home 31 years ago, though we have only had visitors 5 times as my folks prefer to go abroad Mum is sulking as we dont go to hers, long story. I've never been hosted but don't mind as we have a fairly relaxed, do as we please time

2/ My house my rules but see above

3/ I have used M+S (the parsnip gratin is lovely) and I do decant into serving dishes...the dishwasher cleans up

4/ over the years the menu has changed...used to go for the traditional turkey and trimmings like we had at home but eventually thought...well we're not actually that keen on turkey so switched to Goose...when it was just me and DS we downgraded to M+S stuffed duck. Fillet has been added in the last few years as OH doesn't like duck which we may drop this year. We like nice food but not lots of fuss... the Fillet is easy to cook and good for leftovers

1: Do you like to host or be the hosted. I read lots of threads where people write "As long as I don;t have to cook" and go to family to avoid it.

I love to host as i enjoy cooking plus it saves the arguament with DH about who gets to drink and who has to drive home. However this year my parents won't be able to drive to our house so either we go there or i have to fetch them.

2: If you have visitors or you go to someones house. Who's "Traditions" do you follow, if you have different ideas.
The House Traditions or The Guest Traditions? Or do you combine them?

We don't really do traditions as pre-children DH and i always went away on holiday for Christmas.

3: If you buy M&S or similar that you put in the oven in foil trays, do you decant it all into nice serving dishes or serve it up in the kitchen, thus avoiding a load more washing up.

Yes, everything in nice serving dishes and i don't try and pass M&S/Waitrose off as my own.

4: Do you stick to a set menu or do you ever think "Why not sausage and mash". Who says you have to eat turkey? Why not a curry?

No set menu. MIL/SILs are vegetarian and this year we have a GF family member too. I would love to cook a curry but i think everyone expects something traditional so it'll be roast meat & veg (not turkey as i don't like it) for the meateaters and something suitably Christmassy for the veggies.

1. I prefer to host, though love being invited for boxing day.

1. We follow my traditions. I organise everything, II shop and cook for everyone so it's all done my way.

1. Always decant into pretty dishes.

1. We never have Turkey, I change the menu as I see fit.

1 always go to mums. Dad - and sometimes his brother and maybe even his mum this year - comes too. We are hiring a cottage a couple of doors down this year.
2 they are my family so traditions are the same. H comes from a country where they do not celebrate so he follows us - the first question of the season without fail is so we are celebrating jesus's birth right?! Although he has started one tradition - he makes a huge Greek style salad for the buffet table on Boxing Day - we use to do squeak.
3 me and my sister prep ahead so very little is bought in. For us it is all about upgrading the food I.e buying the absolute best and we save as a family throughout the year.
4 I don't think my brother could cope would changing the menu! It is Turkey and beef on Christmas Day and leftovers with ham on Boxing Day.

Oh and food is arranged in dishes like a buffet along kitchen counters. So no shouting who wants what. Much easier

1: Do you like to host or be the hosted. I read lots of threads where people write "As long as I don;t have to cook" and go to family to avoid it.

I've hosted once, would love to do it more, but my Mum prefers Xmas in her own home. Hosting and not having my mum there would be pointless for me so I'm happy to go to hers. I will cook/take dishes however. But I NEVER clear up which is bloody rude of me really! I wanted to start a Boxing day Tradition, of leftovers at my house (I have a large family) but we go to PIL's on boxing day which we can't change. DH hates going but it just wouldn't be worth it not to!

2: If you have visitors or you go to someones house. Who's "Traditions" do you follow, if you have different ideas.
The House Traditions or The Guest Traditions? Or do you combine them?

Follow my mum's traditions at her house, they are mainly mine also, follow MIL's at hers as they also DH's. I took some dishes one year as I love to cook and although they were sort of appreciated we do not have similar tastes or standards so I don't get asked anymore to contribute!

3: If you buy M&S or similar that you put in the oven in foil trays, do you decant it all into nice serving dishes or serve it up in the kitchen, thus avoiding a load more washing up.
Neither my mum or me have ever bought food from M&S, I don't think MIL has either. If any food was purchased, it would be decanted at mine or mum's. It's left in the supermarket containers at MIL's

4: Do you stick to a set menu or do you ever think "Why not sausage and mash". Who says you have to eat turkey? Why not a curry?

It's also a roast dinner of some sort at my mum's. Was always beef when we were kids. Mum mixes it up a bit now. Never been a full turkey however, but she will do a crown. Starter is prawn cocktail because I ask for it, mum does the best sauce ever and there is a variety of desserts followed by a cheeseboard. Mil does a buffet on boxing day and I bloody love it.

Oh I like to be hosted. There are lots of practical reasons like we live in a tiny two up two down and don't have enough room or chairs and there's nowhere to park and on and on but honestly, I like to go to my parents' for Christmas and my ILs' for boxing day. We have been together 17 years and 15 out of those 17 years we've been with family. It wouldn't feel right to me to stay at home. I also wouldn't like it to be just the four of us (I know on MN the majority like this just the dp/dh/dw and the children dynamic). It's just the four of us all the time. Seeing family is the most important thing for me. Everybody mucks in though. Nobody is stuck doing all the cooking, it's shared equally.

Going to our parents or ILs IS tradition. Most of our traditions centre around Christmas Eve and we do that at home and then we have other traditions at other people's houses.

Everything is cooked from scratch but if not, it would be decanted. Washing up is a group effort and involves lots of chatting and music and doesn't seem to be a chore. The hosts do none of the washing up though.

Always traditional food. Wouldn't be right without it.

I like hosting and I like to be hosted - we rotate it in our family so everyone does one day - someone has Christmas Day, someone does the extended family christmas party between Christmas and New Year and someone does New Years Day.
Christmas Eve we all go out to eat

If at another house, we follow their traditions but new traditions are welcome.

I cook in nice ovenware but generally plate up in the kitchen anyway.

Turkey is not compulsory but the veg is the standard Christmas fare.

1 - I like to host, although DH does the cooking. I like to be at home, basically because I like Christmas my way I like setting the table, doling out drinks and having people to visit.

2 - we tend to follow our own traditions at home but on the rare year we've been hosted by others, we've followed there traditions

3 - We've never bought anything from m&s etc but serve everything on pretty serving dishes. My mum buys everything practically pre-cooked but de ants everything too.

4 - we stick to the traditional Turkey and roasties as there would be murder if we didn't but tend to try various side dishes and second piece of meat, starters and dessert, although a trifle must be included.

This has made me start feeling all Christmassy