What do you have for Christmas dinner - all the side dishes etc?

[HuevosRancheros]

I'm hosting Christmas this year - it will be me, DH, DD (7), DS (5), MiL and FiL.

DH and I are veggie, DS is a fussy sod, so it'll only be DD and the in-laws who will be eating meat.

For that reason, I'm going for chicken rather than turkey
I don't want tons of leftovers and can't justify the extra cost of a turkey crown just to say we've had turkey - is it really that much better than chicken?

We don't do roasts during the year ( again), but the in-laws do, so I want to make this seem special, not just another roast chicken lunch.

So far, I have planned:

Chicken/quorn roast/nut roast
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Mash (I wouldn't, but DH loves it)
Yorkshires (I know they should be with beef, but I love them, and kind of think the joy of Christmas lunch is that you can have what you like, within reason)
Stuffing
Red cabbage
Sprouts (possibly with shallots and chestnuts)
Carrots
Cauliflower cheese
Pigs in blankets (this will be DS's protein )
Bread sauce
Gravy
Cranberry sauce

Have I forgotten anything obvious? Any additions?

TIA

Fine, I will ask them their preference :)
If turkey is a big deal to them, I'll happily do it. As long as they take it away on the 27th!

I'd be a little anxious about doing duck as DD hasn't had it before, could do without major experimenting like that on Christmas Day.

I'm assuming geese are quite big?

Trixy that's why I want to do loads of sides to make it not seem like a regular Sunday lunch. I know that they don't do that many trimmings each week, do you? I was surprised to see that gladisgood does have that each week, I can see why you would need turkey to ring the changes!

Golly! That is A LOT!!

If you want to go the whole hog, suggest you get as much stuff done in advance as possible and put in freezer:
Gravy
Bread sauce
Cranberry sauce (if its not out of a jar)
Red cabbage
Pigs in blankets

Use Aunt Bessies for:
Roast potatoes
Roast Parsnips (I think she does these)
Mash
Yorkshires

It does sound like you're making a rod for your won back, but hey - that's what you do when you're doing Christmas!!
I have definitely paired it back, and I delegate much more, too!

Wiry I love having leftovers the next day.
Maybe it's good (mild) hangover food, maybe it's because you enjoy the flavours more when you haven't been cooking it for an hour/drunk too much prosecco/eaten too many mince pies :)

So I'm not too bothered about leftovers - except for meat, which I can't guarantee will get eaten

A small chickens should do your guests, an hour on a high heat should do it, then rest when the pigs and sausagemeat go in its space.

Turkey is very lovely and quite different to chicken, so I would change that just because turkey is Christmas to me. I'm quite happy to have pork, goose or beef for Christmas but not chicken because chicken is day-to-day meat.

The rest of it sounds lovely

I fed everyone capon a few years ago. Managed to persuade clueless DH that it was a turkey.
When SIL announced it was the VERY BEST turkey she'd ever eaten (praise indeed from her..) - I 'fessed up and told everyone.

This year, its capon, and I'm being loud and proud about it!

Op, with that amount there are still loads of leftovers, enough for a few meals, sandwiches etc.

It's the difference between a few meals worth of leftovers and throwing stuff out.

Nooooo not aunt Bessie roast potatoes!

Proper roast potatoes are the best bit, apart from pigs in blankets. And yorkies.

Mind you, I do prefer aunt Bessie's roast parsnips to normal roast parsnips...

clash I'm with you, homemade for the yorkies (they take 20 minutes!!!) And roasties - packaged are just not the same!

I'm another one for whom Turkey IS christmas dinner, btw.

However, if someone was being kind enough to cook me Christmas dinner, I wouldn't mention it, but I would feel a tiny pang of disappointment.

Your mil could bring sliced turkey in gravey, you could hear that up.

Capon would be fine, goose, duck too. Anything but a roast chicken. I never eat chicken when I'm out as I have it at home so often.

But Wiry, to be fair I haven't mentioned quantity, just variety :)

cocoa you've reminded me that I did capon two years ago. It went down well, but tbh, any meal would have done as I have polite, considerate in-laws :) I didn't eat any, do have no idea how it compared with turkey or regular chicken.

OK, I shall put it to them - chicken, capon or Turkey crown

Thanks all [santa]

I feed a mix of veggies and meat eaters, for the last couple of years I have done one of those three bird roasts. Very festive, very popular, comes prepared, low hassle and something special. I believe in short cuts
I also use veggie sausage mix in the stuffing and nobody seems to notice.

Roast Turkey
Sage & Onion Stuffing
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Savoy Cabbage
Sprouts with Bacon & Chestnuts
Carrots & Butternut Squash
Pigs in blankets
Bread sauce
Gravy
Cranberry sauce

I end up having to buy a whole turkey as everyone except me wants the legs...3 legged turkey anyone?!

We get Christmas day and boxing day out of the meat, plus soup and a some of the meat frozen for pies/curry. We don't really have waste.

DS1 doesn't eat potatoes so that's why we have yorkshires and I also sometimes do some dumplings in the gravy for him.

I cook the meat and slice/portion the day before and on Christmas day (and boxing day) the meat goes in the slow cooker with the gravy - lovely and moist and frees up the oven to have it on high for the Roast veg and yorkshires. another tray with sausage stuffing and pigs in blankets. Mash in the microwave and other veg in pots. Plus DS2 has to have sweetcorn but he likes it just drained and on his plate cold. Just made myself starving now!

Ooh that's a really good idea with the slow cooker.

Oven space is always a problem - although this year I have a double oven so should be easier.

Love leftovers - bubble and squeak with cold meat on Boxing Day, yum! Anything left over goes into christmas soup.

"Mash (I wouldn't, but DH loves it)
Red cabbage
Cauliflower cheese"

The foods listed above I would buy ready made from a supermarket, then just heat them up in the microwave when needed.

We buy a turkey breast joint from the supermarket, which they cut to the size I ask for so rarely any leftovers (well after boxing day and a curry)

myother that's why I'm a bit doubtful about a turkey crown, no dark meat..

Last year, as it was only DD who wanted meat, I precooked her chicken and heated it up in gravy - worked well :)

Clash, on boxing day, I also stick the leftover piggies and sausage stuffing in with the meat in the slow cooker, leaving the extra roasts and roast veg to go on a tray in the oven and extra veg gets microwaved.

As well as freeing up space, it also saves the hassle of sorting out the Turkey on Christmas day....and it gives you the bones on Christmas eve to make stock ready for Turkey broth on xmas day. :)

What you don't get is the presentation of a whole Turkey on the table on Christmas day like in the movies/tv :o Does anyone irl really do that though?

Last year, Sainsbury's did a lone Turkey leg.

DS1 wasn't much a meat eater when he was little so used to have macaroni cheese for Christmas dinner. DH and I wanted duck and toddler DS2 was insisting on Turkey - I just bought some carved Turkey meat (The proper "off the bone" stuff) from the deli counter and heated it in a bit of gravy and he polished off the lot.

I buy a turkey butterfly rather than a whole turkey or a crown.

Kilted sausages
Chipolatas
Roasties
Boiled potatoes
Brussels
Carrots
Parsnips

Cranberry sauce
Gravy