How many are you cooking for this year?

[Empress13]

Just wondering as I'm hosting 12 people (inc DC) and quite honestly feel daunted by it all - what was I thinking !

Any tips for me ? Otherwise I will be phished by the time we sit down LOL

Either 7 or 10. 3 are undecided at the moment.

My first Christmas (hosting!) so sway from feeling chilled about it, to massive panics!

Only three this year, but 12 at new year, however I'm getting quite used to mass catering.

The trick is in the timing and the quantities, make sure you have enough. Peel the veggies etc the night before. Cook the turkey in the morning, a great trick is you can take it out then cover it in heavy towels, obviously over the tinfoil 😃 I think it was a Jamie Oliver tip or something, then use the oven for whatever else you need in there and whilst you do the veggies etc. Genuinely the turkey Will stay roasting hot for a good hour or more (the longest I've done it) and the meat is rested so is nice and moist and ready to eat by the time you've done all the veggies and all had your starter.

This year it's just the three of us (me, DH and DD) as DD will only be nine weeks old.

In the past we've had eight people.

Tips:

Choose the bits of Christmas hosting that you love and focus on those. We always have a perfectly set table, lashings of mulled wine and a rotation of freshly baked spiced biscuits - because that's what we love doing.

Anything you don't love, take the short cut (by asking someone else to bring bits, or buying ready made from M&S/Waitrose). We buy a straight-to-oven stuffed turkey crown, ready made mince pies, ready made pigs in blankets and really focus on the things we like to cook/prepare.

Prepare as much as you can in advance.

Keep Christmas Eve and Boxing Day lo-fi so as not to have three busy days on top of each other.

For visiting kids we always have a stack of colouring books/ drawing pads and pens and pencils for games and distraction - it's worth having a few parlour games up your sleeve to avoid late afternoon malaise and keep everyone festive (awake).

If you have known living room nappers always offer them a bed to nap in (they can really drag the mood down) and if they refuse, encourage them into a seat in the living room where other people can still chat and have a nice time (not blocking one end of a sofa so as the person next to them is cut off from everyone else).

Get slightly drunk.

Encourage everyone else to get more drunk.

Relax (if you can) and feel like the domestic god/dess that you are!

This year only 3 adults and 2 children I love cooking big Christmas dinner and had 7 adults and 4 children last year.

I have hosted Christmas for the last four years and will for the foreseeable future! Always between 12-15 people. I have a timetable which I follow to the letter on Christmas Day:

9.00 Oven on at 200
9.20 Peel spuds
9.30 Turkey in

Etc. It really helps to take the stress out of the timings and I leave it somewhere very visible so anyone hanging around can easily see what the next job is and get on with it if they like!*

*This has never actually happened

Oh and...

Suss out now whether you have enough hob/oven space to do everything in real time... if not, work out what can be rested for a long time, pre cooked and warmed in the microwave or served cold.

Ditto cutlery, crockery and serving dishes, if you haven't got enough, now's the time to find out.

10 people. One vegetarian, one gluten-free/dairy- free, one who will probably push a single roast potato around the plate and not eat anything at all... I love Christmas. I have shop-bought Xmas puddings and Xmas cakes. Vegan neighbour is kindly providing a portion of something delicious for the veggie meal. I'll prepare turkey and trimmings myself and ask for volunteers to peel sprouts and potatoes. I view it as a huge Sunday roast and it always works out well. A morning glass of champagne for the main cook helps! 🍸

12 adults, 2 wee ones, but we will be in a rental away from home and others will be mucking in.

I have cooked for 12 at home on my own more than once.

If you're doing a trad Christmas dinner, it's just a glorified roast, so just keep telling yourself it's not such a big deal.

Best way I find to be organised (apart from getting as much prep done as poss before the day) is to have a timetable stuck on the front of the fridge.

I work it out backwards, I.e. from the time I actually want the turkey on the table.

So, turkey on table at 5 (usual time here, far less of a rush)
So out of the oven around 45 minutes to an hour before that (well wrapped up in foil and tea towels) to rest and let me cook spuds, other veg, make gravy, etc.)
(Spuds on to parboil at least 1/2 hour before turkey comes out, so they're ready to go)
So turkey into oven at (whatever time before it has to come out)
So, oven on 15 mins before that.

Etc.

What with all the Buck's Fizz on Chr. morning I'd be lost without this sort of list!

Pigs in blankets, stuffing, etc. will have been made the day before, and the other thing I do the day before is simmer the giblets for gravy stock. Easy then to make the gravy in the roasting tin after the turkey's been taken out to rest.
Get spuds parboiled and ready to go before the turkey comes out of the oven (unless you've got another oven big enough) and make sure it's hot enough to get them nice and crispy.
Of course it goes without saying that if guests can/will muck in by helping with prep or bringing things ready to go, that's best.
Good luck!

Only 6 this year, but will be using my DM's chaotic kitchen. Will be a strange year as it will be the first without DDad