Hosting for First Time

[JackNamesThePlanets]

I found out today that we'll be hosting on Christmas Day for the first time. It's me, DH, DS(4) and DD(2), and PILs. I've never cooked a Christmas dinner before (plenty of roasts...) so looking for ideas of different Christmas dishes and helpful hints please! So excited we get to stay at home and start our on traditions now after years of splitting it between our different families!

So lovely! I would start with what food do you all like? What traditions would you like to have that perhaps you already have?

I love bagels & cream cheese with champagne for breakfast. We're still in pyjamas at that point & try to have this before We begin opening gifts. Though DC will be older this year so perhaps presents first.

We eat early afternoon, so we will have salmon & prawn cocktail for a starter, for main course we have a beef/lamb/ham joint or steak. Ideally 2 meats served so people can choose. As sides we'll have pigs in blankets & lots of different vegetables. For afterwards a cheeseboard & a desert everyone likes. Personally I don't like turkey but I like to keep everything else quite traditional such as goose fat potatoes & lots of stuffing etc.

I love to dress the table nicely. So charger plates, napkins, napkin holders, candles etc. I have all those things in the one colour scheme to match our Christmas decorations so I have candle holders that I only use at Christmas. My tip is it's really easy to buy things like that inexpensively if you want to have ones you keep only for Christmas! From memory the napkin holders, napkins & charger plates were HoF in @ 40% sale. The candle holders & candles were Matalan or TKMaxx but look expensive.

After dinner will be Christmas games & a movie. Usually everyone hangers from their dressy clothes back into pyjamas.

Boxing Day will be s similar meal. We will have the leftover meat reheated, I'll make fresh veg & i will make a different starter to the day before. No desert but we'll usually have leftover cheese & selection boxes that we couldn't eat the day before

Iceland...

In my experience everyone has something that they associate with Christmas: if it’s missing then Christmas isn’t quite right. If you can figure out what that is for each person and provide it, then you’ve cracked Christmas.
Fil loves Christmas pudding and even though he’s the only one eating it, I make him one and send him home with the leftovers. He’d never put me to the trouble of it but the smirk on his face when he’s tucking into it is worth it.
Dh loves his mum’s trifle so I always ask her to make one. She’s chuffed and he’s happy.
My aunt associates the smell of satsumas with Christmas so I try and make sure there are a few in the fruit bowl if she’s with us.
Dad’s family used to gather at Christmas and play 25 (an Irish card game) so we do that after dinner when he’s with us for Christmas.

They’re all very simple things, and not even things that are necessarily noticed unless they’re not there. But I think they’re the difference between a good Christmas and a great one.,

I have hosted christmas lunch for years. In the past for 15 now a more manageable 8. My best tip is to get as much as possible prepared on Christmas Eve.

Our Christmas lunch is very traditional with most things done from scratch but not on Christmas morning. Table has to be lovely but is always set before I head off for bed on Christmas Eve.

Prawn cocktail starter using ready washed bag of salad. The prawns, sauce ext mixed the day before and kept in bowl in fridge ready. Don't put in individual bowls at this stage though ...takes too much room in the fridge and much better to do that and put finishing touches ...slices of lemon ext on the day.

Massive turkey cooked the night before with hot turkey sandwiches from the legs with cranberry sauce for supper xmas eve yum! That stops a panic on the day about timing and leaves all the oven space for everything else. My family prefer the white meat so last year I got two large turkey crowns instead of a turkey so I could present an uncarved one with all the pigs in blankets around it on the day.

Par boil potatoes and parsnips ready for roasting the day before. Rough the potatoes up when they've cooled and freeze them. Use very hot goose fat for roasting. On the day just drop the roughed up potatoes straight from the freezer into the boiling hot goose fat. They are delicious.
Shortcuts|: All veg fresh except sprouts which are frozen. I but the ready prepared carrots...one job less and if all your oven rings are busy they can be microwaved in 5 minutes so can be last thing put on.
Pudding is Sherry trifle...a family traditional recipe which needs prepared the day before so straight out of the fridge with a jug of cream. I also offer Christmas pudding. The Tesco's finest and other brand finest are so good now so no need to make your own unless you want to.

I never plate Christmas lunch. I find it takes too long and things can cool especially when there is a big range of veg as everybody will want different. I have a hostess trolley where serving dishes are kept warm and are brought to the table for every one to help themselve.

Most importantly ...if something does go wrong ...pour yourself a large glass of something special and laugh it off. You are among friends and family so no need to panic. Enjoy op.

Brilliant tips- thanks so much! Am feeling very christmassy today thinking about it all...I'm a bit worried about space in oven etc and cooking turkey for the first time. Any christmassy recipes I can snaffle??

We're hosting for the first time this year, though have had it on our own at home before. I'm looking at Jamie Oliver's Christmas book for inspiration - lots of make ahead tips and things that go in the oven at the same temperature. We'll be doing lots of prep on Christmas Eve. Working out all your timings in advance helps, and avoid people arriving at the moment you have lots going on in the kitchen!

I love cooking Christmas dinner, I think good preparation is the key.
Jamie Oliver's get-ahead gravy is brilliant. Despite being sceptical, I have it z go one year and haven't looked back. Make it early and then freeze it, just remembered to get it out on Christmas eve to defrost. Dame with the pigs in blankets and cauliflower cheese, prepare them early, freeze them and then they're ready to cook on Christmas Day.
I par boil my potatoes and parsnips on Christmas Eve then leave them covered on a cooling tray to dry completely.
Cook your turkey first then wrap it in foil, and then a thick towel and leave it to rest while you cook everything else. Mine rested wrapped up like that in a jazzy beach towel for about an hour and a half and it was gorgeous. (Did laugh when I looked round to see dh had stuck a party hat on it, and a glass of beer next to it as he said it looked like it was reclining on holiday!!)
Definitely peel all your other veg the night before, and leave it in bowls of water to keep fresh.
A glass of fizz always helps!
And don't be afraid to delegate....I need an empty kitchen to beetle round getting everything ready, but they set the table, dole out drinks, keep on top of the washing up, generally be on call....works for us.

ENJOY!! At the end of the day, what really matters is you and your family have a nice meal enjoying each other's company. If it doesn't go entirely to plan so what, it's the people who make Christmas. X

*sorry for the typos!!

I always always order from M&S and collect on Xmas eve. Everything's chopped and prepped to just be put in the oven.

I don't want to be a Debbie downer on the thread but make sure you get time out of the kitchen otherwise you miss out on all the fun! I make sure I time it so when family arrive with gifts I can be with them when the DC un wrap etc.

I hosted for the first time last year and made a spreadsheet with timings to stick to the fridge to keep on top of what was supposed to be happening when. Everyone laughed but it meant I wasn’t flapping around trying to do too many things at the last minute and had scheduled time for things like presents.

I wouldn’t go for any fancy dishes but like a PP make sure you have everyone’s favourite Christmas bits. We’re big on leftovers so I made sure I cooked enough to send everyone home with foil packages of cold cuts for sandwich making at home.