Baby due via C-section approx 2 weeks pre-Christmas. My lovely family are arriving from Ireland for the week (and will generally be helpful and be happy to be put to work) but are not great at cooking. I love to cook but am conscious that I probably won't feel like it while trying to breastfeed a tiny baby and recover from surgery.
Some ideas of things that can be done in advance/delegated (simple things) that don't require a huge amount of freezer space ideally would be appreciated. I usually love to cook everything from scratch but I'm willing to have some pre-made options this year I think! Will have 6 adults and 1 4 year old to feed along with newborn for Xmas eve, Xmas Day and St. Stephen's Day. I have only one oven, 4 rings on hob and a microwave. A fairly small freezer.
Planning to have goose and ham for the main event- can cook ham on Christmas eve. Usually I make sides of roast potatoes (with the goose fat), honey and thyme roasted carrots and parsnips, red cabbage (Jamie's version), potato stuffing in goose, usually some sausage "stuffing balls" or pigs in blankets and generally sprouts tossed in butter and bacon or occasionally a sprout gratin.
I'll get a turkey crown for St. Stephen's day and hopefully will have leftover sides to go with it!
Made a christmas pudding last weekend but will need simple starter and dessert? And any simple ways of preparing sides in advance/good ready made options?