What do you eat on Christmas Day?

[Dinosauratemydaffodils]

Last year I ended up spending around 5 hours of Christmas Day in the kitchen. This year I don't want a repeat. I'm happy hosting as the alternatives are complicated. I don't want to go to my mum's as my dad died last year and I can't imagine Christmas in her house without him. My Mil is happy to cook but my mum won't go to her's for Christmas. Plus Mil cooks a big family meal on Boxing Day for everyone as some of dh's siblings go their inlaws for Christmas so don't really want her to cook twice.

We do a big picnic under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve before the Christingle service and we usually have bacon sandwiches on Christmas morning.

What can I cook that won't take hours and won't leave huge amounts of leftovers since we'll be away for a couple of days after Christmas but still looks/tastes/smells Christmassy?

I do crispy duck with pancakes. Whole duck, couple of boxes of pancakes, jar of sauce and cucumber. Finger food heaven and you really don't need to eat until you burst. We usually just have cereal for breakfast and lunch is a picnic with chocolates.

We. moved Christmas dinner to Boxing Day to allow us time seeing the family / opening presents etc. On Christmas Day we had afternoon tea and it was just fabulous! We made or bought really nice things for it and it didn’t take much time to prepare. We will do the same this year too. It felt nice to not be restricted by timings of food or being stuck in the kitchen.

@Dinosauratemydaffodils wow. Sounds magical!!!!! I'm carrying on your tradition in my house, starting this year 😀

We do Christmas picky bits every Saturday night in December, usually sat at the table, before we all put our PJs on and go out in the car to look at the Christmas lights around town and come home for dessert. Young DCs said it was their favourite part of the run up to Christmas last year. I’m totally changing it to Christmas tree picnic!

Something nice but not turkey. I think we had roast chicken last year, and beef the year before. We keep it simple as there is only two of us. We do cook for elderly MIL but buy a tiny naice portion of turkey breast from M&S for her.

We eat turkey with all the trimmings but my standards are low and I’m happy to eat pre made mash/ pre wrapped pigs in blankets/ frozen roasts/ gravy granules.m&s so a wee bit more eco but totally worth it

Expensive, not eco!

I do everything
Have 10 around for dinner
I make a big bowl of soup the night before and get some part bakes for starters

Do 3 meats usually turkey beef and ham all cooked the night before
I do sautéed sprouts with bacon boil sprouts night before then just add them to frying pan with loads of butter and bacon on Xmas day
Cauliflower cheese cooked night before just needs chucking in the over for baking on the day
I cut up all the veg we usually have 4 different types and put in pans with water on stove ready to turn on in morning.
Same with roast potatoes and parsnips soaked in water ready to be trayed Nd chucked in oven
Make stuffing night before ready for oven
And same with Yorkshire puds.
Buy pre made pigs in blanket and sausage meat that just needs oven
So alls I do Xmas day is turn it all on and dish it up.
Apart from home made gravy there's not alot of kitchen time required on Xmas day

Me and my mum cook between us and even my son who has ASD helps. It’s worked like that for years. We enjoy cooking and we know it’s under control then. We usually have chicken and honey roast gammon with at least 7 veg 😂

I do the traditional starter, turkey, Xmas pud but it's just a roast, no idea why your 5 hours in the kitchen. ? Mum peels the veg. I cook.

You can do so much in advance. I do Nigella’s Christmas muffins which I prepare the night before then bung in the oven in the morning. Serve with fruit platter. Home made soup and one of those lovely Christmas tree shaped bake in the over breads for lunch. I make the get ahead gravy (Jamie), get ahead mashed potatoes, sautéed carrots which can be reheated and red cabbage which can be frozen. If I were you I would get the easiest roast meat to then cook.

Oh yes. My dc make the pigs in blankets and the starters. They actually really enjoy getting involved and helping out

We do a buffet style Christmas dinner

Turkey
Ham
Prawns/seafood
Roast potato salad
Roasted sweet potato
Sprouts 🙄
Salad
Pigs in blankets
Yorkshire puddings
Cauliflower cheese

We have the meats cold cooked the day before, DH will BBQ the seafood and I'll throw the rest into the oven on the day

Breakfast is freshly baked croissants (thanks to JusRol) and OJ/cafetiere of coffee.

Dinner is a roast turkey that goes in after mass as we head out to visit relations. Lots of butter under the skin so it doesn’t dry out and we set the oven to turn off automatically (Justin case we get delayed).

Christmas Eve afternoon is when DH, Dd and I traditionally start to slow down by turning on music and working together in the kitchen for an hour.
Dd bakes cookies for Santa (from scratch sometimes - but I always keep a half batch of dough in the freezer at that time of year to slice and bake). And she’s getting useful
For other jobs as well.

DH cooks the sausage meat (after the annual phone call to ask DMIL how to cook it!😂) for the stuffing. And we work together on peeling the potatoes and vegetables- leaving potatoes and carrots sliced and in water, parsnips and onions sliced in separate airtight containers, ready to just cook up the next day. Gravy is quick to
Make when the bird is out and resting (and needs a good glug of wine for flavor, so you’ll need a bottle I. The kitchen).

If catering for others and starters are needed, a pot of soup can be made ahead (and even frozen weeks ahead if you want).

We like cheese and often ignore dessert in its favor. But pudding, or some
Ice cream with some
Chocolate sauce or berries is nice and not too heavy.

Ask others to bring a starter or dessert or a veg dish if thAt helps. But don’t feel stuck
In th kitchen all day

Keep it simple and buy it all in prepared from the supermarket so you just have to bung stuff into the oven and microwave.

Why not do what my PILs do and do an M&S Christmas? Basically they get all the prepped 'just pop in the oven' bits for a festive roast dinner, and then all they basically do is just pop bits in the oven / microwave and time things so that it's all ready at the same time. No food prep involved and the food is lovely!

M&S food is lovely but if you are cooking for quite a few people it can be expensive. Still, nice if you want a hassle free Christmas dinner which is delicious.

It shouldn’t take 5 hours to do the prep for a traditional turkey roast dinner, OP. I make two stuffings the day before (apricot and chestnut, plus plum, clove and ginger) and store them in the fridge. I also soak a packet of smoked streaky bacon in whisky the day before.
On Christmas morning, after opening the presents, I stuff the bird, wrap it in the streaky bacon (the DC call this “putting its pyjamas on”, as the bacon is stripy!) dot it with a bit of duck fat, wrap it loosely in tinfoil and stick it in a low oven. We then all go out for a bracing walk round the loch or up the hills.
When we’re back, I peel and parboil the spuds, open the foil, turn up the oven and add the spuds to roast in the duck fat and turkey drippings.
I put the giblets on to simmer ready for the gravy, and defrost the veg I made the week before (red cabbage and apple, in wine, cinnamon and clove) and heat it through, then when the roast is ready we all help in the kitchen with making gravy from the giblet water and meat juices, carving, serving etc.
None of us like Christmas pud, so we either have fresh fruit or some of the leftover homemade chocolate chestnut log from Christmas Eve.
Having the main dinner in the evening takes all the pressure off - the turkey cooks itself while we enjoy our day. Lunch is just nibbles and a salad buffet, along with chocolate pennies etc from the tree.
This way, I get to join in with all the family activity, instead of being a resentful and knackered martyr in the kitchen! And I can have a glass of rather good wine with the roast- which I can’t at lunchtime, as I have to drive everyone to the hills or loch for the aforementioned walk!

Meet up with family in the morning (all adult kids here, all doing their own thing now). We take it in turns to host the prossecco (or orange juice, coffee tea) and nibbles in the morning.

Then we go our separate ways. Time for us to get out of our day clothes into PJs or whatever.

Shove a bit of salmon in the oven, plus a few bought in roasties (I have no shame), and prepared veg in the micro.

What the heck is wrong with that?

Then fall asleep, and wake up in time for a Baileys and Brandy, then sleep again.

I like a traditional roast, but I prep everything in advance to spend minimum time cooking on xmas day, also do does at least half the work.

Dp makes bacon sandwiches for breakfast. I am veggie so eat only chocolate.

For lunch we normally have beef, and I make a roast vegetable strudel which I construct the night before so it just needs to go in the oven. We also prep the veg the night before, so the cooking is pretty much just taking things in and out of the oven.

I have a tried and tested written list of what time everything needs to go in/out for lunch to be served on time.

I do Coca Cola ham for Christmas dinner, which simmers away most of the day. I normally prep the veg and potatoes between breakfast and lunch, doesn't take too long.

We space out our Christmas dinner, so we have the starters at lunch time and mains at dinner time - and pudding later in the evening (although we are normally too full by then)

I always buy the tin foil roasting trays for everything going in the oven, saves time on the washing up!

We take turns at hosting, so I don't have to plan it that often.
When we're hosting we do frozen pastries just baked in the oven, and citrus fruits for breakfast (DC love eating half a blood orange as though it's a grapefruit with a bit of brown sugar grilled on top). Coffee or hot chocolate to drink.

Traditional lunch - turkey crown, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, parsnips, sprouts, cauliflower cheese, carrots, stuffing, gravy, bread sauce, cranberry sauce. I make the sauce for the cauliflower cheese in advance and freeze it, then just defrost and pour over the cauliflower on the day. Stuffing from a packet, I just add an extra chopped onion and some butter. Gravy I just buy a carton fresh from the supermarket. Cranberry sauce from a jar. DH preps all the veg early in the morning.
Dessert I buy from supermarket or make in advance - trifle or something similar.
Evening meal is cheeseboard, grapes, apples, nuts, chutneys, lovely crackers, (both biscuit kind and snapping, party hat kind) followed by Christmas cake. DC like to arrange all this and lay the table.

Breakfast - croissants with jam and pain au chocolat, coffee/tea, orange juice then champagne.

Lunch - turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets and cauliflower cheese (all bought ready to go in oven) roast potatoes, parsnips and carrots (all prepped on Christmas Eve) broccoli. We don’t really eat Christmas pudding so not sure which dessert yet.

Evening - pizza and garlic dough balls.

I’m in and out of the kitchen during the morning but I don’t really feel like I missing anything. Last year it was just the 2 DC, DP and I on Christmas Day, we may also have my Dad and his partner but it shouldn’t make much of a difference. We aim to eat lunch around 12.30 and then we just veg out watching tv in the afternoon (eating chocolate)😉.

This year I’m doing chicken and ham. I’d like to have beef but we like it rarer than everyone else so the last few years over compromiser and had turkey but I’ve come to realise that turkey is a pain in the arse to cook and isn’t as nice as chicken so we’re having that!

My favourite Christmas dinner was egg and chips, all homemade.

At primary school, I had a friend who said he had egg and chips and I thought it was a great choice.