Buffet Christmas dinner

[Gamorasgran]

This is the first Christmas since my dad passed away. It will be me, dm, dh and 2x pre teen dds for Christmas Eve - boxing day. Not much extended family left so quiet.

Xmas eve and Boxing Day roasts have been requested (chicken and pork respectively). I'll do stuffing/bread sauce/ pigs in blankets as appropriate there.

We touched today on not actually having Christmas dinner per se but having a day full of festive food. So far I have sausage rolls, pigs in blankets (Dd2 is never knowingly undersausaged), a small ham, quiche, smoked salmon, salad bits, nice bread, cheese, trifle, Christmas cake. Idea is to just have it there for snaffling through the day as required.

Can anyone think of anything else? We will have everyone's favourite breakfast natch and sure dds will have a heroic amount of chocolate.

My MIL always does a buffet style thing for Christmas and I love it. There's much less pressure and as this is your first Christmas without your Dad, it just will feel better to do it differently. It's hard I know....I remember the first Christmas without my Dad...but your plan sounds great.

My MIL does the sort of stuff you've mentioned plus a cheese board and nice olives etc...also prawns and salad. Plus a nice change is pavlova...loaded with soft fruit and cream. Buy the base ready made and it's easier than trifle but very festive. My kids LOVE Pavlova.

We're planning on similar, so placemarking for ideas!

There will be cheese and pineapple on a cocktail stick though.

I'll make some pate too.

Having an internal debate at the minute as to whether it should all be cold or whether to have some hot stuff involved... Would be easier to have it all cold but there's so much tasty stuff...

We've done this for the last few years and always have some hot stuff too (mini pizzas, little pies, chicken goujons etc).

We get as much already prepped as possible, stick it all out and just graze from lunch time to the rest of the day.

We did this last year, and this will also be the first year without my dad. It worked really well last year, as we left things out on the table and we could graze when we wanted. The buffet bit of christmas is my favourite meal!

We had:

• cold sliced meats
• chicken drumsticks
• pigs in blankets
• cheese straws
• dips
• cheese and crackers
• bread
• canapes from M and S (heated up at lunch time but ate them throughout the day)
• nuts
• veggie sticks and snacky salad things (celery, tomato, pepper, etc)
• stolen, lebkuchen, florentine and Christmas cake
• jugs of drinks

It worked really well and we will probably do it again this year, as it meant less time in the kitchen and more time together

Every year I do I buffet o Xmas day and an Xmas dinner at a restaurant Boxing Day. It makes for a much more relaxing day.
This was last years shopping list.
BUFFET
pizza
Scotch eggs N
M and s crisps
Chicken dippers
Quiche N
Cous Cous
Pate
Melba toast
Nice bread rolls
Original ritz biscuits
Beef cook
Cheese
Ready cooked chicken? Or slow cooker
Cumber N
Pepper N
pickles
Pineapple chunks
cocktail sausages N
Mini rolls
Cakes
Shleur
Snacks in box
Wheel crisps
Pigs in blankets
Nice cooked frozen mini sausage rolls
Lancashire cheese
Cheese and pineapple
Cocktail sticks
Pork pie N
breadsticks
Xmas cake
Mince pie
Trifle N
J20
Kids fake fruit shoots
Vinetta
Cheesecake
Custard
Xmas pudding
Doritos
Salsa
Cream crackers

Pringles
Samasos etc
Chicken skewers
Plastic plates and bowls
Flakadela aldi N
Prawn crackers
Thai crackers

Christmas pudding cupcakes www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/christmas-pudding-cupcakes
Mini yule logs but don't make them, just buy chocolate mini rolls and dust them with icing sugar.
Brie and cranberry parcels www.dairycouncil.co.uk/consumers/recipes/cheese-up-your-life/baked-brie-and-cranberry-parcels
Smoked salmon tarts
Stuffing bites www.rachelphipps.com/2015/12/christmas-kitchen-bacon-wrapped.html
Mushroom and chestnut parcels www.saga.co.uk/magazine/food/recipes/snacks-light-meals/mushroom-shallot-and-chestnut-parcels
Breaded mozzarella sticks
Cheese straws
Mini mince pies
Stollen bites
Lebkuchen
Turkish delight
Clementines
Brandy snaps

We’ve done this the last couple of Boxing Days and I’ve done the puff pastry Camembert and cranberry snowflake from here twistedfood.co.uk/camembert-snowflake/

It wouldn’t sit on the side and would need to come out for a fixed time, but it looks festive and quite impressive (I’m not a natural chef and my friends and family thought I’d put in loads of effort but it’s really easy!). Definitely good if you’re looking to up your cheese game for a Christmas buffet (for me cheese and, weirdly, a big boozy home made tiramisu are essentials!).

Fab ideas thank you. Will peruse at my leisure! I fancy a big jug of Christmas cocktails too.

My daddy was my sous chef and the idea of not having him there reminding me about the sprouts (which only he ate) makes me so sad.