How do you serve Christmas lunch?

[Blablabla1984]

Do you put everything on the table or in the kitchen (buffet style)?

In the past years we've put everything on the table for people to just dig in but this year I really want to decorate my table with Christmassy candles and foliage so I am thinking of putting stuff in the kitchen for people to help themselves there and bring the plate to the table.

O would love to have it all on the table in nice serving dishes but my table just isn't big enough. Kitchen is a small galley and will look like a bomb has gone off by the time we're ready to serve up so I think I'm going to have to plate up in the kitchen, even though it's my least preferred option.

We add on the kithen table to the dining room table as an L shape. All white serving dishes go down the middles.
There are 12 of us every year.
No way am I plating all that up!!

Buffet style in kicten... dont have room for everything on the table.
After everyone has taken what they want, the leftover stuff gets puts on one big plate in middle of the table.

I usually have 15 people... obviously if there were a lot less could prob do differently.

All dishes on dining room table to help yourselves. I don't like the idea of carrying multiple plates for the kids. Plus I let them choose (mostly pigs in blankets!!)

In the kitchen on the counters so people can serve themselves

I set out the serving dishes in the kitchen buffet style. I can’t stand arms flailing around passing hot serving dishes and platters up and down the table or people all trying to lean over the table to get to the dishes and platters.

Nice orderly calm in the kitchen with everyone going the same direction. Safer too and easy for seconds !

And the table stays looking nice with no spilled glasses

I'd love a bigger table to we could have dishes in the middle. We have two electric food warmers and people serve themselves.

We have a console table next to dining table. I place slate mats on the top and sit dishes there. I like to have the table decorated so only really gravy and cranberry sauce on table.

All on the table except the Turkey which is plated up.

We serve it at table. I have a massive plate which I put the turkey on then tuck roasties, pigs in blankets, stuffing balls, caramelised parsnips, carrots and sprouts all around the edges. Then the only extras are sauces, gravy and baked red cabbage or peas in separate pots.

I've decided it's best to plate meat, roasties stuffing and Yorkshire's then let people add veg sauces and gravy. But ideally I prefer people to serve themselves it is just difficult to keep it hot without people burning themselves on passing hot dishes around.

Carve and plate the turkey, everything else in serving dishes down the middle of the table. I quite like everyone helping everyone else and passing plates around.

We changed to buffet a few years ago-

We decorate the table and DD and I love making a big production of it-we always do it Christmas Eve and then go out for Christmas Eve dinner.

It is much easier to lay out food on breakfast bar I know hated on MN but we love ours and then eat at the beautiful, uncluttered, un-gravy splattered table.

We do all prep Christmas Eve-whole family helps. Then we lay out all the serving dishes/utensils the day before with post it's on them saying what they are for. So there might be some washing up in the sink but on the whole it's so much nicer!

Plate meat but the rest is out on the table. I have a personal hate of people serving roast for me as they do it wrong. (Memories of EXH family of just piling it all up on the plate and having to eat your way through half before you could work out whats there).

We do have a large table and small numbers though.

This is a great post , I usually put the turkey in the middle of our not so big table & plate the rest BUT I have a spare table I could put next to us to put all the food on & then actually be able to degrade our main table! Love seeing what other families do people have such fab ideas & traditions

We did a seating plan also. Dc helped make name cards..
So much better than dc squabbling over who got to sit next to fav sibling etc!!
Agreed whoever didnt get their choice would for new years day lunch instead!
All info stored for this year!!

Normally on the table but have more people this year so think I will lay everything out on the kitchen Island and people can fill their plate and head back to the table - I can then go overboard with decorations & candles 🕯

Everything on the table, that way people can have seconds/thirds without having to get up. I'd love to be able to have a centrepiece but we'd never have room.

we plate the meat (turkey and ham) and put everything else on the table in serving dishes. We have extra tables we set up when needed which can seat 12 but we usually only have 6 for Christmas Dinner so we have space each end of the tables to place the dishes and wine and water etc. We always carve more meat than we plate and also put the extra slices on a nice serving plate for people to help themselves.

I dislike having my meal plated and handed to me, which is what my mother does. And she just piles it on any old how too. It's very unappetising.

Cant be bothered faffing round with serving dishes. My mother in law does and it takes so long to get everything in their dishes, onto the tabke and handed round that the parts of the meal that were warm are cold.

(The meat is always cold, she cooks ahead, carves once it is cold and then serves it with allegedly hot gravy which is also cold)

I plate up. Gravy and sauces on the table.
Everything keeping warm in the oven, then I'll bring out a serving dish of leftovers for people to help themselves to seconds if they want.

Everything goes in serving dishes on the kitchen island/worktops. I have to operate a one way system because there isn't much room left after I've added a table (usually only have a four seater in there)

Gravy, cranberry sauce etc goes on the table.

I plate everything up, and also put out a couple of serving dishes, with a bit of everything, and a jug of gravy on the table for people to top up if they wish. It's just me, DS (nearly 21) and DD (19). They always go for seconds of Christmas dinner, especially the meat, pigs in blankets, and roast potatoes.