Oh all ye wise mumsnetters, please help the virgin to the Christmas-at-own-home tasks!

[ELF1981]

I have been with DH for nearly 8 years. We have been living together for nearly six years. In all that time, I have never had Christmas dinner at his mums house or his dads house, and I have always managed to "get my own way" in having him go with me to my parents house.
This year, I promised DH that we would have a family dinner at our own home, him, me and our 2 year old dd.
My parents and siblings are pretty miffed and not too helpful at the moment as are upset that I will not be there at Christmas (dont get me started), so I am having to turn to other people for my silly questions!

So...

• How big of a turkey / turkey crown do I need?

• When do the shops have none left - its a fine line between having no freezer, and having to eat turkey drummer for dinner!

• How do you make those pigs-in-blankets?

• DH & I are not big drinkers but I would like something sparkling to drink at dinner, what would you suggest?

• Where can I get some cheap but nice decorations for the table? Centre piece?

• How stressed am I going to be

For three of you, you need the smallest turkey you can find. M&S prepared turkey crowns would be ideal.

You are pretty safe in the shops till the 23rd.

Pigs in blankets? Is that sausages in pastry? The easiest ways is to buy ready rolled puff pastry - cut enough to wrap the sausages and brush with egg. Cook for about half an hour

Drink - champagne/cava if you are up to alcohol. Other than that, Schloer, or flavoured sparkling waters.

The garden centres, eg Homebase, are pretty good with table decorations, but they do sell out quite early. Alternatively, pound shops can be pretty good.

You'll only be as steressed as you want to be. If it's just your own family, there is no need to be stressed.

OK. If you go to a butchers you should be able to order a turkey crown to be picked up on the last working day before xmas.

Get pork chipolata sausages and streaky bacon. Cut rashers in half and wrap pieces around the sausage, not too thickly or they take ages to cook inside. Also don't start them off with the turkey or they will get cremated!! They take at most 45 mins.

Not sure about sparkling stuff with food as the bubbles will fill you up while trying to eat all that food I don't drink sparkling so can't help there.

Ace catalogue do nice looking table runners with matching place mats etc. £12.99 I think roughly for the set.

Its only a Sunday lunch on a slightly grander scale! LOL don't stress, enjoy.

Work out timings before hand.
Prepare veg the day/night before and leave in water over night.

Write each course out and exactly what you need for each so you don't forget things.

I don't get things just because they're traditional. None of our family like xmas pud so I am doing apple crumble instead.

Once everything is cooking you can relax and let it cook. Veg steamers are handy because its hard to overcook things and they come out lovely.

1. There are usually 4 or 5 of us at Xmas, and I usually get the biggest one I can find and then live off leftovers for days! Depends if you want cold turkey for Boxing Day etc (in which case a small turkey will be fine for two/ three of you), or just enough for the dinner itself (in which case a crown will do)...

2. Why not order it at the supermarket or butcher? Then you are guaranteed to have it in time. I order mine with Waitrose and collect it on the 22nd / 23rd Dec. I was in M&S last year on Dec 22nd and there were very few fresh turkeys left, whereas Tesco still had plenty on the morning of the 24th, so it varies...

3. Buy them ready made from M&S or Waitrose! Otherwise, get cocktail sausages, wrap each sausage in a rasher of streaky bacon, secure with a cocktail stick (or a sprig of dried rosemary) and roast in the oven - they won't take more than 30-40 mins in a hot oven, so pop in the roasting pan with the turkey near to the end of cooking time.

4. not great on sparkling wines...hopefully someone else will come along with an answer. If you are complete tee-totallers, sparkling water mixed with cranberrey juice and garnisged with a wedge of lime is a lovely, light refreshing (and quite festive) drink.

5. Decoratiosn & centrepiece - what sort of thing are you thinking of?

6. You'll be pretty stressed the first time you 'do' Xmas at your house. But you don't have loads of guests, so it won't be too horrendous :-) Timing is veerything with Xmas dinner. 'll try and dig out the 'X,as dinner schedule' I used when I first made Xmas dinner myself...

There's a first time for everything!

It is possible to buy small turkeys - I know in the past I have bought one which weighs around 4kg or so which should be plenty for all of you. Ditto turkey crowns (although I've never tried one tbh).

If you can afford it M&S, have an ordering service which you can pick up as late as Christmas Eve irrc. It might even be worth buying one of their prepared crowns (or whatever you decide on).

As for wine, how about cava? We always have this with our Christmas lunch.

I usually make my own table decoration - basically it's a big fat red candle with ivy draped around the base!

Are pigs in blankets bacon wrapped round sausages?

I'd recommend getting the bbc food magazine xmas edition - probably in shops November. Will have loads of ideas plus full instructions on how to do the traditional Xmas dinner.

Agree that turkey crown will be ample. Turkeys always come large, so either get a crown to keep it to a reasonable size, or maybe even consider a lush (free range/organic) chicken?

And remember at the end of the day, although you want it to be perfect, it's just one dinner after all. So plan ahead and make a plan to help, but try to relax and enjoy it too.

thanks both.
We have a steamer so will probably cook the veg in that, then use the oven for the turkey, potatoes, and the microwave oven for pigs in blankets / stuffing.
I am envisioning getting stressed as I want us to have a lovely day, but previously have never had to do anything at Christmas except put the pots in the dishwasher
Also, it's DD's first one where she may have a clue something different goes on (she was 2 in October) so dont want to end up serving under cooked turkey, over cooked pigs in blankets and burnt Christmas pudding!!

Love Angel, the Xmas schedule sounds very organised, something I should be!

Mercy - I was thinking of having a bash at doing my own table decoration, or splurging on a center piece so we have a "family" item.

milkjammy, I will put the magazine on my to buy list, thanks!

Agree with getting one of the food mags or even Delia's Christmas recipe book - she has a great recipe for bread sauce!

Also most Christmas puds are microwaveable so virtually no risk of it getting burned.

I gather he's the one that wants Christmas chez vous, right?

Simple. He can cook it.

(Mr Inferior's cooking ours. I don't Do Roasts.)

Picked up a pudding for Dh today when I did the shopping (having finally reconciled within myself that we will be having dinner at home, as up until a few weeks ago, we were on the way to be living with my parents til the new year, so it has taken me a while to accept it!).
DD and I will probably have some ice-cream/ cheese cake type thing, not a lover of Xmas pud!

LOL MI

He has said he will cook, though I am a bit of a control freak and will end up interfering, or he will dither and drive me nuts

I also have 1 / 2 months to crack the secret to roast potatoes - mine always end up crispy and not mushy like my mums?!

Go out with DD for a bracing Christmas Day walk, or go to church; come back and relax with a glass of fizz while he finishes it!

I would, incidentally, buy a really good bottle of champagne. Why not.

I'm doing the M&S oredering thing as storage space at a premium here- collect Christmas Eve... their catalogue is online and it trells you what number each joint serves if that help?

Oh goose fat fr the roasties- apr boil, drain, shake well in a colander to tughen up, toss in a little seasoned flour and then roast. yum. Or hasselback (par boil, then slit from top to base with a knife bot quite cutting through- all the way along in fan like slices- also goes nice and crunchy)

Champagne if you;re doing the fizz- as I am pg only having 1 drink Christmas, therefore will be a glass of my favourite Lanson champagne.