Opinions on my Christmas menu!

[HerbivorousRex]

I know it’s early but this is our first year hosting Christmas and I’m very excited (I love Christmas!)
Please could you look through my menu/plan for the day and let me know what you think!
I love baking and often cook for large numbers of people but I’ve never done Christmas before (I’m also veggie so I don’t want to miss anything that the meat eaters might want!)

We have 12 adults and 2 children coming for the day and we’ll eat lunch at 2pm.

Breakfast (9am after stockings):
Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels
Bacon sandwiches
Cranberry and orange mimosas
Tea/coffee/juice

Everyone staying with us goes for a long walk in the morning. Everyone else will arrive between 1-2pm. Pre-dinner drinks and nibbles.

• Spiced orange martini
• Cranberry gin fizz
• Nuts, crisps and dips
• Mince pies and gingerbread biscuits

Lunch (2.30pm)
Starter (plus pulling crackers and opening table presents):
Pate on sourdough toast with cornichons.

Main:
Goose or Turkey.
Beef.
Chestnut, mushroom and Stilton nut roast.
Pork, hazelnut and spiced apple stuffing
Pigs in blankets (veggie sausage for me).
Cauliflower and leek cheese with whole grain mustard.
Sprouts with roasted chestnuts and pancetta.
Spiced red cabbage.
Honey/spice glazed, roasted carrots and parsnips.
Mashed swede with loads of butter and black pepper.
Yorkshire puddings.
Roast potatoes.
Gravy.
Wine, water and sparkling apple juice.

Pudding:
Christmas pudding.
Christmas wreath pavlova (with berries).
Spiced chocolate orange tart.
Cream/custard/ice-cream/brandy butter.
Tea/coffee

Open presents round the tree. Play games. Christmas treasure hunt. Gingerbread house decorating competition.

Evening food (7pm):
Cheese/charcuterie board (with figs, apples/pears, salad, pickles, chutneys, olives etc).
Nice bread and crackers
Christmas cake, mince pies and gingerbread house.
Mulled wine, hot chocolate, expresso martinis.

Watch Christmas films (argue about whether ‘Die Hard’ counts as a Christmas film).

Is there anything I’ve missed or that you think I should add/cut?

We always have Yorkshire pudding with our Christmas dinner and I would love all the veg.

It's so regimented? I wouldn't want to watch a film.

Just make sure it is not you who is doing the washing up eh.

It sounds lovely, but it would be too regimented for me, honestly.

(The plan about going for walks at certain times etc).

I don't know if you have done this before but expecting everyone to do the same thing is a bit like herding cats...

Just a thought...

The timings are just rough, to give an idea of what usually happens when.
Apart from when we sit down for the main meal everything else is pretty flexible and totally optional (I thought it might be helpful to give a rough idea of timings because everyone’s Christmas is so different and it gives a sense of where the food fits in)

I think some of you might be right that there might be too much though- I’ll suggest moving the gingerbread decorating to a different day (or just abandoning it). Everything else (apart from the treasure hunt which the kids love) doesn’t require any organizing and people can just opt in/out depending on how they feel.

I think I probably made it sound much more regimented than it actually is 😂

My only advice is don’t stress out if the timings don’t go exactly to plan. My past experiences have shown that sometimes things vary a little so don’t let this spoil your day.

The food etc sounds amazing

My top tip would be to use the bbq to cook the turkey if it’s a gas one, freeing up the oven space for everything else.

It all sounds really lovely, but Christmas or not, to me it’s far too much. I’m sorry if I sound like a misery but sometimes less really is more.
From what you say you are used to cooking for large numbers but I’m genuinely puzzled as to where and how you are going to cook all the roast meats, a nut roast, roast potatoes, carrots, Yorkshire puddings, stuffings, cauliflower cheese, pigs in blankets etc in the oven and then keep it all warm and fresh looking. All I can say is that your oven and kitchen must be several times bigger than mine and you must have an awful lot of serving dishes etc
I hope I’m wrong but I very much suspect that if you provide everything you’ve suggested you’ll end up with an awful lot of leftovers, most of which (not all) will end up in the food waste bin in the days after Christmas.

It does all sound a bit Downton Abbey, various rooms where people can go into and do whichever activity they like. It all sounds amazing but I feel for those who can barely afford a sprout this Christmas.

It does all sound a bit Downton Abbey, various rooms where people can go into and do whichever activity they like. It all sounds amazing but I feel for those who can barely afford a sprout this Christmas.

It’s not aimed at them though, it’s aimed at middle class mummies who can be inspired/persuaded to go out and buy just that little bit more to make everything just so magical. I wonder where you’d find a group of people like that…..

@HerbivorousRex

I know it’s early but this is our first year hosting Christmas and I’m very excited (I love Christmas!) Please could you look through my menu/plan for the day and let me know what you think! I love baking and often cook for large numbers of people but I’ve never done Christmas before (I’m also veggie so I don’t want to miss anything that the meat eaters might want!)

We have 12 adults and 2 children coming for the day and we’ll eat lunch at 2pm.

Breakfast (9am after stockings):
Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels
Bacon sandwiches
Cranberry and orange mimosas
Tea/coffee/juice

Everyone staying with us goes for a long walk in the morning. Everyone else will arrive between 1-2pm. Pre-dinner drinks and nibbles.

• Spiced orange martini
• Cranberry gin fizz
• Nuts, crisps and dips
• Mince pies and gingerbread biscuits

Lunch (2.30pm)
Starter (plus pulling crackers and opening table presents):
Pate on sourdough toast with cornichons.

Main:
Goose or Turkey.
Beef.
Chestnut, mushroom and Stilton nut roast.
Pork, hazelnut and spiced apple stuffing
Pigs in blankets (veggie sausage for me).
Cauliflower and leek cheese with whole grain mustard.
Sprouts with roasted chestnuts and pancetta.
Spiced red cabbage.
Honey/spice glazed, roasted carrots and parsnips.
Mashed swede with loads of butter and black pepper.
Yorkshire puddings.
Roast potatoes.
Gravy.
Wine, water and sparkling apple juice.

Pudding:
Christmas pudding.
Christmas wreath pavlova (with berries).
Spiced chocolate orange tart.
Cream/custard/ice-cream/brandy butter.
Tea/coffee

Open presents round the tree. Play games. Christmas treasure hunt. Gingerbread house decorating competition.

Evening food (7pm):
Cheese/charcuterie board (with figs, apples/pears, salad, pickles, chutneys, olives etc).
Nice bread and crackers
Christmas cake, mince pies and gingerbread house.
Mulled wine, hot chocolate, expresso martinis.

Watch Christmas films (argue about whether ‘Die Hard’ counts as a Christmas film).

Is there anything I’ve missed or that you think I should add/cut?

I think the only thing I'd maybe think about is that the veg with the main meal is jazzed up in some way to make it richer. The entire meal is so rich anyway you probably don't need to do that with all the vegetables. Sometimes it's a relief to have something unadulterated! I'd just do plain carrots, and maybe add some peas too.

Okay you just dropped in that you were coming out of your first trimester, so you will be 5/6 months pregnant by Christmas? Please don’t underestimate how tired/bulky you could be. It sounds amazing, but delegation is your friend here. Don’t over do it!

@SoosanCarter

Espresso not expresso

Does it make you feel superior to have read through OP's post and picked out a wrongly spelled word? It just makes you look like a bit of a dick to be honest.

[quote HerbivorousRex]@TeaAndTrifle
The Christmas wreath pavlova is a Mary Berry recipe (although I add more berries, some mint leaves for colour and a tiny amount of edible glitter). www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/christmas_pavlova_20589
Just make sure that you cook the meringue slowly on a really low heat so it doesn’t go brown and let it dry out in the oven overnight (it’ll keep for over a week so definitely do it in advance). I have had a few meringue disasters where I’ve been too impatient and turned the oven up or not let it dry out properly![/quote]
Thank you that's really helpful advice x

Can I come please 🤣🤣🤣

I think having a few activities up your sleeve is a good idea. You don’t have to them or even mention them if you get busy and everyone is happily occupied. In years past, I can remember buying gingerbread kits for the kids at home bargains. They were inexpensive and kept the kids busy for a bit. Just set them up on cookie/jelly roll pans to catch any spills for easy cleanup.

@SoosanCarter you’re totally right, I missed that (unfortunately there’s no edit button for spelling mistakes).

@Didiusfalco that’s a good point. I’ve had a pretty bad first trimester so I’m aware there are no guarantees how I’ll feel and I’ll definitely do a lot of editing down of the menu and delegating if I don’t feel up to it.

I really appreciate everyone’s advice. There has been some good feedback about what to cut and where I’ve been too ambitious. It’s the first time I’ve done Christmas for everyone and I wanted to make sure that everyone got to have the things that make Christmas special to them- some of the comments have made me realize that it’s probably all too much and might just be a bit stressful and overwhelming for everyone involved.

I honestly wouldn’t make so much food if I didn’t think it would get eaten (either on the day or as leftovers). I’m definitely going to reduce some of the other food on the day though.
The food also tends to be our main indulgence over Christmas which is why I’m so keen to get it right!

The nut roast sounds amazing! Any chance of publishing the recipe? Although everything sounds delicious, you have far too much going on. Breakfast can be croissants with some really nice conserve..think Bonne Maman....it needs to be light, perhaps with some fresh berries. I always buy frozen ready to bake croissants, they are delicious, and also veggie friendly.

Pre-lunch drinks....keep it simple and offer Buck's Fizz which is traditional at Christmas. Go easy on the nibbles or even skip them altogether if you are doing a starter. If you do want nibbles, the savoury only, sweet stuff for the evening with mulled wine.

The main event....go for turkey, skip the goose, and maybe roast some beef as well, but you need to get a fillet, expensive I know, but you will be gauranteed lean and tender beef which will also be nice served cold.Plain steamed sprouts, no pancetta, the whole meal sounds a bit meat-heavy.

Cocktails for the evening, plus cold meats, cheese etc.

@SoosanCarter

Espresso not expresso

You really are Susan Carter and I claim my five pounds.....

@LoveGrooveDanceParty

In 47 years on this planet, I’ve never had mashed potatoes on Christmas Day. And certainly never missed them.

We have mashed and roast every Christmas Day (I've had 47 years of them too 🤣)

Just to make you shudder we also have blue peas!!!

@dworky

Poor kids, having to wait till evening, when they must be getting tired, to open their presents.

Why do people like you read a thread like the OP's and only comment something negative. Is your own life so bad that you feel the need to spread negative misery.

The OP is planning a fantastic family Christmas filled with wonderful food, activities, fun and love and all you take from it is poor kids because they don't get to open piles of presents when you think they should?

I would think Poor Kids is as far from what the OP has described as you can get. If you genuinely think that and can't see the many positives of the day then that is sad.

I must have a greedy family as I don’t think it looks too much in terms of volume. I do agree about having some plainer veg though. But I always deliberately do more veg for Boxing Day bubble & squeak anyway! I don’t do Yorkshire’s or mash with Christmas dinner either.

I think having activities loosely planned is a good idea. Children in my family won’t just sit quietly after a meal, they all seem to need to be doing something all the time and it’s usually raining on Christmas Day so can’t just hoy them in the garden as I normally would.

Sounds amazing OP, make sure you don’t get lumbered with the washing up after all that! I’ve probably gone a bit overboard this year too, but we didn’t get much of a Christmas gathering last year so am making up for that.

I'd vote for keeping the Yorkies, we always have them. Never, ever cauliflower cheese though.

I like the sound of the raw red cabbage salad instead of the braised version which I've never liked.

Looks fab! I would prob cut the gingerbread and mince pies from nibbles, purely because they are delicious and people may ruin their appetites!!!

@Squirrelblanket

Yorkshire pudding is amazing but doesn't belong on Christmas dinner..🤷🏻‍♀️

Language like this should be banned on MN

Sounds lovely.

But I'm with everyone else that after all that I'd really struggle with the evening buffet. And I'd feel guilty you went to all that effort and I couldn't eat it!

People saying it's 'way too much food' do realise not everything has to be consumed in one sitting? Leftovers are one of the best parts of Christmas dinner.

OP I think your menu is fantastic. Plenty of choice for everyone with enough leftovers for those staying, and to send some home with those who aren't. You sound very generous and your Christmas sounds lovely.