What do you cook for the week up to Christmas Day?

[ponkydonkey]

So every year without fail our fridge is heaving with Xmas food
And all I seem to say is 'don't touch that it's for Christmas'

I always seem to forget that we need to eat in the run up to Christmas 🙄

What are your go to pre Xmas meals that are not just pasta or normal everyday food?

We always have goulash and latkes on Christmas Eve. Apart from that it’s just normal food - lasagne, curry, sandwiches.

We end up having a cheeseboard most days

We eat out of the freezer to create more space! It can be very random, oven chips potato smiles, mixture of chicken Kiev, nuggets and pop corn chicken, half a corn on the cob and beans, hearty soups and toasties, baked potatoes. Makes us appreciate the big feast even more!

We always have takeaway pizza from local posh Italian on Christmas Eve!

We usually do low effort food - pasta bakes, party food, charcuterie platters with baguettes and butter. It’s part of the holiday fun that we slack off a bit!

This is my meal plan for this year's Christmas week if it's helpful-

20th - spaghetti with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and chilli

21st sticky tofu,rice and tenderstem broccoli

22nd jacket potatoes and choice of fillings

23rd fish and charcuterie platter with
breads and champagne

24 th meal out at local gastro pub with extended family

25 th traditional roast turkey and many sides etc

26 th leftovers from the big day and always turkey sandwiches

27 th hot smoked salmon, new potatoes and watercress salad,ottolenghi's celebration rice using leftover turkey,winter slaw and breads
Puddings and cheeseboard
( buffet as we have 18 for lunch that day)

After that whatever is left in the fridge.
I'm planning ahead this year as we were all so ill last with covid that I'm determined it will be enjoyable and stress free this year !

The dc will be getting this pasta.
These potato stars will feature at some stage too!
We’ll also have cauliflower cheese soup with star shaped croutons

We are usually away at family's houses or hosting from 23rd or 24th to 27th. We just eat normal meals up until then (plus the odd mince pieor stollen bite) - always have done! I don't really like to start eating rich/festive food days and days before Christmas or I'm sick of it and feeling fat and bleurgh by the time Christmas actually arrives! Loving the idea of goulash and latkes though!

We live right next to a 24 hour Asda. That is open until 7pm on Christmas Eve every year. We eat Christmas food and then buy more for actual Christmas.

Honestly I don't go too mad, I tend to want quick dinners the week or so leading up to Christmas as always a lot to fit in! Sometimes it's just pizza but last year we did buy a load of lovely meet from the butchers so ended up having naughty things like steak, butchers burgers and some posh sausages! Really unhealthy 👀

On Christmas Eve we always have take away!

A Gusto box, I’ve enough faffing about without the hassle of thinking of more meals and the extra shopping time.

We usually have a cheese board, veggie sausage rolls etc on Christmas Eve.
Prior to that, probably a chilli night, a baked potatoes night and an eating out night.

Over the Christmas holidays my partner and I always make a Bosh Meze cake. It's hard work but gorgeous and we make two and freeze one.

www.bosh.tv/recipes/mezze-cake

I’m working until Christmas Eve, and Christmas proper doesn’t start here until everyone is done, so just normal food with the odd mince pie.

I've got stacks of pre-made stuff in the freezer.

Chicken soup
Beef bourguignon
Bkeila, potato and butter bean stew
Chilli con carne
Thai green curry
Green veggie lasagna...

It's all there ready for exactly the moments you're talking about!

I also love a quick savoury tart: a rectangle of filo pastry topped with whatever happens to be around (roasted veg, salmon and spinach, courgettes and green beans), lightly buttered and bunged in the oven for 10/15 minutes. Easy.

@Brokenrecord3006

We end up having a cheeseboard most days

I love this 😀

@Icantremembermyusername
Fantastic idea it does a good clear out our freezer is heaving

@WhatonEarth1 please can you let me know which cauliflower cheese soup recipe you use?

The latkes also sound fantastic

I am still working up to the 24th so dinners will be like every other week, quick and fairly decent.

Fish & Chips (homemade)
Meat and 2 yeg
some kind of pasta
a curry
whatever else we fancy

It's only the three of us, we do a last fresh food shop on the 23rd and will survive for 4 days.

@poshme This recipe for the cauliflower cheese soup

We get a gusto box weekly lately, so we'll carry on with that. They have lots of very Christmas themed meals in the run up to Christmas it seems!

I tend to just use whatever is left in my kitchen, as I don't a big shop on the 22nd or 23rd which will see us through to new year then I get a fresh start in January.
So it can be anything from normal meals like Bolognese, fish and chips etc to things like picky buffet style (chicken nuggets, chips, sausage rolls, throw together pastas/rice. I don't do anything special, and we also end up eating lots of snacks. Usually toast for breakfast as somehow accumulate about 6 loaves of bread in my freezer at any one time😅

@Fivemoreminutes1 thank you!

I had some once in a cafe and it was so delicious- been meaning to find a recipe for ages.

If I'm doing Christmas, I eat normally up to Christmas, have Christmas and then leftovers on boxing Day then back to normal. I was raised in a house with a 10 day graze fest and I always felt like I'd get scurvy by the end of it, so regular food for me.