How do you plan Christmas dinner? - first time host!

[sparklins]

This year we are hosting for the first time ever. 7 adults, 4 children (5-10yo)
MIL is bringing dessert but otherwise the drinks, appetizers, main meal is all on me and DH.
No one in the guest list really enjoys turkey so we've opted for duck and chicken instead and then all the other traditional sides.

My question is - how do you schedule this through the day? Most of the foods need to go in the oven so how do you make sure everything gets cooked and is hot to serve at the same time?

Any tips and ideas from any seasoned Christmas dinner hosts would be really helpful to us, any appetizer ideas/side recipes would also be very welcome!

My main tip is to cook the meat first, then the minute it comes out of the oven double wrap it with tin foil and cover it with a towel. It'll keep warm that way for up to 2 hours so gives you plenty of time to do all the veg in the now freed up oven. Plus it means the meat is well rested so it's nicer anyway.

I try and pre-make as much as possible beforehand. So pigs in blankets/stuffing balls/gravy/braised red cabbage is all made earlier in December then just kept in the freezer until the day. You can add some of the meat juices to the gravy on the day or if you're doing duck the fat will be hot when you take the duck out to rest so I'd cook my potatoes in that. Stuffing balls and pigs in blankets can go into the oven from frozen. Red cabbage can just be microwaved to reheat.

I also par boil and roast all my potatoes, carrots and parsnips together, just making sure they're cut to a similar size so they cook at a similar rate. That's a Jamie Oliver tip and I've never looked back since I tried it a few years ago.

Write down the time you want to eat at and work backwards, writing down timings for every single step, even resting the meat etc. You can't go far wrong that way.

Don’t bother with starters - have canapés and drinks while dinner is cooking instead.

if you have a slow cooker you can keep things warm in there to free up oven space.

prep as much as possible the day before so you’re not stuck in the kitchen all day.

make sure someone else is on washing up duty.

• no starters, canapés only
• cook meat first and leave to rest
• make a time schedule including every single item
• make a plan of which pans are used and which burner / oven everything goes in
• pre-cook and re-heat where feasible, e.g. red cabbage, swede mash
• peel and prep veg the day before, store in fridge in plastic bags
• lay table day before

I make the gravy, pigs and red cabbage a couple of days before, also the bread sauce, hard sauce and cranberry sauce,and the day before, I peel the potatoes, make the stuffing and prepare the parsnips, then on the day (we have turkey) I double foil the turkey when it comes out and cover it with a clean towel and leave to rest for an hour or two while I roast the potatoes etc. then gently warm the red cabbage and gravy, cook the sprouts while the plates warm. Whilst the turkey is cooking we have breakfast and then lay the table for lunch (2.00).

And appetiser ideas - has to be homemade sausage rolls for me! Delia recipe, it’s a Christmas classic, made in advance and heated on the day.

This is my top tip. Also, if you are not experienced cooks, and given you're catering for large numbers, I wouldn't be too ambitious. Don't try to do loads of side dishes and don't go for complicated ways to cook them that require a lot of last-minute faff. Simple is fine.

Delia Smith's Christmas book has been my guide for Christmas ever since it was published. As well as lots of recipes, she has a good section on what to do the day before and what to do in what order on Christmas Day itself. Very useful.

Most supermarkets sell ready made pigs in blankets and some lovely stuffing mixes. Sprouts (if people even like them!) do not need crosses notched in them. Bread and cranberry sauces (again - check if anyone ants this stuff) can be bought too. Look for shortcuts.

I agree with PP - cook meat first. Wrap in foil and tea towels to keep warm while you fill the oven with pigs in blankets, stuffing, roast potatoes, parsnips and carrots.

Focus on your roasties. They are what really make the dinner. Good fluffy potato variety like Duke of York or King Edward. Parboil and shake to fluff them. Preheat the roasting tray with a very generous amount of oil (oil not animal fat so veggies can have them too) then toss them in the hot oil and roast on high heat until golden and crispy. Plenty of salt and a sprinkling of rosemary and garlic is good too.

Prep red cabbage the night before and cook in slow cooker or pre cook and heat in microwave.

Do some peas for the younger kids.

Cut down on the traditional sides and treat it as a big roast. Enjoy yourself and don't get too hung up about it being perfect. But get as much done sober as you can.

Pre prepping is your friend here. Assuming you're having a traditional meal.
A few days before:
Make the roast spuds but don't fully cook them. Leave them in the roasting tin, cover with foil and bung in the fridge.
Make the mash and put in an oven proof bowl. Cover in foil. Bung in the fridge.
Make the carrots - I cut into batons, boil with butter, orange juice and water then when cooked put in a microwaveable container and bung in the fridge.
Make the sprouts, again dont fully cook them. Same with broccoli.

All of this can be done up to a week before.

Christmas Eve night:
Lay the table.
Get all the plates out ready - I put them in a big washing up bowl and pour a hot kettle over them when we’re ready to serve up - I can’t stand cold plates!!!
Prep the starters. We always have cold starters - seafood platter, egg mayonnaise, cold meat platter. Cling film on the serving platters and bung in the fridge.
Before going to bed - get the pre prepared food out of the fridge, as well as the birds. They will cook more evenly, and quicker, from room temperature. Check the cooking timings of the birds and when you want to eat. Be prepared to be flexible 😂
The birds should come out of the oven about 1/2 an hour before you're ready to have starters, put the roasts and mash in. Micro the veg (it will need a final zap before you serve). Make the gravy and leave in the pan to do a final reheat.
I’ve given up making gravy from scratch. Find a good packet mix of chicken gravy that you like, add the chicken juices and give it a good boil on the day.

Once the spuds are done, I put all the sides on the table for everyone to help themselves, give them all hot plates and whilst they’re fighting over the sprouts, carve the meat.

We don't bother with starters or canapés on Christmas Day. I enjoy my Christmas lunch too much to want to leave eat a bowl of soup first. I'm not an experienced host and rarely make roast dinners, so I like to plan in detail.

I start from the time I want to serve and work backwards from there to make a plan for the day with timings. Then I don't really feel stressed at all, because I know exactly what I need to do and when.

I have a double oven so I figure out temperatures are needed to cook everything well and allocate oven space that way. Same with the hob space.

Cook as much as possible in advance. I had some vegetarian red wine gravy left over frozen from thanksgiving so just needed to defrost that. Bread sauce, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire pudding batter, vegetarian main dish, veg prep can all be done the day(s) before.

Spreadsheets are friends! I always have a spreadsheet with what I'm making (linked to the recipe on another tab so everything is in one place), the timings/temperatures/cook methods for everything, and a plan for the day with times. This was my plan from last year.

Aargh! I forgot the PIBs! Put those in an hour before you want to eat the main course.

I agree with not doing a formal starter and just have canapés/nibbles. It's a big enough meal anyway with the roast and then a dessert.

I'd have some sausage rolls, crisps, nuts, olives, bread sticks and a couple of dips available for people to help themselves to if they're peckish before the main meal. Shop bought to make life easier is absolutely fine!

I also agree with not going mad on side dishes and just concentrating on the main elements. I usually do meat, roast potatoes, stuffing, pigs in blankets, carrots, parsnips, sprouts, red cabbage and gravy. Sometimes not even the red cabbage. It's plenty! As much as I love cauliflower cheese/yorkshire puddings/mashed potato/carrot and swede mash I've got enough to concentrate on making Christmas dinner so save these for other roasts throughout the year.

Vintage Christmas dinner cook here!

What I still do is make a list, backwards, starting from the time people are going to sit down to eat, right back to when I need to first turn the oven on.

Timings of everything, e.g. when to put the potatoes on to parboil before roasting.

And don’t forget taking the meat out half an hour before you all sit down - to let it rest - it’ll carve better. Wrap in foil with a tea towel on top to keep warm.

That gives you plenty of time for cooking any boiled or steamed veg, making gravy, etc.

Then write it all out in time order, and put it on the fridge or anywhere else it’s not going to get buried in kitchen paraphernalia/splashed with juices, etc.

I always bring out a camping table for extra prep area.

Slow cookers are your friend. And they don’t need to be on your kitchen bench - just a power point somewhere.

Plan your plates, glasses, cutlery, water jugs, serving dishes and serving utensils. Plan your crisps and nuts and how you are going to serve them. If you have everyone serve themselves at table, do you want one large dish of potatoes or two smaller ones? You get the drift.

Always, always remember food hygiene. Don’t let some random bloke take up your fridge with his beer which can go elsewhere and take out something that needs to be in the fridge. Fill your esky with ice and use that for drinks. It works for every Australian party.

Budget for things like extra toilet rolls, kitchen roll, rubbish bin bags, milk, sugar, foil.

Re drinks, will you have enough space to store the empties tidily?

How old are the children? Would they be better with Christmassy plastic plates or will your normal stuff be safe?

I'll suggest a few things to the above. Get foil trays for potatoes and side dishes that you use and bin because it is a yearly one off and makes life much easier afterwards, or plastic take away style ones if using a microwave to reheat something.

If you are cooking several things in the oven at the same time make sure all the trays fit in together. Nothing more frustrating than realising the planned shared oven shelf doesn't hold those two baking dishes.

If you aren't usually cooking those Christmas menu items as part of your normal cooking, practise now, not a full dinner but each element.

We have a plug in electric hot plate so that we can put oven dishes of food on to keep it hot. It lives in the loft until parties for keeping potato wedges or jacket potatoes warm and also cooking at Christmas. Utilise a slow cooker for a similar keeping warm appliance.

Agree with everything said above especially setting all the table up the night before, delegate and share the work with your husband and good luck. Oh and if anyone wants to try it, if you add bicarb of soda to the water when cooking the potatoes it makes the outsides super crispy. Loads of recipes online for it.

We do do a starter (finally got my DM and DDad off a soup course as it just filled them up!!) but I make a big platter of seafood, charcuterie, cheeses, grapes and cucumber to please all tastes. Dead easy, I set it up then cover and leave in a cool place till we're ready. I buy ready made cocktail sauce which some like and put ready made fancy chutneys, pickles etc into wee dishes.

For main meal we work backwards, I buy ready made gravy, pigs in blankets, stuffing etc as when I tried making them all that happened was that I got stressed, made a mess of the dinner timings and nobody noticed it was homemade! Only person who likes red cabbage is my dad and he likes it pickled out a jar! I cook meat first and let it rest while I concentrate on roasties and then Yorkshires as DD insists on them!

Only DS and dad usually want pudding and dad likes Christmas pud do I buy him a mini one and DS likes crap like Vienneta! Cheese and biscuits later if anyone is awake or fancying a nibble. We eat at 5 though as it suited DC better when they were small and now suits the older guests better. Dinner, snooze, Call the midwife 😆- sorted!!

My only tip is to buy a meat thermometer and look up the minimum temps for turkey, stuffing, sausages etc.

Meat thermometer is a game changer.

Have a starter, and go all out with the sides! It's Christmas 🎄

Just plan well and prepare things in advance.

No starter.

There's a gazillion websites that can help you with a timetable.

At least ask some of your other guests to bring drinks and crisps/nuts/cold appetisers. Delegate the making and serving of drinks to an adult other than you or dh.

Delegate clearing the table and loading the dishwasher to 2 other adults.

Put all the foods in Dishes, and set up a buffet in the kitchen and let everyone help themselves, it means left overs are still useable.
Also foil inside pretty dishes so you can just place in the freezer if left over.
Gravy make LOADS, twice what you think you will need.

My tip is delegate
Somone to tidy room and set up table
One person does drinks and glasses
Two people do dishes afterwards
Peelers the night before
Find outdoor space to store stuff because your fridge will be overloaded
Somone to put out/ prep starter
Don't sweat the kids but have mayo and ketchup ready

It's a lot of work and if you try to do it yourself you will want to kill everybody. Especially those fucks who say oh I don't like " thing you spent ages struggling with because everyone said they liked it"

Don't do to many extras

Ps get a good apron or 2

I measure and chop everything in the days before and just label really well. On the day of, I’m like a tv chef just dropping in my pre-measured ingredients. It makes things so much easier and really cuts done on dishes.

I’ve done it enough times now that I have everything in a spreadsheet in the correct cooking order, but I recommend a timetable with all the steps written out. The more detailed the better.

I am catering for the same number OP but I cater for big family days and events regularly including Christmas so it doesn’t bother me at all. I make the desserts the day before. I don’t do a starter.

Very little needs to go in the oven with a traditional Christmas dinner. Just the turkey and all the trimmings around it, are you having those? So the one roasting pan with the bird in has the bird, the stuffing obviously, the sausagemeat, the bacon on the top, the potatoes and pigs in blankets in the dripping tray., just added in at different times. The meat dish is the least important in terms of oven, as it will need to come out an hour or two before the dinner and you can put whatever else you want in there. But we only really have one dish in the oven.
You can make the stuffing, stuff the bird etc the day before so you don’t spend Christmas morning with your hand up a bird.

I often do a gammon too the day before and that can go on the feast, nice and easy.

Sprouts and chestnuts par boiled and dry fried in a pan. Any kind of carrots, usually the red cabbage is spiced so goes in the bottom part of the steamer and I steam broccoli and whatever other veg we fancy, often savoy, in the top compartments.

Its really only the steamed veg and gravy that comes together at the last and that’s only a ten minute job and quite jolly.

Most of our fave puddings are cold but we just whip out the brand butter etc and carry on into the night.