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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

No Christmas dinner

252 replies

thelifeoofme · 23/12/2022 08:44

IM NOT COOKING Christmas dinner. I have twins & a 6 year old. There's no way im doing it. I've bought party food, pizzas, pigs in blankets, picky bits & I'll lay a spread on the table. We don't have a dining table either so it'll be a pick n mix - I've been called all sorts for this but I am SICK of spending Christmas Day in the kitchen when I should be with those kids.

Am I wrong or right? An awful mother?

Am I depriving my children of a Christmas dinner & that's whole dinner experience?

OP posts:
Palmtree9 · 23/12/2022 10:27

We're making pizzaa for dinner, and having party food at lunch.

Have done this for the last few years. It's great, I see the kids, everyone else, don't have to panic about timings all day!

My 3 year old doesn't like roasts, SIL is veggie, 11 month old will eat anything and won't care. We have about 3 roasts a year, I don't see why anyone should be forced to have a roast on a specific day

ArseMenagerie · 23/12/2022 10:28

Do it your way!
I know people having:
Takeaway Curry
Pizza in their own pizza oven
Lasagne
Vegetable Tagine

why not do what suits you!
The main thing kids want at Christmas is to be with you. That’s the truth and we all know it. It’s not just presents it’s you engaging with them opening and playing with it. Taking an interest. They just want your extra time. If you’re stuck in the kitchen then it’s just another day 😵

Original poster
thelifeoofme · 23/12/2022 10:28

Palmtree9 · 23/12/2022 10:27

We're making pizzaa for dinner, and having party food at lunch.

Have done this for the last few years. It's great, I see the kids, everyone else, don't have to panic about timings all day!

My 3 year old doesn't like roasts, SIL is veggie, 11 month old will eat anything and won't care. We have about 3 roasts a year, I don't see why anyone should be forced to have a roast on a specific day

Thank you! Sometimes I feel alone in this but helps to know other people do the same. You see the adverts on tab & I would love that but at what cost?!

OP posts:
katepilar · 23/12/2022 10:28

thelifeoofme · 23/12/2022 10:24

So you cook it all & reheat the next day?

Show quote history

I think they cook it and eat it on Christmas Eve.

FourChimneys · 23/12/2022 10:29

For those saying not having a roast is depriving the children, please come and take my adult DC off to social services. Neither have ever had a roast (or any other sort of meat) in their lives. Both are more than capable of cooking but neither agree with the cruelty involved in producing the meat.

Needmorelego · 23/12/2022 10:29

Sounds fantastic. I expect the children will much prefer that.
I have no interest in christmas dinner. I hate roast dinners.
My husband is going to do one for him, daughter and mother in law because they like it but I am undecided between a Mac and Cheese or pizza.
@thelifeoofme if there are any other adults in the house if they want a roast then they can cook it.

Ragwort · 23/12/2022 10:30

Why are you even worrying about it?

I enjoy cooking, I love a traditional Turkey meal, so does my DH, my DS and any guests we invite. So I/we cook.

If you don't want to cook a roast ... then don't ? But why the angst?

JudyGemston · 23/12/2022 10:30

Jinglebellrocks · 23/12/2022 09:13

We love Christmas Dinner in our family so party food just wouldn't be a suitable replacement. If you aren't bothered and prefer the party food you should go for it, it's your Christmas day and what ever makes you all happy, is the important thing.We have the party food Christmas eve which works great as means left overs for nibbles on Christmas night if needed.

I also have young children and don't spend all day in the kitchen. I prep everything on Christmas eve, doesnt take long and i wish i'd done it ages ago! I stand the fresh veg in cold water in the fridge over night. I roughly chopped some pots, part cook them and toss in tray with all the seasoning, duck fat etc and stick wrapped in fridge. I prep the pigs in blankets (reserving 2 slices of bacon) caramelise some onions, stick, halfed oranges, garlic, onions in a bowl and wrap in fridge. i cook the swede in microwave and mash, all ready.
On Christmas day I don't need to chop a thing. Turkey gets throw in with the bowl of garlic orange onion and seasoning thrown on and the bacon id kept aside from the pigs in blankets. Then I chuck in a bought pork sage and onion stuffing, the pigs in blankets I've made, Aunt Bessie's frozen parsnips with abit honey and black pepper added, the pre prepped roasts. The veg gets steamed in some hot water. The onions gently warmed and gravy sorted. It's no different to making a load of part food and sandwiches. I get to laze around with the dc and it's just a case of setting timer for the oven and veg.

I honestly can’t tell if you are kidding.

maddiemookins16mum · 23/12/2022 10:31

Who are you telling? I don’t think I’ve shared info on my Christmas meals with anyone in the 40 plus years I’ve been adulting.

FromDespairToHere · 23/12/2022 10:32

My DM was a stickler for rules and convention most of the time but I always remember when DD was about 7 and she decided on xmas morning she didn't like salmon any more (me and DD don't eat meat and DM didn't like turkey so was happy to eat the salmon I cooked). I was stressed as hell: this is our Christmas dinner, this is what we have!

DM, totally out of character (and possibly half a bottle of red down) asked me why ot mattered. DD was a child, Christmas is supposed to be lovely, just give her fish fingers with her roasties and veg. So I did and we all enjoyed our dinner without stressing about it.

Eat what you and your family like!

DennisSkinnersMolotov · 23/12/2022 10:32

We do our Christmas dinner on Christmas eve, then on the day itself we have leftovers, a few different desserts, and a cheeseboard. Works so much better for us while the children are young, and I'm not stuck in the kitchen all day.

Armychefbethebest · 23/12/2022 10:33

Ever since my first Xmas with a toddler and heavily pregnant with number 2 and a deployed husband and living in a different country to my friends and family I swore I would always do Xmas dinner on Xmas eve then have all day to play with the kids and eat snacks and a buffet tea 20 years on it still works and the kids prefer it x

Mrsjayy · 23/12/2022 10:33

I have a friend who does her roast Christmas eve and has a buffer Christmas day.

trulyunruly01 · 23/12/2022 10:34

I don't remember Xmas dinners. But I do remember the evening buffet, full of things that we never had any other time of the year, strange sandwiches, odd-looking things the grown ups seemed to like (gherkins), posh biscuits, half defrosted prawns, a big ole Black Forest gateau and nobody policing my e-numbers.

And Tango to drink. Tango 😳!
Go with the buffet.

Winter2020 · 23/12/2022 10:34

You do whatever you enjoy the most.

I would miss my roast dinner but I agree I would not want to miss time with the kids.

We declined a large family get together lunch last year for this reason (my husband would spend all morning cooking our contribution and getting stressed as it would inevitably not be ready on time).

Instead we had a very simple roast largely freezer to oven.

Supermarket roast potatoes (not great)
supermarket Frozen mash - microwaved with butter and milk added (great)
real Carrots and broccoli,
frozen peas, beans, sprouts (fine),
Frozen stuffing (not the best but I couldn't find anything ready made fresh)
Frozen Yorkshires (fine)
Frozen pigs in blankets (fine)
Cranberry sauce from a jar and Gravy from granules.

We did cook some turkey - the kind that says "peel back lid put in oven" but if you chose chicken breasts the whole time in the kitchen will be less than an hour. I like to wrap chicken breasts in baking paper for the majority of their cooking so they aren't dry.

Yes our easy dinner wasn't amazing but it was nice and no stress/minimal time away from the kids. If there was one thing I would change it is probably to make our own roast potatoes as supermarket ones don't really compare.

LargeglassofRosePlease · 23/12/2022 10:35

You sound very angry op. No one is saying you are doing anything wrong but people are entitled to their opinions.

Millions of people ( including myself) would never choose not have a Christmas dinner and instead choose to have a pizza for their main meal for their family and themselves on Christmas Day.

It is entirely up to the individual and their families what they eat on Christmas Day.

Just as what you are choosing to give yourself and your family for food on Christmas Day is up to you.

No doubt you’ll be putting up a thread Christmas Day night to tell us you are taking down your tree and decorations too. 🙄

Velvian · 23/12/2022 10:35

I bet no one that is having a go at you about it feels strongly enough to actually prepare the meal themselves.

YANBU, spending time together is far more important than eating a specific thing.

The other way to go would be dozen roast potatoes and Yorkshire puds and buy everything else prepared to stick in the oven or microwave.

Velvian · 23/12/2022 10:36

That should be frozen not dozen.

Womencanlift · 23/12/2022 10:36

You do you but first you said you wanted your picky bits because you spend hours in the kitchen missing out then you said it was because your kids don’t like a roast

If they don’t like it fair enough have foods they like

If it’s down to time then there is way round that by getting parts of the dinner that you just shove in the oven. And you can get that from Aldi or Waitrose so your budget shouldn’t be a factor

A lot of people (let’s be honest mostly women) martyr themselves by spending all day in the kitchen rather than looking at the easier options

Fremdschämen · 23/12/2022 10:37

For a number of reasons, we no longer do Christmas.

But the most relaxed and enjoyable Christmas Day lunches I have done in the past for just us or if family were coming was small baked potatoes, cold turkey, cold ham, cold beef, interesting salads, flans, hot rolls, warm sausage rolls and a couple of deserts. Most of it could be prepared the day before and what was left over finished off at teatime.

If it's just you and your kids on Christmas Day, it is no-one else's business what you choose to eat.

If you have relatives coming, they should gracefully enjoy whatever you decide to serve them. If they want a "traditional" Christmas Day lunch, they can cook their own on Boxing Day or on Christmas Eve.

In short - do whatever suits you best and guests with other expectations can go whistle.

WaddleAway · 23/12/2022 10:38

LargeglassofRosePlease · 23/12/2022 10:35

You sound very angry op. No one is saying you are doing anything wrong but people are entitled to their opinions.

Millions of people ( including myself) would never choose not have a Christmas dinner and instead choose to have a pizza for their main meal for their family and themselves on Christmas Day.

It is entirely up to the individual and their families what they eat on Christmas Day.

Just as what you are choosing to give yourself and your family for food on Christmas Day is up to you.

No doubt you’ll be putting up a thread Christmas Day night to tell us you are taking down your tree and decorations too. 🙄

Why would people have an opinion on what other people are having for Christmas dinner though? I couldn’t care less what other people eat, it’s weird to be bothered about what other people choose to serve to their family. The OP doesn’t sound angry, just annoyed that other people are criticising what she is choosing to serve.

Tittyfilarious81 · 23/12/2022 10:38

We are having a takeaway curry, nobody is bothered for Christmas dinner in our house and when I have cooked it all in the past when I sit down to eat it I just don't enjoy it and the cleaning up afterwards. Christmas dinner to me is just the meal you have on Christmas day with your family 😊

Gagaandgag · 23/12/2022 10:42

Just do you! Have a great one

mickandrorty · 23/12/2022 10:42

I never do a 'Christmas dinner' we often have a curry or steak and chips, some of the faces you get when you say you're not having a roast to other people is hilarious! I'm not spending ages cooking a big fancy dinner its my off time too, i want to chill with the kids, watch them play with their new stuff and enjoy the day as well! (also only 2 out of 7 people really like a roast so that helps)

Ilovedthe70s · 23/12/2022 10:47

I have no opinion on what anyone else does at Christmas, I have zero interest in anyone else’s
food choices ever.

I have a turkey dinner because I love it and I have raised a pair of turkeys to eat.
My neighbour takes a packet of cheese and pickle sandwiches and eats on the beach with the dogs. Both are perfectly good choices.

If people spent a bit less time pontificating over other peoples business we’d all get on a bit better.