Christmas in a box

[Toddlerservant]

This Christmas we will have our 2 year old and it'll be the first since losing my dad. Want to enjoy the day with our little one as much as possible, so don't want to spend hours in the kitchen. Also want to be kind to myself in recognising the day will be hard without dad, so want to stay home rather than mixing with lots of other families. Any suggestions for a lovely Christmas Dinner that effectively comes in a box and I can stick things in the oven and come out tasting delicious with minimal input from me?

Depending where you are some bigger hotels/ restaurants sometimes do exactly this, Celtic Manor in Newport have it advertised on their website.

Failing that I've found Sainsbury's Christmas food to order is lovely, and M&S stuff looks great. The food catalogues are starting to come out so maybe take a look through and pick a selection of foods that you'll enjoy and are easy to prepare.

I'm glad you're being kind to yourself ❤️

you can get things like cooked roast chicken thighs, yorkshire puddings and stuffing mix

COOK might be worth a look - they had good frozen options last Christmas and their food is usually tasty.
https://www.cookfood.net/menu/christmas/christmas-day

The M&S pre cooked/part cooked turkey breast joint last year was brilliant, took less than 2 hours and was moist and delicious. Then just get their goose fat roast potatoes, pre prepped veg and pigs in blankets, pouch of gravy, plus one of the fancy desserts - very little prep time

I've just read that M and S are bringing back their Christmas dinner in a box. Might be worth a look. Think their food orders open on Monday.

I’m sorry for your loss @Toddlerservant 💐

Absolutely try M&S 😊 They do a small Turkey Breast joint which is delicious 😊 Also trays of roast potatoes, parsnips etc. Everything comes in big foil disposable trays so really minimal washing up too 😊 Christmas Day for us is just DH, me and our young DS and it’s exactly what we’ve done each year since his first Christmas when he was 4 weeks old 😊

Don't know what your budget is, but
https://www.simonrogan.co.uk/shop/christmas
is amazing quality, delivers nationwide and you can now register for the details when the box is released.
Wishing your happy day.

Try Cook theirs was excellent last year

I'm sorry for your loss. I'd agree that m and s is great. I've found if you buy everything from one place it's usually all a bit more simple as they seem to think through the sequencing and temps. The biggest faff to me is always the turkey so we've bought the breast several times now and it simplifies everything (I also don't love turkey so left overs don't bother me)

Another vote for M&S but also looking at some of these others!

With just two adults to feed, don't feel tied to the traditional turkey roast dinner. You could try something different such as the M&S slow cooked daube of beef or slow cooked lamb tagine, both just need warming through.

Keep the extras simple such as ready made potatoes dauphinois, and a cold pudding, perhaps a cake or some cheese, and you need only spend a minimal time in the kitchen.

Often a low key Christmas with just close family are better than huge family gatherings, so I hope you really enjoy your Christmas @Toddlerservant .

Another vote for Cook. I've used them two years in a row and been really impressed. You get all the food ready prepared to throw in the oven. You also get a timings sheet which tells you what time to do stuff.

Cook!!

I’m looking at cook now, it’s saying things like roast potatoes are out of stock/can’t be added at this time. Do they usually come back in to stock or once they are sold out that’s it?

@Janetstreetwater they usually come back in stock. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. It's been really helpful and given me some food for thought (pardon the pun 😆).

Might use Simon Rogan for New Year as I saw they do a NYE box too!