Halal Christmas ?!? Help!

[LittleOwl153]

OK, I know its an 'interesting' combination... but it appears we have a Muslim family with 2 children under 5 joining our Christmas day... I'm clueless about what this means (other than no pork...)

So Help me Mumsnetters... what do I cook,what can I use. I don't want the littles to miss out, but don't want to entirely dump traditions for other littles either. Or spend a fortune as Christmas is usually done on a preprepped (by me) budget!

My family is Muslim, and we have had a traditional Christmas for as long as I can remember!

Honestly, it’s the same as any Christmas dinner, just no pork. So no bacon in anything, no pork in stuffing, no pigs in blankets (although you can now buy veggie ones).

Also same for alcohol - so have an alternative option for Christmas pudding.

If the turkey itself needs to be halal, any halal butchers should be able to order one in for you.

You really don’t need to break away from tradition!

The meat should be halal butchered - turkey included. Avoid sweets and desserts with gelatine.

The main problem I've found with Christmas food since my daughter converted to Islam is finding xmas puddings and mince pies that don't contain nutmeg, mace, or mixed spice.

Nutmeg really is the most difficult thing to avoid that I've come across and it's in so many things that it can be very hard to avoid. I've managed to find a brand of mincemeat that doesn't contain nutmeg (Sainsburys own) and so will be making my own mince pies, and I'm going to have a go at making my own xmas pudding without using nutmeg or mace if I can find a blend of mixed spice that doesn't include nutmeg. I've also found that spirit vinegar is included in lots of things that you wouldn't expect.

I order my daughter's meat from a reasonably local organic Halal farm and we all eat the Halal turkey. I end up making two lots of roast potatoes and parsnips - one for her and her husband cooked in butter and oil and another lot for my husband cooked in goose fat as I've not been able to find anywhere that sells Halal duck or goose fat. I make sure that I cook my gammon and sausage meat in the top oven to make sure it's kept separate from the food that my daughter and son in law will be eating.

Some authorities allow small amounts of nutmeg to improve the flavour of food. I suggest you ask the visiting family if they are ok with that.

Sainsbury have halal chicken, sausages etc.
Also, ask Muslim family is there anything they can’t eat? Would your guests bring a dish or all cooking is done by you? Some cultures bring a dish or something with them.

Since I've been catering for my daughter and son in law, I've found Islam Question and Answer (Islamqa.info) gives really helpful guidance about what foods are Halal and what is not permitted.

Also OP, it would be worth asking your guests about their preferences. I’m Muslim and my siblings and I aren’t fussed about halal meat or alcohol in food as we do drink. But we don’t eat pork so that’s the only thing we are careful with. So if someone was cooking for me, my only request would be no pork.

But our parents are more religious, so if we’re cooking for them, we always get halal meat in, nothing with alcohol, etc.

How observant are your guests?

Forgive my ignorance by why no nutmeg or spice?

Nutmeg is considered to be an intoxicant, and mace is also not permitted because it grown on nutmegs. Mixed spice is an issue because just about every brand I have found includes nutmeg.

It's easy to find alcohol free foods like xmas puddings, but almost everything seems to contain nutmeg or mixed spice! The first year my son in law was here, I didn't realise thst nutmeg wasn't permitted and thought I'd managed to find a suitable xmas pudding, and made an alcohol free Christmas cake, but then found that he couldn't eat them because I'd used nutmeg 😞.

We have lots of Muslim friends we cook for and when asked, they always request vegetarian food. Of course, you could buy a halal turkey but they may not want you to go to the trouble. I would either just buy a small portion of halal meat to cook for them (and the rest of you have what you'd usually have) or I'd cook them a vegetarian alternative.

Thanks everyone. Its a kind if convoluted extended family thing so difficult to ask too much. The family are new to our group so wanting to be as welcoming as we can. We do Christmas as a big group and 'an everyone brings things for the table' so not all falling on me to do - but older adults awaiting instruction (or will blindly mess it up!). The new additions will bring stuff they can eat and I'm less bothered about offending adults than upsetting small people! The youngest in our previous group is now 14 so it's going to be very different!

The mum eats Halal meat, does not drink alcohol - not sure about it in food though - and I'm glad someone mentioned the nutmeg as that is a new one on me too! I'm not sure how strict she is with the kids.