Hit me with your Christmas Day running orders/tips!

[FloraMaguire]

My second time hosting this year. Last year was chaos, ran super late, I forgot to use my lovely table decorations etc. in U.K. defence we’d moved house 5 days beforehand but it wasn’t the event of my dreams!

This year I'm prepping in advance as far as possible (freezing parboiled potatoes/parsnips, buying foil baking trays etc) but does anyone have any failsafe ways of keeping things on track and ensuring cleaning up etc isn’t a giant pain at the end?

Do every thing you can before hand
All veg peel on Christmas eve .
Every turkey all done before bed so get up early put turkey in .
It make the house smell Christmases.
Any Christmas break fast is just remove from fridge on to plate and out of kitchen.
Then just know your end time and work backwards.
Don't worry if you make mistakes
It just part of the fun.
Just make sure everyone get the bit of Christmas Dinner that they love and the rest will a bonus.

Cleaning up is done by other people your job is cooking

Give people tasks and write timings out for the oven / cooking in advance. If you’re doing a turkey Delia’s last 36 hours is amazing to follow.

Decide serving dishes in advance and put a post it in so everyone is able to help rather than asking what shall I put the carrots in as you’re frantic with the gravy.
If you’re having a starter then allow time between courses, we don’t, we have snacks in the morning, then main course then cleared away for board games and pudding and cheese later on, spaces it nicely and means everything can be cleared between courses.

Decide what time you want to serve the meal and then work backwards from that time to work out what time to put things on e.g serving at 2pm so sprouts need 15 mins so go into steamer at 1:45, roast potatoes take 45 mins so in oven at 1:15 etc. And write it all down on paper, in chronological order, so you have a timetable to follow and if you are caught up with something else, someone else can see the sheet and follow it if something needs to go on.

And don’t worry about cleaning - if you cook, others should clean! But I would say that if possible, you should have the dishwasher empty before eating the main so plates etc can go in once eating is done and then it’s on while you all have pudding. But that’s not your job!

These are great! Post its in serving dishes is genius!
There will be 6 adults and 3 kids but two adults won’t be able to help due to age/health issues.
We’re doing a cold seafood platter for a starter. How long would you allow to eat it before main is served?

I also agree with easy breakfast to minimise fuss and kitchen time - pre bought pastries and some fruit for example.

I'm pretty much with Summerdew. The key is planning and preparation.
So firstly make a list of everything that has to be done, nor just food - all the other things like table laying etc. Then allocate the non cooking tasks to family members.
For the food, I would also do canapes or nuts/nibbles. there's so much food about that for me a starter is just one course too many and it makes getting the main course sorted far more difficult.
Get as much as you can done beforehand, including all veg peeled on Xmas Eve. Decide what pans and serving dishes you will use for each item and make sure they're not all in the dishwasher just as you need them!
For the main event, make a detailed timing plan for food prep and tick things off as you go, taking into account how much oven capacity you have etc.
Also really useful is if you or somebody you know has a food warmer/hostess trolley. People scoff at them as relics of the 70s but they are a lifesaver at Christmas. It means you don't have to have everything ready at precisely the same time and can warm, plates and serving dishes.
The above sounds a bit anal, but honestly, you only have to do it fully once. I keep my annual Christmas food plan and just pull it out and adjust it the next year. After a few years it becomes routine.
Final word of advice, don't feel you have to do complex Michelin star dishes. Much better to keep it straightforward and successful. Nobody will care if you don't have truffle mash or an exotic brussel sprouts recipe.etc.

I’d give at least half an hour for the starter, kids can leave the table to play between courses and adults can chat over a drink.

Another thought....Personally I hate somebody else "helping me" do the cooking. I just get distracted, but it is useful to have somebody on standby to help dish up - even basic things like draining and chopping veg and putting in serving dishes. so you need a trusty lieutenant.

Oooh, I am good at this and have diffused many a potential Christmas catastrophe. Are you having turkey or beef? Beef is easiest (temp for meat is the same as roast potatoes) and ham is best as you can make it on Christmas Eve.

BTW Good Housekeeping publishes Christmas Day timetables and menus with recipes in their Christmas edition. And they actually work.

Here is our (Southern) timeline:

(I am assuming Christmas cake, christmas pudding or other puddings are already made, marzipanned and iced or bought).

Christmas Eve:

Boil and bake ham (for Boxing day or Christmas day)
Make braised red cabbage
Make stock for gravy
Make cheese sauce for cauliflower cheese
Make brandy butter and cranberry relish if you are making those

Have simple cheeseboard/smoked salmon type evening meal (or ham) to avoid detroying the kitchen for an additional cooked meal.

It is easiest to attend Church/Mass on Christmas Eve if cooking.

Christmas Day:

Whatever o'clock: If you are doing Turkey get up however early you need to to put the old bird on.
6-7am stockings
7-8am breakfast and cooks have showers and get ready
8-9am veg prep is done
9-10am presents
10-11am - do remaining veg prep/lay table
11 am - put pudding on to steam and potatoes on to par boil and tray of oil/duck fat into oven to heat up to smoking point (chef's perk = glass of fizz)
11.30am - put roast potatoes in oven along with beef (if having)
12noon - start cooking veg. They can stay warm in tureens with foil over as and when they are ready (the hostess trolley is ideal if you have one. My Granny did). If you are having a turkey, take out now and cover top in two layers of foil, still in roasting tray to catch juices.
12.30am - make gravy, puts pigs in blankets on
12.45am - start carving meat joint and serving up

1pm - eat (you can be an hour late here and nobody is that fussed if you give them any fizz that might be remaining at this stage)

3pm - (after Queen's speech if you do it) serve up pudding

Boxing Day:

Make cauliflower cheese and put baked potatoes in oven and serve with sliced ham.

'where’s the tidying up?'

WTF would somebody who has done all that cooking tidy up?!

I thought it was incredibly clear that wasn't for a teeny tiny little family, that is for at least 8, and probably over 12.

OP asked for help with timings, not a lecture on being a cool girl.

3 adults in our house so...

Lie in, get up whenever
DH cooks
We eat and chill

Done

Absolute bliss

OP is asking for help with timings for at least a two-course Christmas dinner that she is hosting for 9 people.

I have actually answered the question posed.

If you have a slow cooker and if
you are having Christmas Pudding, get it in the slow cooker around 11am, sherry time, and leave it there until you want it .

@clearspilt

Don't know about cool but am definitely chill 😂

The key to smooth running is plenty of oven space/hostess trolley/warming drawer/aga so that you can keep veg and sides warm while you eat your starter. The turkey can be taken out of the oven 45 mins before you want it. Cover it and keep in a warm place, it will retain heat well.
I found an electric steamer is worth its weight in gold when cooking for our extended family of 15 as it removes the need for three saucepans

alternatively because I'm on nights I'm doing beef bourgignon the night before then shoving it in the aga when I get home to warm up for lunch. The pudding is already made abd just needs turning out onto a plate. Deffo the easiest option ! We are having canapés before, no starter.