Christmas Dinner Newbie! Please help

[Bluepenguin20]

Due to an unexpected change in circumstances I am now hosting my family on Christmas day for the very first time.

I'm more than happy to step up but I don't really cook and I've certainly never prepared a christmas dinner before.

Please can you give me tips and any ideas. How do you keep it all warm if the different bits are ready at different times.

God help me 🙀

If you really want to do a starter buy the pots of pre cut melon.
Write out a time plan from when you want to serve work backwards.
Turkey goes in first .
frozen roasts take 40 minutes. Allow more time to than you think you need to make sure. Same with parsnips.
Make plenty of gravy. Hot gravy covers a multitude of sins.
pre bought pigs in blankets about 30 Minutes.
Stuffing takes 20 - 30 Minutes.
frozen Mash and frozen batters about 15 minutes. You can put them on at any time and warm up just before serving.
It is better to allow wiggle time rather than server raw food. nothing will spoil by standing around after cooking better than serving raw food..
last thing is veg.
i have been cooking Christmas dinner for 50 years but i still write out a time plan, something like
11.15 put in turkey etc.
Get all you equipment out the night before.

Don't do a starter at the table, it just makes timings harder. Serve a few (bought) canapés with drinks before dinner.

When the turkey is cooked, get it out to rest, turn the oven up and cook everything else. Make sure its all ready to go in the oven before you start, and that you know how to fit it all in. Things like red cabbage or cauliflower cheese will heat up fine at the bottom of the oven.

Desserts, christmas pudding to be microwaved, everything else cold, so you don't have to think about it until the main course is finished.

Make sure the turkey is cooked through, a meat thermometer is a good buy. But don't panic about the rest, a few lukewarm potatoes or soggy sprouts will not spoil anyone's christmas, but you getting upset could.

Mash and batters? I don’t offer 3 types of potato. We have roast potato in goose fat. No complaints but they take 1 hr 15 mins usually. Or a bit longer if they are bigger.

Definitely do a time plan. Work back from serving time.

Can you prep and cook the vegetables and sides then just reheat on Christmas day?? That way you will have more room in the oven for the turkey

www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/your-christmas-timeplan

Delia’s Christmas has a list of what to do when with times, I used it lots until I got more used to doing Christmas. Agree with others about serving canapés with drinks rather than a starter (buy them if you can). Pre make your desserts so all you really have to think about is the main course. Good luck.

One more thing. Delegate someone to carve, and if at all possible give them a space where they won't be in your way when you are dishing up everything else. In my house this means the carver standing in the corner by the larder door odd but it works. And delegate someone else to do drinks, and make sure they have everything they need in advance, so they are also not in your way in the kitchen at a critical moment.

I first cooked a full Christmas dinner about 30 years ago and didn't really know how to do it. I bought Delia Smith's Christmas cookbook and made everything out of that and followed it to a t. She has timings for absolutely everything, loads of stuff can be made in advance and frozen, I still use many of the recipes decades later. Mary Berry Christmas is another great book for recipes which cover everything you need.

Get a turkey crown or breast joint rather than a whole bird. You can buy pre prepared so buttered/herbed/bacon lattice already done.
Cook this first - once cooked take it out of the oven and leave it covered in foil with a couple of clean tea towels over it to keep the heat in and let it rest.
Drain the cooking juices off after 1/2 hr and wrap it back up and leave it alone.

Peel your spuds (Maris Piper or King Edwards) for roasts 30 mins before turkey is ready and have them ready in salted water. Par boil for 4/5 mins in salted water and drain- leave them in the pan. Heat baking tray with good slug of veg oil and big piece of butter for maybe 2 mins - shake your spuds in the pan so they fluff up tip them onto the heated oil so they sizzle and turn around so they are coated in oil/butter and shake salt generously all over- bang in the oven.

After 20 ish mins put pre prepared Pigs in blankets in oven and pre boiled parsnips- give the parsnips the same treatment as the potatoes. I also put Stuffing balls in on the pigs tray.
Have carrots chopped and ready to go in a pan of water, sprouts peeled and washed in colander.

Once pigs/parsnips/potatoes/stuffing are looking done switch the oven off. Steam or boil carrots and sprouts and make gravy using the turkey juices. Take the pigs and parsnips out of the oven put the plates in to warm up. Carve the turkey and dish up.
If you like red cabbage and cauliflower cheese buy these ready made from M&S and micro them and practice in the lead up for the next few weekends. Buy a roast in a bag chicken- it will have timings on etc and is the easiest - taught my son to do a roast as a teen this way. Good luck and stay calm.
If you are rich buy the lot pre made from M&S.

Set the table the night before so you are not stressed with that. Rope someone in for your sous chef to assist peeling veg- you do not have to do it all- they can also wash up and clean up as you go. Buy a pre made dessert- ours in currently in the freezer ready to go. Lots of luck and maybe write a plan/timings out.

Another absolute rule for me is no guests in the kitchen. I can’t bear people trying to talk to me while I am cooking.

Do you have money to chuck at the problem?

If so, do what I'm doing this year and make your life easy by ordering some of the Chistmas dinner from a party-food-to-order service.

Waitrose and M&S do it. Or if you've got loads of cash, then Cook.

The best value is Sainsburys Food to Order and they have a great selection this year. You pay £20 deposit to order it, then the balance when you collect.

We're veggie so this may not apply to you, but we've ordered pretend-turkey crown. vegan pigs in blankets and stuffing, a "handcrafted Three Cheese Dauphinoise Pithivier (YUM!!! 😍) and Christmas pudding.

We'll make the veggies, gravy, starters and other bits and bobs. But it will be much easier than doing it all ourselves.

There are LOADS of meat options. And they do veg, roasties, starters, delicious deserts, dishes like cauliflower cheese - the whole caboodle.

Choose the things you're least confident about and just order them in:

https://food-to-order.sainsburys.co.uk/

If you only have one oven, can you maybe get an air fryer or microwave in the Black Friday sales on this week? It'll make things much easier.

Thank you! We already have air fryer in loft so will get that down and we have a microwave. But only one normal oven.

Excellent! They'll both be helpful with making sure everything is ready at the same time.

I do all veg in a stackable steamer- so veg that takes the same/similar time in each section. This can be prepared the night before.

Alexa/google/similar is your friend "Alexa remind me "Parsnips" in 30 minutes".

Don't give yourself a hard time with when dinner is on the table- if it takes an hour longer than planned no one will mind.

Make sure someone else is keeping little snacks provided, and drinks, to people waiting (and yourself)- a handful of nuts will keep the wolves at bay.

Don’t stress OP. If you’re not confident, order it all from Marks and Spencer. It’s all ready prepared for you. In fact you can pick up some bits and pieces now and have them in the freezer. The packaging will all have timings on them.

ano need for a starter. You can get a couple of decent desserts and May be some cheese and biscuits for after.

If it was me I’d do Turkey and Ham or Beef, potatoes, pigs in blankets, stuffing and a selection of veg. Loads of gravy.

Have a test run with a chicken. You don’t need to worry, you don’t need 2 ovens or to re figure your kitchen to do it. It’s just all about timing.

I think someone else has said work out timings - I write everything down. How long something needs to be in oven before the next.
also prep as much as possible the day before and leave in the fridge to reheat. (Mashed swede, red cabbage, cauliflower cheese.. even prep veg ready to boil etc) I always find oven space an issue so if anyone else that’s coming also has an air fryer you could ask to borrow 😊

My tip is to call people to sit down at the table in good time before the food is ready to serve - we are happy to do this in a restaurant and it is part of the experience.
On Christmas Day there is a lot to do to get everyone settled - drinks! Crackers! Seating!

You have to start by having some faith in your self. “I only have one oven”. That is plenty for a meal for 6 people. I have cooked for 16 in one oven. Look at the food that has been suggested and pick ones you think you are capable of. People are going to be so grateful that you have taken this on. All veg can be done in the microwave. As can the gravy and the stuffing if you do it. I would get the air fryer out for the frozen roast potatoes and pigs in blankets if you do them.

I think it would be more than reasonable to ask the other adults to help, the responsibility shouldn’t 100% fall to you.

I’d skip all of these very helpful suggestions as I think they’ll overwhelm you.

Throw some beef in the slow cooker and serve with some steamed veg and roasted potatoes. Simple.

It is interesting the different perceptions of this. I think Christmas Dinner is one of the easiest meals to cook to be honest.

OP I have done it with one oven before. It does require a bit of juggling but as other have said cook the turkey then wrap it in tin foil and towels and it xan be left for quite some time.
If you have a microwave some things can be done in there.
For gravy- instant gravy granules woll be absolutely fine or uou can get ready made gravy to heat in the microwave.
You could also choose to have preprepared stuff you can just throw in to cook if you prefer (also depends on your budget)
Please don't stress. I enjoy cooking Christmas Dinner and don't enjoy cooking the rest of the year!

My tip is to watch out for the roast potatoes. Even shop bought ones can take longer than they say. Homemade ones definitely take ages.
I would get them in the oven for a good 30 mins extra. You can always take them out for a bit when almost done and then put them back in to warm up.

What @RosesAndHellebores said. Christmas should be about spending time with your loved ones, not stuck in a kitchen making sure everything is ready the exact same second. Unless obviously that’s your thing

Op, stop worrying. Get yourself a copy of Delia's Christmas, its helpful, simple and has timings. If you're not a natural cook it will help you enormously.

Also, prep veg the day before so it just needs cooking, do cold puddings or xmas pud that goes in the microwave.

Most of all, enjoy the process.

Also buy a Kelly Bronze turkey and cook to their instructions - they cook much more quickly than other birds.