Menu critique please

[Cravey]

So tonight is the family get together to plan Xmas. Secret Santa hat and take away for all. We host and I cook so I plan the menu as usual. Could you just have a Quick Look and tell me what you think. There’s 15 of us this year. No vegetarian or allergies. Lovely brother is in charge of all drinks so I’m totally covered for that.
23 takeaway for all, Christmas cake and fruit salad for after
Xmas eve bacon or sausage baps, cereal or toast can be grabbed
lunch is help yourself to whatever fridge will be full.
Lasagne, salad, garlic bread with trifle or fruit after.
Xmas day pastries or cereal or toast,
no lunch as dinner is at 5 but will have snacks and dips etc out.
Turkey / beef, pigs in blankets, stuffing, roast spuds, cauli cheese, sprouts, carrots, parsnips.
No pudding but again plenty of sweet stuff about.
Boxing Day, bacon or sausage baps, cereal or toast.
No lunch as beach walk so hot chocolate in flasks and goodies.
Buffet dinner prepped by others. Lots of sweet things about.
27 some are off home but for those left it’s literally leftovers.
Anything missing ?

I think I’d be sad not to have a pudding on xmas day itself. Doesn’t have to be Christmas pudding, but something! I also require Yorkshire puddings with all my roasts, plus I assume you’ll have gravy/horseradish/cranberry sauce?

Finally, I’d struggle with nothing more than snacks/dils between breakfast and a 5pm dinner. We usually have substantial canapés (mini sausage rolls, mince pies, blinis) as an interim meal for ours.

I would definitely need something more substantial between breakfast and a 5 pm dinner. Especially when dinner seems to be only one course.

Anything missing ?

Lunch! My house would be filled with a hangry horde.

Bread sauce?

Are there any children included? If so, something more substantial than snacks and dips is required at lunchtime. If adults are drinking, might also be an idea to have some “proper” food - if you don’t want a meal, then substantial canapés and maybe pizza if there are children. I agree with others that pudding is required after Christmas dinner!

Agree re the Christmas Day pudding. Also the gap between breakfast and main dinner as I can never eat much first thing so would be very hungry by 5pm and don’t really want to just snack on sweeties or crisps etc. Can dinner be moved forward even to 4 would be smaller gap?

I’d also be concerned about the “help yourself to anything in fridge for lunch” on Xmas eve - aren’t you worried some of your Xmas day and planned food will be used ?

Sorry OP, your Boxing Day menu all wrong. Boxing Day lunch should be cold meats, eg turkey, ham, left over pib, lots of stuffing ( make extra) , proper oven baked potatoes, spiced red cabbage. If there are left over sprouts it is perfectly acceptable to turn them into bubble and squeak.

It is a fact that needs to be more widely acknowledged - the WHOLE POINT of Christmas lunch is to provide the wherewithal for Boxing Day eating.

They never want a pudding, too full, of course all condiments and I forgot yes, Yorkshire puddings no matter what.

All of those will be part of the buffet I would think, I have no input into that, I do most of the cooking so others always take a turn on Boxing Day.

They all know what they can take from the fridge so I’m not at all worried about that. I can’t move it to 4 as it’s just way too much for me to do, to be fair it’s more than goodies etc in the fridge, plenty of sandwich makings etc. We have had pudding in the past but it’s always left as people are full, I may do a couple of pudding things for the evening and there is always cheese and biscuits.

As long as the buffet dinner on 27th is the leftovers, that day works.

Xmas eve how about swapping and having the lasagne for lunch and a lighter evening meal? Lots of your days have basically no lunch planned but a larger evening meal, and it can be easier to do it the other way round - people will get full at lunch time, and just need a small thing in the evening, then be hungry for breakfast baps the next morning. Obv depends if you have activities planned during the day on Xmas eve. Lasagne is a good one to have totally ready in advance anyway so shouldn’t take too much time to get it on table for lunch.

I do agree there doesn’t need to be much pudding around but people do like it - maybe a Yule log cake? Or do what I did one year and make “Christmas ice cream” mixing up a tub of vanilla with bits of gingerbread, Xmas sprinkles, broken up mince pies etc. :-)

The breakfast is usually quite big, but there is plenty of stuff for people to grab something. We only do one course as it’s gotten wasted in the past.

Nobody likes it apart from me so I just don’t bother.

One teenager who will quite happily help himself and 2 younger children whose parents will sort them out I should think. The 2 younger ones are staying in the garden room with parents and I will have a small fridge in there that I will stock with yogurt, fruit etc. Parents also know they can help themselves if the children are hungry.

Xmas eve they are all out and about so it’s sort yourself out lunch, They mostly visit other family, some go for a walk on the beach, some go to the panto. So the dinner works better for everyone.

Also there will be Yule log, Xmas cake, cupcakes for anyone to help themselves too.

Cheese!!!!!!!

I’m thinking Xmas day I could do a charcuterie board type thing as lunch, have it prepped put in conservatory and everyone can help themselves and keep out of my kitchen 😅

Cheese board will be Xmas night and knowing my parents Xmas eve too, they come fully prepped with all the cheeses bless them.

Tbh I’d be starving having a pastry for breakfast then no lunch and waiting until 5 for dinner
and I’d be disappointed with no dessert especially if the sweet stuff was what I’d been snacking on all day anyway to make up for no lunch. I’d end up eating loads of chocolate out of hunger then feel sick. So your charcuterie idea sounds good. Or do leftover lasagne or sandwiches? We do a piece of meat 24th that we don’t have with Christmas, like a cola ham, then on 25th we can have some ham sandwiches with the leftovers while we wait for dinner. You can put out fruit, salads, crisps, coleslaw and bread and everyone can help themselves and there’s very little prep for you to do on the day. If you have teens you could ask them to be in charge of that even.

i know you said no dessert but I think even in the evening to have something that wasn’t available and being snacked on all day is nice.

Christmas dinner is missing Yorkshires for me and we quite like to have mash as well as roasties. And gravy.

all sounds lovely though op, I’d love to have big family gatherings like this, unfortunately I can’t stand my family for that long 😂

If you always host do what works from your experience. Sounds as if you have done it for a long time so you know what works well for your family and what doesn't

But definitely try and make it easier on yourself if your main meal is too much for you to do any earlier than 5. Sounds as though you spend all day cooking. Strip it right back, get most of it pre prepared in advance

What time is breakfast? We are usually up at silly o’clock so would definitely have finished by 9 or so, and your menu is making me feel very hangry, but perhaps breakfast runs a bit later? There’s a 4-5 hour gap here as we serve lunch at 1 or 2. Pudding, Christmas cake and cheese make an appearance around 7 or so.

I cook a huge gammon on Christmas Eve, and we “steal” slices off that for supper in hot fresh baps. I’m just not capable of producing additional meals and menus. If I’m hosting, lunch is always some version of soup or make-your-own sandwiches though I set things out on the island. I wouldn’t trust anyone near the fridge and particularly not at Christmas. You must have very sensible and restrained family members.

My lot are never in the mood for a fried breakfast or bacon baps on Boxing Day, and tend to ease into the day with cereal, porridge and toast and lots of coffee. That said they wouldn’t be heading out for a walk either so you obviously are dealing with a much hardier bunch.

It all sounds lovely op.

Charcuterie board sounds like a good idea as you don’t want 15 people cluttering up the kitchen trying to help themselves to sandwiches and using up your serving bowls for crisps, whilst you prepare the dinner.

Charcuterie and cheese board for Xmas day lunch sounds good you do need more than dips etc if not eating till 5. For the main meal I think it’s about right although I wouldn’t do cauliflower cheese, no one here would eat that but we would have Yorkies, also gravy, cranberry sauce. Agree you need pudding, we normally have a small Xmas pudding or trifle or ice cream and there are mince pies or yule log available.

Boxing Day evening sounds good, I hate leftovers on Boxing Day, it is a day to get back to normal eating for us and we freeze any leftovers. I don’t think I’d want bacon baps etc after all the rich stuff the day before, I’d be happy with cereal, toast, fruit for breakfast.

Will absolutely have Yorkshire puds and gravy, it’s not that it’s too much work, I like to flit about and chat and see who has got what. I’m going to run the cheese / charcuterie board idea with them tonight. There will be puddings available on the day, just not served more go help yourself later on sort of thing. As for breakfast there’s always pastries, cereals and fruit if people prefer to bacon rolls.