Christmas Dinner in a Box

[PrincessTinselToes]

In an attempt to make Christmas less stressful we’re going away to a remote cottage for Christmas. We’d still like a proper Christmas dinner, but not one that has me slaving away in the kitchen for hours and missing time relaxing with the kids and watching them open presents and enjoying terrible TV.

To this end I’d like to ask for personal experiences of Christmas “dinner in a box” (or just as easy alternatives). I don’t want to have to peel and prep veg, make my own stuffing, wrap sausages in bacon or make my own gravy so a box full of ingredients and instructions isn’t what I want, as I’m perfectly capable of assembling that all myself, I just don’t want to. I also don’t want to go through the palaver of heating 6 sad, individually packaged ready meals, so something in between I suppose?

Add to that, I’m not entirely sure how well-stocked the cottage is, so something that comes in or with its own foil roasting tins would be ideal (I’m usually against disposable anything, but for my own sanity and space in the car I think this will be necessary).

What experience do people have of these types of boxes? Are there any particularly good ones or ones to avoid? I’d also be open to buying all the components separately as long as the prep I need to do is minimal and ideally all from one place so I can place an order to be delivered or picked up en route.

Thanks in advance!

Op I know you have said you don’t have space in your freezer ect to prep your own, but, I brought a vaccine sealer for this exsact reason, minimal space needed so I can pre cook all my Christmas sides (meat and potatos are all I’ll actually cook on the day) Ill vaccine sealer them then place them all in either the slow cooker full of water or saucepans full of water to heat through Christmas Day before serving for everyone x

Exact same here @WatchingTheDetective 😁 DS was 7 weeks old and I literally flung a load of pre-prepared foil trays in oven and a few veggies on the hob and it was bloody great 😍
Highly recommend it @PrincessTinselToes - turkey breast joint (pre stuffed and covered etc), roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, honey glazed carrots and parsnips etc - all pre-prepared in disposable foil trays ☺️

So, what I would do is book a supermarket delivery to your cottage, containing all the things you want to eat for your stay, from your supermarket of choice. I would reserve this as soon as Xmas delivery slots become available, as they sell out very quickly.

(Don't do what I did last year, book one and spend ages feeling all smug, before realising I hadn't actually checked out the order and consequently hadn't actually booked one at all).

In this order, for Christmas I would include one of those chickens you cook in a bag. They are lovely to eat and so, so easy - the timings they give you are always exactly right. And you can choose different options if seasonings.

I would also buy all the sides I wanted for Xmas dinner, preprepared, so that they come in foil trays and I just have to stick them in the oven. These would include:

Roast potatoes
Stuffing of some kind
Carrots of some kind
Pigs in blankets
Meddotersnean veg of some sort (missing it up a bit)
Maybe parsnips?

I would buy a tub of preprepared gravy.

I would also get a bag of frozen Yorkshire puddings which are dead easy, just stick them in the oven and they are done in about 5 minutes.

Maybe a bag of frozen creamed spinach too because I fucking love it, and all you have to do is melt it in a pan for about ,5 minutes.

I'd also buy a Christmas pudding to microwave, and a carton of cream and fuck loads of brandy butter.

In fact this is what I WILL do this year, if my plan comes together and I end up hosting.

It's so, so easy. And will be a lot cheaper than getting a ready prepared thing from a restaurant. And you will have flexibility to include yours and your family's preferences for sides.

I also think your partner and (depending on their ages) kids can help you with the minimum prep that is needed for a meal like this - basically staving cellophane with a fork, working out some timings and pressing some buttons.

My mum gets overwhelmed at Christmas and they’ve been going out for Christmas dinner for ages. I’ve been doing dinners in a box/hello fresh for 4 years since i took it over from my dh who hates turkey and used to find it really really stressful. Now he watches a film with the kids, we all drink champagne and I slap stuff prepped the night before or not needing prep in the oven whist listening to Christmas songs.

definitely resist the Christmas tyranny!

In your situation I would just go ahead and order the cote box linked upthread.

Sure it is a bit pricey at £135 but it has everything you need and takes away any stress and double guessing, and definitely still cheaper than getting meals from a pub or going there on the day - our local Toby carvery is charging £64.99 per adult on CD .

You could wait for M&S to be available, but then you have the hassle of trying to get a good slot to collect it and I doubt it will be much cheaper.

This is definitely an occasion to outsource both your efforts and anxieties.

I have health issues so I’m often looking for ways to “labour save”. Last year we ordered everything to be delivered through Waitrose Entertaining and it was perfect. Turkey crown, prepped veg, trimmings. I bought foil trays to cook everything in so there was minimal washing up.

Even if the cottage is v remote, don’t rule out a delivery directly to there - we always manage to get a supermarket delivery when we are away. I haven’t been to an actual supermarket in years.

I noticed it says you only get 4 roast potatoes on the Cook Christmas meal for 4. Is that right? All the other quantities look fine.

No, it’s roast potatoes for 4, not 4 roast potatoes

Donald Russell do "Christmas in a box". They're not up on their site yet though. I've bought my Christmas meat from them for years-it's a bit expensive, but well worth it.

Often no cooking oil, very very rarely any decent knives (I'd rather not lose a finger trying to carve the thing...)

Sorry I haven't RTFT.

Is there anywhere local to where you will be staying that will cook the dinner for you? All you need to do is collect it.

My manager for two years found a local restaurant that will cook all the food then you just collect it that morning and keep it warm.

I think she gets it all from them. They do the meat in pre portioned parcels. Then trays of what sides you want. And gravy. She said it is amazing. Costly but amazing.

Or are there any catering shops open to the public? There is one near me that supplies a lot of restaurants near by. They sell frozen portions of ham/turkey/ stuffing. If you happen to be in Ireland I can send you links.

Or as the others have said M&S sides. I do Chicken and Ham, I don't like turkey. I do the ham the night before. Have the chicken prepped so it just needs to go into the oven. I peel the spuds Christmas eve and get all veg prepped. You can buy it pre peeled. I do enlist help from my husband. It is 'the way I would do it' no but it is perfectly fine, yes!

I then write out a timeline, just a rough one on a piece of paper, for what I need to do Christmas morning and when. It sounds super organised but it keeps me on track and not in a panic.

You can buy everything from M&S or Waitrose and put it in a box: prepped pigs in blankets, stuffing balls (no need to stuff the turkey), prepped root veg, cabbage and roasties, ready made gravy, cranberry sauce, bread sauce. Get a turkey crown from somewhere reliable and then all you have to do is put things in the oven in disposable tin foil trays lined with a bit of baking parchment to make sure nothing scorches.

I’ve done the cottage Christmas before and went the Waitrose / m&s route. A big boneless stuffed turkey joint to allow plenty of leftovers, go with something that “serves” at least double your number! Goose fat roasties, pigs in blankets, maple parsnips, red cabbage, sprouts with bacon and chestnuts, honey glazed carrots. All in their own roasting dishes and just needing to be popped in the microwave or oven. It was delicious and really stress free.

Buy frozen prepped ahead and fresh prepped just before. Eg frozen roast potatoes (especially the better ranges) are good, bag of frozen roasting root vegetables, bag of frozen cauliflower cheese, frozen red cabbage is decent too but I’d opt for fresh Brussels as they just don’t taste right from frozen. Turkey crown for speed or opt for beef perhaps a frozen 3 bird roast maybe, frozen Yorkshires, gravy granules (bisto best). All tasty and delicious

You can get just about everything ready prepped from M&S, turkey all ready to shove in the oven, veg all ready, gravy, everything.

I was once behind a woman in the M&S queue on the 23rd Dec - she had all this in her trolley. Her bill was eye-watering ( yes, I looked!) but presumably she could afford it and preferred the cost to all the faff.

We stayed in a cottage by the sea last Christmas as it was our first without my in laws and they have always spent Christmas with us, so we thought we needed to change things.

I pre-ordered everything from a local M&S and we picked it up on Christmas Eve. It was all very laid back, so much so that we managed a lovely walk by the sea and a drink in the pub before heading back to put it all in the oven (adult DCs and partners also wtih us).

Last year M&S did a slow cooked turkey that was basically pre-cooked and just had to be cooked for 45 mins. My mil, who wanted to host people but didn't want to cook had it. Then she bought all the pre-prepped M&S veg and side and just heated it all and dished out. Apparently it was good.

I think Christmas dinner in a box would be crap and a huge disappointment, if you've ever cooked it yourself.

If I wanted a low key meal that still felt special, I'd get a French stick, crackers, baked brie with honey and walnuts, stilton, crisps, figs, honey roast cashew nuts, pate, pork pie etc - and champagne.

We are going to center parcs for Christmas this year so these are a great idea! Looking at cook or cote but unsure of the size / fridge freezer space needed I wish it was clearer

Agree, we have been at home and had parents/parents in law on Christmas Day for the last sixteen years. Husband I have never peeled a single item of veg or dealt with giblets. We either get all the stuff from Marks or Sainsbury’s. So roast potatoes, pigs, parsnips , carrots , gravy and the meat. We do boil some frozen peas and green beans.

Sainsburys is better for pick up, I tend to go about 7am on the 23rd or 24th and it’s really quiet .

This was amazing last year. I don't think 2025 is available for order as yet, but well worth keeping an eye out for.

Aktar Islam Christmas Box
Aged 3 kilos of beef with trimmings, starters and desserts
£370. (This was 2024)
Collection? N/A
Delivery Monday 23 December
Indulge in a selection of cured meats, terrine and home-made bread before digging into a beautifully aged 3 kilo cut of beef with all the must have accompaniments. If, after all that, you’ve got some space left, satisfy your sweet tooth with a family selection of profiteroles, petit fours and fine cheeses to see you through the evening.

I have several times used Cook Christmas dinners. Enough for 8 people will fit in one freezer drawer. It’s nice!

OP - it’s sounds like you have a lovely Xmas ahead. And thanks to your post I’m going to order the COOK box.

I’ve cooked Xmas dinner, been to a Curry buffet, HelloFresh, M&S sides and butchers meat and the last 4 years we’ve eaten out so I feel like we’ve done them all! I cannot justify eating out for a mediocre meal at a cost of £100 per head - there are 8 of us.

The Cote / Cook box sounds perfect - I feel like I’ve been on the verge of a massive adult tantrum this whole year (the kick start of this shitty year was a shitty Xmas) so am keeping things as simple as simple as can be. I’m doing the box and my Mum is doing puds and cheese. Sorted!

OP - get the box and do yourself a massive favour! You can always ask the cottage owners to take a pic of the oven and pots / pans so you’ll have some idea if you need to take anything x

Wishing you a better year ahead and a peaceful Christmas x

Pub? Some let you collect a dinner in a box.

A friend did the M&S one last year. He said it was great as it all cooks at the same time so you have no worries about timing everything.