Christmas Dinner - are you doing something different?

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We've not had Turkey for a good few years, no one really likes it so we usually have roast beef and all the traditional sides.

I'm fed up with that now though and fancy something else. We'll be 4 adukts and 2 children.

I was thinking party food spread but with the traditional sides. But will that actually more hassle than doing a traditional roast. Take away delivery on the day? I don't know, does anyone have any interesting alternatives planned?

We usually do gammon for boxing day, you could do that maybe?
Or seven hour lamb?

I think somewhere over Christmas we’ll have a fancy fondue - a few different melted cheeses and loads of nice bits to dip. The family seem keen so might actually do it Christmas Day.

I’m going to my mums! The first year I’ve not done it 18 years. I can’t wait!

Not doing a traditional roast this year . We've eaten out before , another year salmon , this year I'll make a chilli on Christmas eve to have the following day .

Following! I've been very close to doing an alternative for the last couple of years but haven't actually plucked up the courage to make the change 🤣
We love starters and can never decide which so I was tempted to do a load of tapas style starters, big pot of soup and cook turkey or gammon the day before and have cold with tiger loaf.

I stop doing roast dinner a month before Christmas, it makes you really want/enjoy that Christmas roast lol.
we don’t stick to traditional turkey either, we have pork, chicken and gammon, yes its alot but the leftover meat then gets taken up to great grans for boxing day, the whole family goes- sometimes its the only day a year i see aunts, uncles, cousins lol where we have party type food, we also don’t do a cooked meal for Christmas eve, this is generally crackers n cheese and finally tap the Christmas chocolates/nibbles etc which also makes us really eager for a nice cooked roast xx

I don't actually like roast dinners and kid doesn't like them either, so thinking of ordering in a fancy Indian takeaway which we all love

We will be having Christmas on our own this year for the first time in a very long time.
we will be having a delivery from our favourite take away.
we will also buy the things food and drink wise that make Christmas special for us.

We are this year. DH has been vegetarian since 2018 and I have been for about 6 weeks.

Previous years I do chicken for DCs and I and usually a nut roast for DH. This year thought I have spied a lovely veg wellington from M&S which I think will be the centrepiece and the Dcs can have marinated chicken thighs as well.

FWIW- my SIL always does a huge beef filet. Another friend does a salmon en croute.

My parents are Jewish and they do a chinese takeaway but they also pull crackers.

Fillet steak and baked spuds with garlic mushrooms and a salad. No slaving over a turkey for four hours for me!

Omg this sounds absolutely amazing!

Nope. It’s a strange one because no one seems to actually like turkey particularly, but they all enjoy having it once a year with all our traditional trimmings. In our house it’s not about having the best possible dinner for Christmas, but that having the traditional dinner is part of what makes it Christmas iyswim

We do Xmas themed meals. So we've done Xmas lasagne, Xmas curry, Xmas burgers, this year is Xmas pizza.

Not what you're asking , but no, nothing different here !

DH,DD and I are vegetarian. DS isn't but only eats fish or chicken (very plain no fancy sauces or spices )

23rd (Christmas Eve Eve ) we have a take away but the place we like is closed on a Tuesday .

Christmas Eve : Fish fingers (DS) Vegetable grills ( the rest of us) triple cooked chips , dips ,sweetcorn fritters
Evening: sandwiches, cakes, mince pies

Christmas Day : roast potatoes, roast parsnips, pureed swede, sprouts, carrots , Yorkshire Puddings ( made by me) , Quorn Roast , plain roast chicken breast for DS .,
We decide on Sage&Onion red cabbage , bread sauce if anyone wants it

Boxing Day - homemade pizza (tradition in our house ) I put the dough on to prove then we get the rest ready and everyone assembles their own

There's lots of other days to try something new .
The cats particularly like the plain roast chicken and sit there pointedly to remind us that Christmas is for sharing and they are faaaaamily

Last year I did curry, the year before was fillet steak, dauphinois potatoes and veg.
Neither DP of I are particularly bothered for a traditional Christmas dinner and since both lots of parents passed away several years ago, I don’t need to make it for them.

last year we had a homemade beef wellington with the usual trimmings. Was delish, But not as amazing on Boxing day as went a bit soggy!
We will be having it again this year though!

We did a side of venison last year and we t went down really well with everyone, so we’re having it again this year.

Probably fillet of beef with all the trimmings.
Last year was stuffed roasted chicken and a couple of years ago all the tapas!
However I think MIL will join us for dinner and will probably be traditional

DS1 and I really don’t like turkey but DH and ds2 enjoy it so I guess we will be having it again this year, no matter how much a nice sirloin steak sounds!

however we do all enjoy lots of the trimmings so there will be a couple of mountains of pigs in blankets, mini sausages and bacon rolls, lots of extra batters, a load of my gran’s stuffing that’s just bread, fresh thyme and sweated down onion bound together with butter, some mashed swede for me, lots of roast parsnips, a token couple of sprouts and some home made gravy and it will be ok with minimal actual turkey!

I've been thinking about making a luxury fish pie with sides instead, if anyone has a good to vouch for recipe that would be amazing.

I became so sick of the pressure that Christmas dinner brings so the past two years we went out for an Indian on Christmas Day, and it’s what we will be doing going forward!

Rick Stein has a few, it depends what you want in it. Our Christmas eve one tends to have haddock, smoked haddock, prawns, salmon.

We are doing a steak pie dinner this year with cauliflower cheese, roasted veg, yorkies, gravy and mealie.

Last Christmas my dad was poorly so my ex looked after our sons, they had steak and mushroom baguettes and chips for Christmas dinner. I had a Christmas dinner in the hospital canteen.... wasn't too bad tbh. I did a turkey crown with all the trimmings when I got home. Always good to be home 🏡

Last year we all cooked our favourite meals. I made a beef bourguignon that was to die for. My OH had curry and my daughter requested pasta with tomato sauce and cheese!