How to not spend all Christmas day in the kitchen?

[MerryLilac]

I'm cooking my first ever Christmas dinner this year. 15 people. I'm nervous. I'm unorganised. I'm not a confident cook.

Can you share any tips on how to make the day less stressful? What do you prepare in advance to make it easier on the day?

Honestly can't thank you all enough. There's a lot of amazing advice here!
So sorry to the few wondering why I didn't reply, I've been away.
To answer the question of how I've "drawn the short straw", it's my turn, it's as simple as that. No one is forcing me to do it. I offered. I just feel that saying I'm never doing it because I'm not good at it is a bit of a cop out. My family will happily help if I ask, but I was hoping to give our previous chefs a break this year, we'll see how my planning goes after all these wonderful comments.
And luckily I have a really laid back family, so if I ruin the dinner no one will disown me for long, maybe just until new year. 😂

OP - make sure you come back after Christmas, and tell us how you got on!

My helpful suggestion OP is to use slow cookers to keep food hot. Cook your veg on the hob during the morning, then transfer into slow cookers and keep them hot. Ditto the roast and mashed potatoes and the gravy. It will save you a lot of stress and juggling pans on the hob last minute when it comes to serving everything at the same time. Borrow slow cookers from friends and family in advance so you've got enough.

Extra brownie points if you can enlist a few trusted volunteers to cook large quantities of a vegetable or dish and bring them already cooked, transferred to a slow cooker and ready to keep hot. Tell them how much to bring or they will probably underestimate. Eg, "Aunty Dot, please would you bring 75 roast potatoes ready cooked and placed in your 6l slow cooker." " Cousin Martin, please can you bring 60 pigs in blankets, ditto". Have somewhere out of the way they can be plugged in, and confirm the arrangements by phone two days in advance, ticking them off your list as you go. Spread the load, and ditto with puddings and a cheeseboard, again being specific with your requirements. Allocate drinks to non-cooks. Make it a team effort. At all costs avoid people bringing things that are going to demand oven or hob space, you do not need the faff and the hassle.

Don't underestimate the amount of food you will need for 15 people. An earlier poster's suggestion of how many potatoes to buy for example was not nearly enough.

Set your table the day before. Make sure in advance you have enough cutlery, plates and glasses.

Good luck. 😊🎄

Fine if you have an enormous kitchen. It’s likely there won’t be enough sockets for a row of slow cookers!