Those who entertain at Xmas and/or do a Xmas meal for a large number of people - any tips or hints

[ZiggerZag]

Hello all! Have posted this in the Xmas section so it doesn’t offend :)

We have a blended family and do one Xmas meal usually the weekend before Xmas to have my family plus all the kids and partners around. We also invite any of the kids’ friends who are spending Xmas alone or have no plans so they don’t feel lonely.

Looking at numbers, pre the friends, we are 19 people. I would assume maybe 2 extra people will come so 21. In my family we have 2 vegans and 1 milk allergy and in dp’s family we have 2 vegans.

Last year we did
1 turkey, 1 beef and 1 mushroom wellington (for the vegans). We made all the veg vegan friendly because it was easier.

I think I over complicated pudding - I had prepared lots of elaborate desserts but in the end, all anyone really wanted was ice cream and mince pies :).

I also handmade all the crackers (WHAT WAS I THINKING!) - and promised I would never do that again 😂 so will be buying them this time

anyone else do a big meal? Any other ideas people have?

i want to be super prepared this year as I travel for work and I’m out the country 1 week a month till Xmas and time will go by very very quickly!

I think that all sounds lovely.
im cooking for 12 this year I have a hostess trolley and that’s been a game-changer for me as I can get things ready and then just keep them warm until I’m ready.

my colleague at work does like a secret Santa cracker thing where everyone makes a cracker for someone with a £5 gift I’ve always thought that is a nice idea

Do everything on Christmas Eve put in cling cling film in the fridge and heat up on the day - including par boiling potatoes. Cook the veg the the day before and reheat on Christmas Day, make stuffing, cauliflower cheese etc the day before and reheat (or prepare and just do the final oven cook on Xmas day). Make up gravy in advance and just add juices to it on the day.

We have have a lean-to and prepare everything Christmas Eve and then cling film and put in the hard plastic storage boxes that stack - put on top of each other and store outside with something very heavy on top - just in case. Have done it every year for the last ten years and everything is a breeze on Christmas Day - just cooking meats and potatoes. We put them on early and then they just rest for a couple of hours. We do have a few ovens though. Would still work with just one oven - you just need to get your timings right and stick to a schedule. Buy the frozen Yorkshire puddings that are frozen hater and toss in the oven (aunt Bessie’s?).

I write all the timings and a schedule down on paper and set Alexa timers for absolutely everything.

I'm not sure whether you do this anyway, but I would order from the M and S Christmas food selection and have it delivered the day before the event.

If you have a starter, make it a cold one and put all the starters in the fridge in the morning.

I would say the same for the pudding, have cold options, but am aware that some guests might want a hot Christmas Pudding. Buy individual puddings and microwave them.

I wonder whether it will be easier to bring the parts of the main course to the table in serving dishes and invite people to help themselves.

Less waste that way if people take exactly what they want.

Hay Op ill join you in sympathy. I often host christmas for 17 people and thats just my side plus MIL. A few years back I also had BIL plus wife and 2 kids so 21 people for christmas day.
I also travel for work! And work 300 miles away from home 2 or 3 full days a week so I am firmly your friend here 😅

Actually this morning i was just looking at my christmas recipie book where I've written everything down including timings etc I would reccomend this. Plan what your making and write down the times for everything well in advance.

Last year went really smoothly and here is what I did-

Made the pork stuffing early on 24th
Peeled and part boiled the potatoes on 24th left in fridge
Had 2x turkey crowns from the butcher
A honey roast ham which was a large gammon really slow cooked over night 24th to 25th then glazed and put in oven.

Carrots i hasstlebacked and soaked overnight in an orange garlic herby olive oil mix

Frozen cauliflower cheese- no one noticed

Brussel sprouts peeled and scored in advance then halved cooked in oven with bacon lardons

Gravy was an extra special/the best type pot which just needed heating.

Got someone else to do starters but if i need to do starters then its pate with sourdough toasts and some chutney- super quick and a bit of rocket on the side.

We dont actually have any dietary requirements in the family at this time but a cousin did go vegie for a while and I totally cheated there with a nut roast style parcel/pie ready made

Dont make crackers!! Your crackers for doing so 🤪 but if i want to get crafty with the kids we will make place settings- usually forage some pine cones and write names on fancy bits of paper and dip in glitter/silver or gold spray

I always make my parents do the cheese board and MIL the desserts she just gets ready made things from supermarket

In all honesty after a decade of hosting for so many people I do opt for some convenience elements now and not go all Fanny Craddock which i did when i was younger!!!

Solidarity sister 💪

Edit some of my typos

Do you actually want a proper Christmas meal if it’s the week before Christmas Day?
I’ve had around the same number with a mix of vegans, vegetarians , meat eaters, young children, general fussys and found it easier to do a Christmas themed buffet which went down well.
The crackers I always buy from Waitrose when they have their half price weekend and don’t bother too much with fancy deserts as they often don’t get eaten. A surprising hit last year was mint viennetta ice cream which the grandchildren found lurking in the freezer! They ignored all my expensive desserts and declared it the best thing ever! Think it was £1 from Tesco.
The problem doing a hot meal is oven space and timings, with a buffet you can do a mix of both.

Thank you all these are fantastic! Yes what was I thinking making crackers last year - no one helped and it took me days lol, let alone all the thinking about what to put in them. Honestly I must have been mad!

I love the M and S food but sadly we usually do this big meal on the 20th/21st and most places aren’t doing Xmas orders that early. Last year I used a combination of Waitrose entertaining (as it was one of the few places I could order big enough joints of meat), Sainsbury’s and M and S in store (as I love their food albeit expensive!).

A hostess trolley is a good idea - having a big family anyway it would probably get used outside of Xmas too so it might be worth the investment and would make it much easier to have some of the items ready first. I’m off to do some research!

As you have done this previously, I’m assuming you can comfortably seat that number. My general tip is to do larger quantities of fewer dishes, too many options makes it harder work and you risk it becoming a bit of a mish mash. Are you set on a roast kind of meal or would you be open to something different?

@ZiggerZag

This might be suitable, OP.

https://www.teknix.co.uk/freestanding-cooking/p/tk2hostix

As long as plates are warm and gravy is hot people won’t mind if the food isn’t!

You are already thinking along my lines, I opt for one meat main, one vegan main, all sides are vegan and dairy free except cauliflower cheese which I cheat and use a couple of packs of frozen Lidl brand. Make red cabbage ahead, freezes perfectly, cheap and easy to make a large batch. Mashed swede with olive oil, crushed garlic and black pepper is delicious and costs pennies, prep swede day before and leave in water overnight. I leave skins on carrots and parsnips.

for dessert I collect, cook and freeze blackberries and apples now (yesterday) then just top off with vegan friendly crumble topping and serve with dairy free ice cream, make mince pies and freeze a month out, shop bought Christmas pudding and shop bought chocolate cold dessert that’s frozen and you just pull out that morning. Gravy is all vegan for ease, Lidl red lidded

I went to so much effort one year on red cabbage. It was a fancy celeb chef recipe, I can't remember who, and not a person ate it! Never again!

Prep ahead as much as you can.

At this time of year I work on emptying the freezer, so I can re-stock it.

Am doing a roast dinner tomorrow and DD has requested pigs in blankets. I'll do the whole pack of chipolatas but will freeze half, same with Yorkshire Puddings, I'll do extra and freeze them, same with stuffing. Eventually I'll have everything prepped without even thinking about it.

For this many people and it not actually being in Christmas day I would do a buffet tbh so most of it can be done in advance.

You sound like you have it sorted and have already leant regarding the crackers 😂.

I cook regularly for 25 plus not just weekends what I leant was people appreciate that they possibly couldn’t do it themselves and are grateful for what you serve. I look now for simple things that are easy but memorable.

Couple of examples I did the turkey outside in a in a smoker freed up oven space and was well received.

Did a version of Jamie Oliver’s deep fried cheese board also went very well

Did more of an open style xmas market theme . With everyone’s favourite market foods This was a bit of work but people really did enjoy it .

Id be tempted though to do exactly the same as last year and maybe look for a wow desert. The more you cook on mass the more confident and better you get at it .

some may think it’s a bit naf but a chocolate fountain is so easy and everyone round our way love it

Unfortunately we have found that a cow’s milk allergy means buying M&S etc stuff is largely out, so preparing and pre-cooking as much in advance as possible. I replace the butter in our butter dish with goat’s milk butter so I don’t use it by mistake (keep the cow’s one in the fridge so other people can use it still). I also buy the Goat’s Milk vanilla ice cream from Waitrose. If there are things that maybe only a few people like, ditch them (red cabbage went that way in our family and no one has asked for it to come back, ditto cauli cheese).

Freeze the potatoes. Par boil and freeze on trays, then bag when frozen. On the day, stick each bag in a tray and roast as normal. Saves a load of faff

I couldn’t agree more on red cabbage. We also went to town on it one year and no one touched it!

good idea about the cheese board - I love cheese and would rather have it to a normal pudding (and the milk allergy plus vegans had the plant ice cream and a dark chocolate tart last year that went down well).

Good idea on fewer sides but more quantity - I will have a think about the menu as I think this makes much more sense. We are set on a roast as all the kids love it (and dp is a good cook thankfully!).

Foil trays, menu plan and timings, make sure people bring stuff and that you tell them exactly what you need. Start your menu plan asap and buy things that are stable week by week. Prep as much as possible, my lot love my Yorkshire puds, I cook and freeze them a fortnight before. Get everyone who can involved in prep. Don’t over complicate it’s so easy to do that. Lists will save you trust me.

I have hosted Christmas for 12-18 people for the last 20 years. My best tips are:

-cook and prep as much as possible on 24th before guests arrive
-printed timetable with timings when everything needs to go in and out of the oven which you just tick off as you go along
-use disposable foil dishes so you reduce washing up
-dessert is always a choice of mince pies / Christmas pudding / ice cream selection / bought Yule log, so minimum effort

The biggest change I have made over the last few years is not buying fancy Christmas crackers. I really resented how expensive they are and basically the contents are all shit. A good alternative was just a scratch card each!

Even better was a wind up toy each which we then raced after dinner which was hilarious.
One year I found a set of cheap crackers which contained pieces of a xylophone and instructions how to play a Christmas carol where everyone had one note to play. This was also very very funny.

Normally have around 20 guests, and started using heated serving trays- total game changer! Can pop stuff in as soon as its done, so less stress with timings. People help themselves carvery style, and have seconds or thirds without having to pass dishes around the table.

We ran out of space when we hosted an absurd number of people a few years ago, both inside the house and in the oven!
We borrowed some patio heaters and had a bbq for cooking the turkey, ham and venison sausages. https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mains/christmas-turkey-on-the-barbecue Potatoes, Yorkshires, stuffing and veggie options were done inside in the oven.
We also had a fire pit for an extra seating area and warmth. Plus, the kids made gingerbread s’mores on it!

Love the xylophone idea!

Ooft I usually only cook for 7-10 people and I find that challenging enough but 21?

Get a hot plate for keeping things warm. Mine has three compartments and I’m seriously thinking of getting a second one this year. The cooking itself isn’t particularly challenging but it’s oven space and working out all timings that flummoxes me! I only have a small kitchen and limited counter space to even getting it all plated up is a challenge.

This year I’ll have an air fryer which should help a bit in freeing up oven space. I’d suggest that if you havent got one already. I’m seriously considering doing my turkey on Christmas Eve and slicing it this year so I’ve only got sides to worry about this year. Although I may also trying parboiling the veg and potatoes. Starter is prawn cocktail and it’s easy. I do like a couple of lavish homemade desserts but they are also done in advance.

I had 15 last year & likely similar again this year. Agree about using hot plates & air fryer. I found the veg went a bit soggy in the hot plates so going to use a steamer this year. I also do a cold starter such as pate/oatcakes or salmon/sourdough with plates all prepped in advance. One thing I struggle with is whether to cook turkey on the morning or day before & reheat with limited space? Also any recommendations on a good carving knife as last year I left it to my husband & slices were quite thick. Desserts are M&S always easy then a cheeseboard which we hardly ever get round to x

We do pot luck. Everyone brings something (usually allocated so we don’t end up with 10 types of potato) so multiple vegans bring diff dishes etc so everyone is usually catered for