"Easy" Christmas day food ideas?!

[HettyMeg]

Looking for "easy" Christmas day options for food. I will be 8 months' pregnant and we have just moved into a house with an ancient, tiny oven and tiny fridge in our 1980s kitchen (which will be replaced next year). Between moving and being pregnant I want to stay at home. We usually go out for Christmas lunch but our usual place has gone downhill and we fancy a more laid-back day. Parents are all 2-3 hours drive away and sometimes come to us but we are going to see them before/between Christmas Day.
So it will just be me, DH and DD(age 4).

It doesn't seem worth it trying to cook a turkey in our tiny oven for 2 adults and a pre schooler and I'm not sure the fridge could cope with everything. I also get in a flap making a pasta bake in that kitchen. Trying now to decide whether we do a roast chicken instead or avoid the roast route altogether. So: what easier routes have people taken on Christmas Day? Keen to hear all perspectives!

Thanks

@HettyMeg I've done turkey crown in the air fryer m....it was lovely!!
Hope you get the chance to relax and have a lovely meal x

Yes apart from the potatoes as I love homemade potatoes too much

For a very easy Christmas Day I buy the m&S pre done potatoes then whisk it with some butter and cream😊. Yes I am that lazy🤣

We usually book a collection slot for M&S on Christmas Eve, a Waitrose slot and a general food delivery on 23rd and get most of our Christmas Day food pre prepped and ready to go in the oven.
the only things we make from scratch are Yorkshire puddings and roasties, but roasties are done in the airfryer and I cook the turkey when we first get up so it’s done and out of the way, then I have oven space for everything else

Fillet steak, baked spuds, and Christmas pudding or trigle. Half a dozen cheeses and biscuits.

Or get someone to plate you up and put in the microwave to heat .

I did steak one year, and tomato pasta (favourite) for DC. Super easy, and still felt special.

Now, I normally do a buffet style spread, but that's no easier than a roast.

Do you like turkey?

Do you like a roast?

could you get a turkey breast or a proper organic chicken to roast? Or maybe 2 quail or partridge for something different? (You may not be in the mood to experiment at 8 months I know).
plan ahead for potatoes already par-boiled and coated in hot fat ready to go into the oven for 30-45 minutes when the meat comes out to rest. Or a 2 person dish of gratin potatoes.
Veg could be a single tray of roasted root or a nice pan of stir fried veg or steamed sprouts.
And most of that could be prepared in advance so it’s just shuffling things on the day. Use smaller oven tins (I now cook for 1 a lot so fit more into my single oven than I thought because I have smaller trays) or wash and reuse the tinfoil trays you often get potato gratin or other ready meals in the butchers.

if there’s somewhere to get a good hearty pie, do some proper creamy mash and some nice veg to go with it.

A proper hearty casserole on the stove or in the oven?

I know we’ve almost always done a turkey even when just for 2-3, but some years it’s just been a breast and that was plenty and had some leftovers (couple of sandwiches rather than a second/third dinner).

Do you like duck ? All the supermarkets do stuffed duck which comes in its own baking tray, takes about 2 hours. I would pair it with ready to cook roasties etc

M&S party food

We usually do a roast but it’s never the all encompassing full day of cooking that others describe. We get the ready to roast fully prepped potatoes in foil container, ready made Yorkshire pudding, ready prepped pigs in blankets, a tub of ready made gravy and some ready prepped honey glazed carrots. Skin on chicken breasts go in the air fryer, everything else in the oven and some peas in the microwave. Buy a decadent pudding and everyone enjoys a nice meal with no real effort and no real washing up.

Beef pie and vegetables. Make your own or buy ready made. Bung in the tiny oven. Serve with gravy.

My partner and I do a no hassle x mas each year. Pre prepared everything, veg, sauces, roasties from either M and S or Tesco and a turkey crown. You just shove it in the oven. Fabulous, delicious and no stress. Then some cake or whatever we fancy for dessert. You need to make sure you get an order in early enough.

Look on You Tube ITV this morning Christmas Traybake with The Hairy Bikers.

it’s a roast with chicken thighs, pigs in blankets stuffing etc. Nice and simple with all the flavours, I sometimes do it on a Sunday when there are just the 2 of us.

There's an episode of something called something about air fryers (sorry lol) with Alexis Conran where he cooked a whole Christmas Dinner in an Airfryer. Was a while ago but likely on "catch up". Was either C5 or C4.

Last three years we’ve had a Chinese takeaway and the year before that we had a Gusto “60 minute Christmas dinner’ box.

Try the Cook package, it was great for us one year