What do you judge about other people’s Christmas dinners?

[Talkingtomyhouseplants]

Lighthearted - we all know every other family apart from our own does it wrong!

Mine are:

• no pigs in blankets
• BOILED veg 🤮
• treating the Christmas cracker like a competition (we are are each person gets their own cracker prize family!)

I can't say, sadly, wish I could. I've already skirted perilously close to being recognisable!

Was given prawn cocktail as a starter once.
Smelled like somebody wanked into a jar of mayonnaise

A hint? 😅

I absolutely love boiled veg. I don't like it roasted and tasting of grease.
I'm with you on the pigs in blankets, it's not a Christmas dinner without them.

Well none of you are invited to my house cause I do much that you all disapprove of

That carrot dish sounds amazing, I'm going to give that a try

We always have brandy butter with Christmas pudding 😋

I boil my veg, have cauliflower cheese, broccoli, mash as well as roast potatoes, paxo stuffing and use gravy granules.

I’m a very judgy individual but I do think that on Christmas Day especially, people can eat whatever they want to.

I'm intrigued regarding gravy - so many of you say no to Bisto - do you mean the granules or the powder? My mother always made gravy with the meat and vegetable juices and Bisto powder - it always tasted nice to me, am I missing something?

For me the must haves are lovely bread sauce and crackers! I sometimes think people who say they don't like bread sauce have only ever had packet or supermarket varieties - it's lovely if you make it yourself with a shallot instead of onion, lots of cloves and cream!

It’s not judgement, because I adore cauliflower cheese and I’d love to make it work, but any time I’ve served it with Christmas dinner, there are just too many sauces and it becomes a distraction not an enhancement.

I usually have it on Christmas Eve instead with the ham.

I’m also a breadcrumb stuffing person. My dad’s recipe is magical. I’m always in awe at how breadcrumbs, onions and herbs can taste that good.

Maybe she's hoping you get the hint and offer to take over hosting at your house?

My ideal Christmas dinner (and the one I make myself) is roast free range turkey, sage, onion and sausage meat stuffing, sprouts, mashed swede, leeks in white sauce, curly kale, roast parsnips and roast potatoes, bread sauce and homemade cranberry sauce. The gravy I make from scratch with the meat juices and veg water. I don't do pigs in blankets or Yorkshire pud as I think it that's overkill. I do put pigs blankets out for the Boxing Day buffet though. Pudding is Christmas pud with rich yellow cream from the local farm.

Lack of starters and those who eat it before 3pm

Frozen roast potatoes - what are they?
No Yorkshire or frozen Yorkshire's.
Not enough pigs in blankets - my family likes a lot and sausage meat too.

Anyone who spends hours and £££ on a dinner just because it's Christmas. Especially when they moan about it forgetting it's a choice.

I generally have a open door on Christmas but don't expect me to slave in the kitchen as im busy spending time with my children and enjoying Christmas day

Packet bread sauce and stuffing.

Anyone that takes a picture of their food.

No pudding/dessert of any kind in your Christmas dinner?!

Or do you mean no Christmas Pudding, specifically?

I make extra, as my SIL likes them cold the next day.

I loved to see what other people do.

I grew up with big boiled potatoes in Christmas dinner, ne'er a roast potato in sight. And everything covered in onion sauce. It still seemed quite tasty at the time. I had never cooked a roast dinner until I was 23/24, CD was one of the first I did and I went with the boiled potatoes option 🙀Two years later I'd learned how to do roasts (went to inlaws inbetween).

What is this horror?!
I'm so sorry you've experienced this!

I make as many as I can get in the tray while trying not to compromise the crispiness. DH has half a plateful but SIL, MIL and I only have one or two. I'd rather have more meat, gravy and veg.

Probably already been said but mash instead of roasties (the potatoes are my favourite bit), baked beans with a roast dinner, and ketchup as a sauce. I like ketchup but not really on veg. Roast potatoes and mayo are pretty good though.

Also judging - people who don’t like having leftovers because a Christmas sandwich on Boxing Day and beyond is fantastic.
People who cook the turkey a few days in advance and then heat it up. I know it’s easier but it dries out

I feel like caulflower cheese is a bit much on a Christmas dinner. Particularly as I do a cheesy veggie main (which meat eaters tend to have a bit of anyway) But the important thing is to have what you enjoy if you are preparing it, as well as crowd-pleasing. I'm doing porchetta this year as it's my favourite.