christmas menu, is this boring?

[eragon]

its my turn, again, to make christmas dinner for the family, which is 17 this year, so not so bad.

last year it was 22 so this must be easier.

starters
a selection for people to choose,
melon, prawn cocktail , and pate and crackers. salmon , with lemon wedges , brown bread and butter.

sparkling wine, of some sort...

main.
turkey, roast potatos, parsnips, and peas, parsnips, carrots, brussel sprouts cooked with chestnuts.
homemade sage and onion stuffing, likewise chestnut stuffing in turkey.
cocktail sausages with bacon.
homemade bread sauce
cranberry sauce.
lots of gravy, both meat and veggie.
(have on veggie person, so will buy something from marks and sparks for him to have with the veg )
also have nut/egg allergic person so will give safe food for them)
red and white wine of some sort.

christmas pudding (and one small nut free one for nut allergic person.)
homemade mince pies and brandy butter

cream, custard
trifle , for those that hate the christmas pudding.
dessert wine.

cheese and biscuits.

coffee , mints, liqours.

at this point, i sit down with a trifle glass of baileys and ice, and sit down, exhausted.

so does this sound ok to you?

and what are you cooking on christmas day?

good god that's a lot of food!!

we are having an elaborated roast! Chicken, roasts, veg, stuffing, yorkies, gravy, sausages in bacon (pigs in blankets?)

and will have mince pies and squirty cream (at DHs request) for dessert.

Trifle is a boxing day thing for us.

That sounds pretty good, what would be expected for a christmas lunch

mind you, it's only the 5 of us. I would probably do the same but with a soup starter though for more.

Sounds fantastic - hope you've got someone to help you.

I wouldn't do starters with such a huge meal - or at the very least just a few bits of smoked salmon on brown bread to pass round with a drink.

That sounds great - I would be delighted to be served that if I went to someone's house for Christmas.

My Mum and I always cook a very similar meal to that.

er xmas topic?

It sounds lovley, I second the soup for starter idea. You cold do a veg soup the day before, or buy some fresh soup from the supermarket.

That sounds lovely.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Do not make your own veg soup as a starter .......I trialled this early in December last year and fed the family homemade soup it filled them up and nobody ate again til much later .......perhaps serve the soup on Xmas eve .

Im no soddin' good at this ive cooked the same xmas dinners for nearly 20 years since MIL discoveredI was a better cook than her (actually think she was sick of cooking and took an easy out) anyway in 20 years the only thing that has changed is the prawn starter im 'lergic and so we now have tomato soup.

That sounds amazing. Can I come?

Yes sounds boring to me.

Really, what did you expect us to say?

I read your list with a mixture of admiration and exhaustion. It sounds like an awful lot of work, all very lovely to eat, with lots of choice and everyone consideried. A really inclusive menu. But what about YOU?

I think good on you for getting an M and S veg option, can you outsource further? Its your Christmas too, remember.

I read a great post in the Christmas topic this week by ( I think ) motheroftwoboys whose children are late teens/early twenties ( sorry can't remember ) who said she now buys a few things she used to make, like cranberry sauce, the pudding etc as she decided the effort wasn't commensurate with the end product versus quality shop bought.

I am coming to the conclusion that really good Christmases for everyone are where no one person does too much and the people rather than cooking and prepping the food are central.

So although your menu sounds lovely, please be as kind to yourself as you sound like you are to your guests.

perhaps i have fallen in to the trap of trying to follow in the footsteps of my late mother in law.

we have lots of memories of her christmas dinners, where everything was completely home made.

so skilled was she, that i remember from our pre-children days, we would go out to the pub on christmas eve, and she had this tradition of waiting for us to come back, and would have freshly made, hot sausage rolls, and home made pickled onions for us to nibble on!

her roast potatos were always crispy, and prefect, every time.

when we all quickly produced lots of grandchildren for her, we took over, and took turns with the christmas dinners.
and we produce the same meal every time, and try to cook it the way she did.

so, i do feel that its my turn to make christmas for everyone.

i have planned the decoration of the table, previous years have all been cream and gold in theme.
this year its red and green.
so red table cloth and napkins, with red candles, and other red and green table decs, and home made place settings,= a luggage label with a red and green snowflake stuck on, tied to a red and green stripped candy cane.

nothing too expensive, paper tablecloth etc, and very cheap decs.

have also got the the toilets decorated, christmas toilet paper, with a muscial thingy to pop in , that plays carols when you pull the paper. also some snowman toilet seat covers (from poundland!)

in the front room the lights will be dimmed, and the christmas tree lights will be on, table confettii will be sprinkled on the pressies, and in corner the bubble machine will be on.

eldest son is makeing cocktails, both with booze and without , to offer as people come in.

so, yeah, have to confess have really pre-planned everything in advance. am a real list person, and give everyone a simple task.

on christmas eve, have a ongoing list that i tick off until everything is done, cooked and eaten.

i just want everyone to have a magical time, esp as its our 3rd time without my mil.
christmas just underlines a absence around the table dont you think?

Have you got a veggie for dinner? I wouldn't bother with the melon if you haven't - too much of a faff trying to cut it etc after a glass of wine!
I would do only 2 starters and make both of them cold. I'm doing prawn cocktail and salmon.

I always do Yorkshires for some reason at Xmas too.

I also look at restaurant menus online from some good places for inspiration but ALWAYS go back to the traditional one exactly same as yours because that is what all the family like.

Wow, you have decorated your loo? That is a bit beyond the call, chill a bit for your own sanity.

Sorry to hear of your loss, op. Indeed Christmas can be very hard when a loved one is so obviously absent. It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job picking up the mantle, your family are lucky to have you.

Make that glass of Baileys a large one.