Week of food for Christmas for MIL and FIL visit

[LondonFox]

Long post alert!
Need to provide background.

We are having MIL and FIL for a week staying over Christmas. We have baby (10m) and toddler 2.5y.
Inlaws are quite specific about food regime as they start with first breakfast at 6am and eat every 3h until lunch at 1. They just snack around for the rest of the day. No medical issues, just the way they are used to.

Children have lunch at 12 and during summer inlaws agreed to "eat early" as it is a nightmare to have starving toddlers. However, it was just once a week lunch visit.
Now I need a full week strategy.

We normally have light lunch (soup/sandwich type/salad) and normal dinner when DH is done with work. This is kinda clashing as inlaws eat starter+main+pudding for lunch and not much after. Although FIL eats untill midnight if he likes what is around.

So I need at least five lunches and dinners that are substantial meals but not overly bizzare combos - I cannot imagine cooking pasta bolognese for lunch and stew for dinner as these holidays are last before I return to work and children go to nursery so I'd prefer spending some time with them and DH.
Delivery is out of budget and MIL does not cook.

Any food ideas for lunch and dinner combos for a day are wellcome. I need five days total.
Christmas will be big brunch and turkey for dinner as I am in no scenario roasting it for 12. Boxing Day will be leftovers.

Bolognese for two days, stew for two days, shepherd's pie for two days.

Don't like reheated! If they want freshly baked, they can go to Gregg's.

My goodness they sound so entitled!

Just have loads of cold cuts and nibbles in like salamis and hams, fresh fruit, fancy bread, olives, nice spreads. They help themselves. Are they Mediterranean?

Alternatively, rescind the invitation

They do sound very annoying but bumping them off and shoving them in the freezer is probably an over-reaction.

Anyhoo, isn't the normal Mumsnet solution to such troubles to bury them under the patio?

They sound like a nightmare!

Presumably your DH will be off work whilst they stay so could you compromise by having your main meal in the middle of the day whilst they stay?

The constant snacking and ruining their meals makes them sound like toddlers and I would be inclined to treat them as such- 'there's the fruit bowl if you're hungry, if not dinner is in an hour'. In all seriousness though it sounds like they will eat you out of house and home given half the chance. I'd be very clear about what snacks are available and have a dedicated shelf in the fridge and cupboard for nibbly bits to last their stay so they're not eating bits you need for meals. If FIL wants to keep pigging out until midnight then he will have to go out and restock his own snacks.

I'm all for looking after guests but I'd have no patience for grown adults needing feeding with the regularity of newborn babies and plating themselves up rounds of sandwiches and then not wanting to eat what you've made for lunch, it's just rude.

For 3 course lunches every day, I would do soup/salad as a starter (you can make soups in advance and freeze), then sausages and roast veg, a whole roast chicken, salmon and new potatoes, these sort of light (ish) meat and veg type meals, with a shop bought pudding.

Then cold meats, cheeses, crackers, fruit, leftovers from lunch, toast for the rest of the day. A proper meal for yourselves for dinner.

You have my sympathies. We have family that come for the week at Christmas every year, and while they don't have fussy eating issues, it's an absolute ballache to constantly be cooking for them as they don't ever contribute, source their own food, buy a takeaway for us all, offer to treat us to a meal. It's like running a restaurant.

Why do people do this to themselves?

Fine to host people if it's a one off but when it turns into a regular event they muck in with effort and provisions, unless there's a serious income and time inbalance (eg they're time poor and cash poor and their week at yours is their only respite from the day to day grind and you're the opposite as in you have loads of time and money that you can't wait to lavish on them).

I'd eat as you usually do, & make it plain that they are welcome to join you - with prior notice.
Then they can fend themselves around your normal mealtimes.
With luck, they won't come back next year.

Yeah, I also think it is a bit rude to eat a lot before lunch someone else prepared for you but you cannot teach old dog new tricks (or however that saying goes).
I will just have to plan having children out or upstairs 10:45 till 11:15 and tell them to finish by then as it is unreasonable to tell toddler not to eat before lunch when adults are doing it.

Good point for managing snacks, I didn't think about that.

DH will work for two and a half days and then it is weekend and Xmas so that helps a lot with planning. I just realized that.
He is really engaged around the house but we have a lot of chores dedicated to specific person. I am quicker and more efficient in cooking by a lot so think it would be unfair to dump it on him now. I hope we can go through this a team.

Thank you all for suggestions, it helped a lot!
I will include more of premade/party food than we normally eat to keep prep down and hopefully get stress levels down (DS and DH will be over the moon with this tbh).

Current plan is as below.
Please let me know if that sounds unreasonably simple and like I don't care!
Just want to stay sane.

1. Wednesday

L bolognese (premade) pasta D grazing platter and drinks (served first evening so I don't have to think if all nice cheese will be eaten. I don't know how to police fridge inventory)

1. Thursday

L meatballs tomm sauce (premade), mash D pizza and bagged salad

1. Friday

L seafood risotto D pub (I will need to get them out at some point)

1. Saturday

L full english breakfast tray (DH loves that on weekends) D some kind of stirfry leftovers

1. Sunday - it is Xmas Eve and dinner will have to be "something", fish bcs it's kinda mandatory for that day for ILs and we love it anyway

L fish and chips (from frozen) D party food tray bake

1. Monday

L full english breakfast tray D Christmas turkey and trimmings

1. Tuesday

L Christmas leftovers

@LondonFox sounds great actually. can I come and stay the week too? lol

the only thing I would say for the dinner where you are serving grazing platter, maybe have some shop bought soup (glorious butternut squash/carrot or cully and sully tomato are good options) available in case anyone wants something warm. maybe also make some hot choc on some evenings....

Thanks!
I just want it to be stress free and people not complaining too much.
Thanks for soup idea, I'd put that in. Will skip hot chocolate tho as they drink balies and wine in the evening