I have a newborn and guests - what can I make

[Pumpkindoodles]

I have some lovely family members doing an 8 hour round trip to meet my baby this weekend. They are lovely and wouldn’t expect anything at all, but when we visit them they are amazing hosts, and so id like to at least make an effort for lunch. Is there something really really easy I can make ahead of time with a baby that doesn’t like to be put down for more than a minute or two?
bonus points if it’s vegetarian, they aren’t but they don’t eat a lot of meat.

I would just get some fresh baguettes, nice cheeses, ham, salad, maybe some pork pies, pickle etc and let people help themselves. A ploughmans lunch with added bits if you want

This.
Or cook
Or buy picnic ingredients and let your DH/relatives lay it out buffet style. Lovely cheese, quiche, nice breads and prepared salads. Berries, cream and meringue nests for 30 second Eton mess.

Marks and Sparks

a cheese board (always seems to impress people when you unwrap a couple of cheeses and put them to crackers)

ready made pizza, garlic bread, and a bag of salad

Seriously, when I had a newborn, everyone else either very expressly told me not to do anything, or brought something.

One wonderful friend popped by to say hello and left me with two trays of her fabulous homemade lasagne with a bag of salad in case I felt I needed something green. Wonderful friend!

I absolutely agree that the guests should very firmly offer to bring lunch.

BUT. I remember when I had newborns I got such a kick out of being able to do other stuff as well. I remember loving to make simple meals for visitors and basking in the praise! So I can understand why @Pumpkindoodles might want to do it herself. So long as she doesn't feel under pressure. Sometimes it's bliss to spend a little while focussing on something that's not the baby.

Good on you OP, I hope they offer to wash up (unlike my PILs...,)

I'd do a soup in the slow cooker so it can sit for hours then serve crusty bread and some nibbles.

Courgette and coriander is easy.

Chop one courgette per person, if you have time 'sweat' them in a little oil for 10 mins but you can leave that out.

Stick them in the sc with boiling water and coriander stems leave for an hour or so.

Use a stick blender to whiz into a soup. Then switch the sc to warm

When you serve add the coriander heads and I like a spoon of crème fraiche.

I agree with @CurlewKate . It depends how newborn, and it depends how I was feeling on any given day, and whether baby happened to need breastfeeding at that exact moment in time. But if they didn't, and I felt up to it, sometimes I just wanted to do something without a baby attached to me and would have been quite happy to let relatives have a cuddle and admire baby whilst I prepared a super simple lunch for everyone and set the table.

@LegoHouse274 28 years later, taking out the bins is still usually my job because l was so desperate to do something not baby related!

Congratulations OP.

I'd get a few veggie quiches and pizzas, some cherry tomatoes and a bag or two of prewashed salad.

I don't know where you live but check if there is a "Lilly's deli" near you they sell all vegan stuff but there samosas are to die for and im not even vegetarian but there packed with veggies and so much flavour and there really cheap there like 80p-£1 per samosa that's if you've got time to go out shopping but it saves you cooking

This is the one near me hope this helps x

Home made quiche/quiches? Buy ready rolled pastry then it's basically beating egg with milk/cream and adding fillings, do some salads, olives, those little stuffed peppers etc and baguette to go with

I agree. When my first child was four days old I was still in hospital recovering from an emergency C-section and struggling to walk. When my second child was four days old I was bouncing round the kitchen preparing lunch for my husband's cousin who had come round to meet the baby. No doubt this would have elicited cries of "LTB!" from Mumsnet, but I was feeling great for four days postpartum, partly due to an easier birth the second time and partly due to my husband being so hands on. And that cousin is now a devoted godmother.

Bagged green salad with a dressing, nice cheeses and grapes and some fancy bread with real butter, buy a dessert/ ice cream.

Same as a few have said, stick a chicken in, bit of salad and a baguette. My standard go to!
Congrats on your baby x