Xmas day shortcuts!

[downdizzy]

Give me all your best timesavers, shortcuts etc for Xmas dinner / Xmas day!

I have 3 kids all under 6 and none of them are going to eat a proper roast dinner although DH and I will.

My plan was to get a chicken crown, frozen potatoes, preprepared veg stock the lot in the oven and then chuck the foil trays once done - no washing up!

I just want to have as much time resting / sitting / going for a walk / watching movies as possible.

Please any tips tricks to make the day nice but with as little work for me and DH as possible !

Disposable plates and cutlery so you just throw it all in a black bin bag. We use disposable glasses as well. I know it;s not environmentally friendly but it’s just once a year.

An electric steamer was an absolute game changer for me when cooking Christmas lunch en masse for DHs big family, 3 veggies done in a very small worktop footprint, plus really handy for the Sunday roast. I use mine pretty much every Sunday now.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3209750?clickPR=plp:4:11

if you are having Yorkshire puds cook them before you start doing the rest of thr dinner then just shove them back in to warm up at thr end of cooking

my Dd, having been brought up in a rather all-food-made-at-home home, sees Aunt Bessie's mini roasties as the ultimate indulgence. You could go with that ? Also you can get frozen cauliflower cheese too which is really easy

Yes!! Love the Xmas pudding hack that's great

Also a tip from my cheffing days.. chefs in hotels don't cook veggies to order, they par cook them in advance then reheat when they need them. If you are worried about timings just do veg that are easy to parboil the night before - carrots, Brussels sprouts and fine beans come to mind. Cook them very al dente, run them under very cold water immediately then store in water in thr fridge overnight.
alternatively I do stir fried shredded Brussels with sliced streaky bacon abd onions, again this can be prepped and cooked the night before and reheated in a pan when you want it.

Pigs in blankets in a foil tray, or little sausages, you can buy frozen packs.

Frozen Yorkshire puddings.

You can also get an cheapass veggie steamer that sits on the hob

If you want to do your own roasties you can peel and parboil then sling them in the hot day on the day.

Because nothing says "Christmas celebration" quite like a flimsy disposable plate and a plastic cup

Because nothing says "Christmas celebration" quite like a flimsy disposable plate and a plastic cup

I'm bringing out the Minton. I must be slightly out of step with the modern ways of doing Christmas

that's if I manage to get out of bed as I have the flu

I had to Google Minton 😅

Xmas Day is the annual outing for the silverware and DGGGM's wedding china the washing up takes ages in our house, so definitely not the vibe the OP is going for! But surely there's a sensible midpoint between that and disposables! 😅

You can buy festive ones!

If we didn't get the Minton out for that day it would never see the light of day so it does seem a shame not to use it but I do agree that's there's probably a middle ground

Eating off a paper plate and drinking out of a disposable cup is just weird tbh - unless you're at a bbq I suppose

You won't get much more time saving than what you're planning to do tbh. Buy all ready prepped food and open oven.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this! Each to their own ofc but disposables just so you can spend longer in front of the tele sounds miserable!

Sadly my plans have been foiled by the Sainsbury's delivery gods, I decided to order frozen roast potatoes and prepared veg for todays delivery and had vowed not to step foot in a supermarket before December 27th, but there were no frozen roasties or prepared veg so have to make the trek out tomorrow morning yet again