Share with Aunt Bessie’s why family gatherings are the best - chance to win £300 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We all know family gatherings can sometimes be a bit stressful but that in the main they are a great way to catch up with loved ones. The team at Aunt Bessie’s would love to hear how you make your family get togethers work for everyone - from the youngest member to the oldest. What role does food play in your gatherings - who does the prep (and who washes up)? What about location, do you like to visit your MILs or do you like hosting yourselves? How often do you get a family gathering on the go - once a year at Christmas or every week?

What’s the best thing which has happened in your family gathering and what memories do you have of gatherings when you were a child? Do you have any traditions you have stuck with or new habits you have come to enjoy?

Aunt Bessie’s say “a proper family gathering is about more than just food – it’s the shared experiences and the bringing together of loved ones that turn a simple meal into something truly special. So we’d love to hear your stories and traditions!”

Add your story for great family gatherings below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one person will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ
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birthdays and singing!

Aunt Bessies products make our Sunday family lunch together so simple.
Each product has precise instructions - cooking times/temperatures. So easy to follow. No estimates; no stress.
Put in the beef joint. Wait! then put in the roast tatties. Wait! in time microwave Auntie Bessies mash and the veg. Put the Auntie Bessies Yorkshire puds in for 5 minutes at the end.. Don't forget the gravy!!
Beautiful and so tasty. Aunt Bessie is part of my family. I use the familial term Auntie.
Nothing simpler. Sunday lunch served up by by me but with Aunt Bessies help - at a very reasonable cost.
Jim

Grannie always buys us silly hats each year to wear and we always try to play a big family boardgame that everyone can get involved in. I love going for a family walk on boxing day too to blow the cobwebs away!

I'm sure I posted this one already but I cannot find it, so I will repeat it.
Whenever we have family gatherings it's all about sea stories and monsters from the Caribbean.
No need for Fairy Tales as there is enough imaginative work put on those conclaves.
Brothers and uncles take the primordial place to relish in daunting and alarming all of us...It's part and parcel of my tribe.

The best family gatherings for me are Christmas Day. All our family get together, we’re so happy, enjoying the day, eating a fantastic meal that we’ve all contributed to or helped prepare.

I love family gatherings, everyone's relaxed as we squeeze round the table and laugh and joke together. We eat, talk, play board games and can be there for hours!

Family gatherings always have to be at my house, as I'm the only one of the 5 of us who lives near mum, so they all come to see mum(88 years old), and then have big meals here - 19 planned for 17th Dec - have to borrow chairs and table etc from the neighbours, and it's a real squeeze to get everyone in, but worth it to see mum happy.

The best gatherings for me are the spontaneous ones they always feel less pressurised. I like the times we just have a living room picnic altogether off the hoof.

We had a big family gathering a couple of years back. Was amazing to see family members I've never seen before. There was a lot of us! Especially considering my great great nanna has 7 brothers & sisters!

Family gathering full of a roast with all the trimmings. No doubt some badly made deserts that no one touches and dives straight into the ready made ones 😂 and Definietly finished by an argument of who's washing up! Then watching tv and seeing who the first one to be snoring is and watching the children wondering how on earth they still have so much energy haha.

Family gatherings are (usually) great just because it's nice to have everyone together and know they are people who will always be part of your life. Now we are all older too us cousins love that the kids play together, like our own youthful days

I love them, the board games always comes out thats our tradition. We all take turns on bringing one, the sillier the better and its so fun having ages from5 -75 playing

We don't have large family gatherings. This Christmas it will probably be me, hubby and DS back from uni. Will be pretty chilled with dinner, board games and tv.

I come from a ginormous family so gatherings are never stress free. More like fun organised chaos.

My nanna did not get on with another member of the family, so the game was always to get to the table first and make the two of them sit together!

There's only me and my sister now since our parents died. We are really close but don't do many big occasions as my ds has autism and finds it hard. But this year they are coming to mine for boxing day and I am so looking forward to it. I'm going to do a big buffet to last for both lunch and dinner.

I have to blow my own trumpet here, but when it comes making a roast, I get the most compliments on flavour and presentation. So whatever day of the week it is, a roast brings the family together. It's actually a really good option for a gathering of family and friends. I always have to do a cauliflower cheese but I also like to add broccoli, carrots and sweetcorn to mine. The kids love it and it gets them to eat their veggies twice. I have always used the Aunt Bessie's ready to bake, Yorkshire puddings. I don't like the ones that you just heat up for three minutes. I also do home made mash, with king Edward potatoes, Aunt Bessie's roasties are great, they come out perfectly, crispy on the outside and soft potato on the inside. I always use all the water from boiling potatoes for mash, and excess water from steamed vegetables, along with stock from the meat, to make a perfect gravy. If I'm doing a roast lamb, I would put a spoon of mint sauce in, to compliment the lamb. Roast dinner is a great family classic. There's always enough to go round and have seconds. Thanks to Aunt Bessie's roast potatoes, it's a walk in the park and a taste of excellence. When the food is good, everyone is always happier and enjoy the gatherings more often. I occasionally do stuffing, but usually it's a thanks giving and Christmas must.

Family gatherings to me are everything. My eldest son has been estranged from us for two years and two weeks ago he turned up on my doorstep cold and scared because he’s been sleeping rough.
This Christmas is going to be amazing, my youngest was over the moon and said that he can’t believe he has his family back together, he never dreamed that it would be possible.
So now although things are going to be tight this year our family is whole again, my daughter will also be home from uni so it will be a wonderful time.
Family gatherings mean the world to me now, I am disabled and as the years go on there is less and less I can do, family is more precious than any jewel or amount of money, I may not have much financially but having my family back together makes me the richest person!

My MIL likes to host the family gatherings & I am more than happy with this arrangement!
We all muck in & help with the prep (when permitted!) & the clear up after.
MIL loves cooking & seeing the family enjoy the meal. Luckily both my family & my OH's family all get on & our families are both quite small - so it's great to get together on these occasions.
MIL likes to involve LO in the prep of the pudding - so it's great to see his little chest puffed out in pride when we all tuck in to the pud!

I love a big family gathering and we always try to take some big group photos when we are altogether!

I've always enjoyed boardgames and computer games, but growing up we never played games as a family. My husband's family always have though, so whenever we all get together for special occasions like birthdays and christmas, we always play boardgames together and I love it!

Family gatherings used to be big fun times with my nan and grandad hosting them all. Now sadly they have passed away so its just me and my children and my mum.We cook a christmas dinner at mums and my older kids help me and mum prepare the food. We try to keep things calm as my son has autism and struggles with all the food at christmas and the noise. We have big serve yourself bowls at the dinner table which he prefers as he can just take a small amount. He likes the christmas crackers so we usually have lots of those

We do pot luck get togethers where everyone brings a dish so one person isn't left to do all the cooking! It also makes it a little more affordable for whoever is hosting.

I am 40 years old and have had three, long term relationships and I have a daughter. In all those years I have gone to my parents house EVERY year for Christmas and I hope to do so for as long as I possibly can. Our traditions are so entrenched that I just can't imagine being anywhere else. We put the pies out for Rudolph, we open presents in the morning (still in our pajamas), we wear Christmas jumpers, Mum and I prepare the dinner together listening to Christmas music while having a sherry. There are board games and laughter and despite thinking we could never eat again after dinner we have a lovely buffet tea. Christmas is my happy time.

As my sister lives in Holland, my brother on London, last year we hired a house in France for a week, when I say house it was a large farmhouse with an arga range oven. Luckily my sister who has one at home know how to operate this beast ! So in went the french goose, all the trimmings we could source locally, along with the trifle (the great packet mix one with the powered cream ! which we always had as children). The children loved time with their cousins, and opening their presents together on Christmas morning - it is a logistical nightmare to arrange - but well worth it.

We love having extended family around every Sunday. OH cooks so I don't find it stressful at all. I love the way our 5 generations mingle together, from the youngest of 2 up to the eldest who is my 94 year old grandmother.