Xmas Lunch at our house (with 2 under 18 months)...

I know it is early but i am planning ahead lol
Any tips of surviving the family christmas lunch (about 20-25 people) at our house this year with a 18 month and 2 month old?

assign everyone a dish to bring....make it a cold xmas lunch if need be

plan in advance (have as much done ahead of time as you can!) - last year, we had almost everything ready in advance - just put it all in the oven to cook on the day. things like vegies for roast were prepared the night before, pork cooked on the bbq the day before. lamb seasoned and sitting, ready to go, in the fridge to put on in the morning

and DELEGATE!! i don't care if it's YOUR year to do Christmas - why should you be put under a mammoth amount of stress just so everyone else gets to enjoy the day - you should be able to enjoy your Christmas day as well - give out jobs - find something that each person/family is good at, and make it their responsibility!

for us, Christmas used to be salad (prepared the night before), ham and bbq chook, cos it was "too hot" for mum to cook - if that flaots your boat, go for it - but it's not what we do now. i figure Christmas can be a bit more effort

now, it's roast lamb, beef and pork - usually cooked on the rotisserie on the bbq. either bro and hi family stay here, or we stay at their place. up early to put the meat on to cook, then chill over breakkie. we do cheat, and get bbq chicken - only cos mum needs to have "something" she can do - and that's about all we trust her with :lol: we then have cauli/broccoli in white sauce (which you can make in advance, and freeze - defrost the day before, and throw in the oven), baked spuds (you can cheat and buy the frozen packet ones), and a mixture of other baked vegies, mixed greens. it's not that difficult if you have it all organised in advance (like vegies peeled and sitting in water in the fridge ready to go). plan your times, and make sure there is someone there that, if bubs is playing up, you can say "ok, you need to do this NOW" and take the pressure off yourself

dessert wise - always delegate. unless you are the only person that can make perfect plum pudding, leave it to someone else!!

and in all honesty, ANY family that expects you to do it ALL when you've got a newborn, needs to be dished up fish and chips and told not to whinge cos they don't deserve anything more!

Prepare things ahead of time and freeze them if you can. Not a hot lunch. Cold food, like cold chickens, prawns, cold meats platter, salads.....

Exactly what BG said ;) and what fun!! I LOVE Christmas but it shouldn't be stressful at all especially as you have little bubs and one that will be having their first Christmas and the other that will be much more aware this year!

I am terrafied of X-mas this year - not coz I have to do much (my mum LOVES to do x-mas) but coz Ill have a 1 month old!!! WHOLY CRAP!!

how exciting Kafer!

Yes i am going to delegate food for people to bring, might have a few bbq hot things that DH can cook.

Great ideas girls.

I am excited about having it here. (even laybyed a christmas tree.. yes they are in the stores lol)
And i am telling my self it will be easier here with the 2 littlies that having to trek them around the country side all day visiting family lol

so you wouldnt be offended invited to xmas lunch and being told to bring a certain food or item>?

We always get family to bring a dish one because it lightens my load and two why should i have to wear all the cost of a xmas lunch. I also agree that it is much easier not having to drag little ones all over the place.
Good luck with it, its always fun planning it :)

Definitely would NOT be offended if asked to bring something. After all you are providing the venue and organising it all. It is a family occasion and should be fun for all.

PP -I definately not be offended hun. It is a HUGE ask to be responsible for feeding that amount of people.... I know some families that all pay a certain amount and they get it catered!
Most people love to cook and bake at Christmas time and will be more than happy to prepare one lovely dish to bring along! :)

Get everyone to bring something! It'll make a huge difference, make sure you rope in someone to help setup as well. Enjoy the day, I always get to caught up in running around and it's over before you know it! It's not to early it'll be here before we know it!

I have 3 sisters and a brother we all have to bring something.........this year I drew the drinks so have to buy enough softdrink juice ect for everyone....we all put in $20 or $30 towards the costs of prawns veges salads ect then draw from drinks nibblies desert and disposable plates and bon bons ect. Works out great.

Your expecting a big group of people on christmas day and there are lil ones, so I dont think your family will mind bringing a plate/dish. People often like to bring a 'special' dish to share so show off their clever recipe or presentation skills too in my experience ;), and those who cant be bothered, well, it doesnt really matter if anyone has a poor attitude does it? Most people will be happy to help.
Have fun preparing all the extras like a fabulous xmas tree and decent quality crackers etc - lol p its a long way off, but you`ve got me looking forward to it!

deligate tasks and jobs well in advance n matter how simple the task is could sisters do dishes and clear table, ask ppl well in advance what would you like to bring? salad desert main or other? then get them to tell what they are bringing. BYO and playpens your gonna need them and also ask any younger ppl there teenagers if they could help out with kids. Maybe go to park and have picnic that way kids can play.

Make it an evening meal if you can - spend the day doing lots of things with the kids so that they will flake out later on.

Foodwise, they key is to pick things that can be done well in advance and/or can be delegated to other people. BBQ'ing hot food is a great idea, because it gets so much heat and stress out of the kitchen.

Here's an idea for a menu

Starter - crab salad
Packets of fresh/frozen white crab meat mixed with mayo, chopped apple, chopped tomato, lemon juice and a little chilli. Make it the day before and store in the fridge in a sealed box.
Simple guacamole - chopped/mashed avocado with a little lime juice, chilli. cumin and fresh coriander - best made the same day.
To serve - put some shredded lettuce in the bottom of a glass (hiring a crate of glasses from the bottle shop is a big help for that many people), add a spoon of guacamole, top with a spoonful of crabmeat sprinkle a little parsley on the top and it's ready to go....looks impressive, but it is dead easy.

Main Course:-
Duck - pan-sear the duck breasts in advance (the day before), cook them skin side down in batches for 10 minutes or so to melt the fat out of the them and crisp up the skin, then turn them over for 5 minutes then cool and store. You will need to pour the fat off occasionally into a bowl - don't throw it away.
They can then be reheated in a low oven or gentle BBQ for 10 minutes or so - they don't need to be served piping hot, so it's fine to let cool down a bit whilst the starters are being eaten.
Get someone to bring cooked boiled/steamed potato - put them in a saucepan, put the lid and shake it violently to rough them up a bit then lay them out on a couple of oven trays - pour the duck fat over them, lay a few sprigs of rosemary on the top and put them in a hot oven for 35-40 minutes. The rough edges of the potato will ensure that you get lots of nice, crispy bits round the outside - if you have never had potato roasted with duck fat then you are in for a nice surprise.
Get someone to bring salad leaves, fennel bulbs and fresh orange segments - combine at the last minute to make a nice fresh salad - dress with olive oil, orange juice and a little tamarind paste.

Deserts are easy to farm out to other people as they are mostly pre-prepared.

This should bring the total cooking time on the day down to about an hour or so and is very simple - you will only use a chopping board and 3 oven trays on the day...no sweating over lots of pans and filling the place with washing up.
You can easily bulk the meal up by adding a ham or a seafood platter into the mix if you are coping with non-meat eaters.

If this isn't what you had in mind, then let me know what you would like to serve and I'll see what I can come up with.

gee bear you are full of cooking suggestions!!! :)
I have not idea as yet what we are thinking... but dont worry! one day i will take you up on that offer:)

I've worked as a chef on a super yacht - so I've done a lot of turning out food designed to impress under difficult conditions.

Happy to help...

OMG!! :o Its coming isn't it!

I had forgotten about the whole thing of Christmas lunch/dinner. Thankfully our family is nice and small, so its only like cooking for about 5.5 people at any meal. :redface:

At Christmas, I'll be nearly due to hatch, so I'm not about to go to any great trouble. I will have to pull my finger out and do my own preparation though. Our Christmas' may be small, but I do want them to be special. As does everyone I am sure. I think I will try to get Christmas happening here this year. I don't want to drive to the other sides of Melbourne when I'm nearly due. People can come to me! ;) I know I will make my delicious Christmas Trifle.

I agree with Rach, and get people to bring food. Talk to each of them and see what they are capable of doing (not just being able to buy a caterer's pack of salad, anyone can do that), ie who can make what. Just because its at your place doesn't mean you have to hang yourself in getting everything done. You provide the venue, they provide the dishes (of food I mean). Make sure you get people to help you clean up afterwards. Get the children to crush all the recycling, if you can drag them away from their new toys! BYO is a good idea too, if anyone drinks.

Kafer, you'll be okay. If the day gets too much for you, just run away to the bedroom and nap with bubs! No one can deny a new Mum a bed to lie down on.

Pink Palace, I would not be offended to be asked to bring anything. I would be more than happy to be able to make my favourite Christmas dish for others to share. I can't beleive the trees are already in the stores!

Bear, You have some marvellous menu ideas! Your guests would have been spoilt!

Sorry for the long post! I'm off to do some planning, and to go back through the Christmas thread in the recipes section. I'm making the most of having a sick little bub curled up asleep on my lap.

we've already pretty much got Christmas planned for this year. it will be at my brother's place as they have kids already, and it's better for them to be able to play with their toys at home - plus they have more freedom to be in and out of the house there (we dont have proper fences, so someone has to be outside with them for safety). we have the "shared meal" thing down to a fine art as we do this pretty much every week, so it will just be a case of feeding an extra few people (my old's, an intellectually disabled aunt, maybe SIL's parents)

bro is keen to do a roast turkey breast for him and DH, so that will be done in the oven, roast lamb in the dutch oven on the shed fire - makes the shed warm, but OMG - DIVINE FOOD!! takes about 3-4 hours, depending on the size of the piece of meat, so bro will get up in the morning and put it on. pork and beef cooked day before on the bbq rotisserie. my aunt will buy a chook just so she can contribute, and the old's will supply some ham. i'll make vegie bake in advance and freeze it ready to go. other baked veg will be prepared the night before and just put in the oven to cook. green veg is easy. once the lamb is done, i'll make the gravy, DH carves the meat, SIL sorts out the simple veg, and bro grabs the other stuff from the oven (which is in their laundry) - that's about the only time it's busy in the kitchen - the rest of the time we just flit about and do our part, entertain the kids etc

what i would suggest for anyone having extra people over - learn to reliquish control of your kitchen!! dance the tango with anyone that is trying to help (unless they're taking over your signature dish!), and above all - don't let Christmas be stressful!!!

we effectively had this same meal (a lot less meat!) at the end of last month for hubby's birthday - but had it here - and only decided on it at about 2pm - it turned out fantastically, and even though it was elaborate for a week night meal, it wasn't stressful as everyone just did their part - even the four year old - she put the sprinkles on uncle boof's birthday cake!!