Last year was our first year hosting Christmas. We had the inlaws on Christmas Eve and my family on Christmas Day - I do *not* recommend hosting two Christmases, it sucked. We wanted it all one day, but the inlaws wouldn't do Christmas Day.
Anyway, we kept it pretty simple. The day before Christmas Eve I cooked three roasts, using the oven & weber, and did a glazed ham. The recipes all came from last year's Christmas editions of Better Homes & Gardens, and I still have them so can post the recipes if you like. On each morning I made the salads - there was a seafood salad from the magazines, and some general type salads. They didn't take long, then DH carved up half of each roast/ham on the day. I also made a Pavlova base the day before Christmas Eve and decorated it that day for desert, and on Christmas Day we had a Christmas icecream pudding I'd made in advance. I also made red cherry ripe balls and green mint balls (recipe from here on BB).
Everyone arrived quite early, so I already had the table set - just a plastic Christmas tablecloth, plain white plates etc & silver cutlery, and for decorations I went with red and gold. We had a gold glittery wire tree in the centre of the table, and red and gold bon bons. Various red and gold decorations were around the house. I got DD to go to town with red and green paint on some paper, and cut out circles in four different sizes. Then I taped them to green string in a pattern and stuck the strings to the wall behind the table (does that even make sense??).
When people arrived we had snacks out, started lunch about 12, and opened presents after. DD was pretty overwhelmed by it all because our families suck at letting her nap lol, so there around certainly things that could have gone better and it was a lot of work doing it all twice, but at least we didn't spend three days on the road like a normal Christmas.
We haven't attempted Christmas yet... With my sister living with my parents, we don't really see the point... And DH's parents are always down the beach... Maybe one year I can have a thread like this
All the stuff which could be done in advance was (soup for entre, slices and shortbread, everything for supper - rolling meats, potato salad, other salads, boiled eggs, etc).
I made a detailed timetable for when things needed to get turned on, turned over, trays swapped, etc.
I started peeling veggies and rubbing the roast etc at the crack of dawn.
I dressed the table in the inbetween times (of which there are not many, but enough to get it done).
Unsurprisingly, I didn't get to church.
Everything got done and was tasty - though the mains were a bit late, because I hadn't factored in enough time for the over to take longer, due to there being so much in there!).
The last couple of years, everyone in the family has just brought something. Much easier
Saw the cheese tree too - love it We often hosted Christmas...will miss having all my family together this year
Our Christmas was all about being easy on the day, and cold (seeing as Christmas is so hot!). It's a day to spend with family, not in the kitchen.
We stuff and cook the turkey the afternoon before, then the Guinness and honey glazed ham goes in straight after. Salads here are very simple - just a garden salad (mixed leaves, cue, tom, feta, olives), potato salad (made the day before), and separate bowls of avocado, blanched asparagus, beet root, corn, pineapple, beans etc. Whatever can be washed or cut the day before is, and the cans go in the fridge to cool. We buy bread the day before. Put condiments in fridge - salad dressing, cranberry sauce, mustard. If it's really big group we sometimes do a pumpkin and feta cous cous, beetroot and walnut salad or pasta salad - just assemble on the day but prepare the day before.
DH makes a traditional Christmas pudding in October (though he's doing ours this weekend) and I make brandy butter the day before and buy custard to go with.
Fridge space is always an issue, so DH gets the big esky full of ice slurry for drinks, salads, condiments and canned foods - meat always stays in the fridge
Table decos are simple....white cloth and dishes with a coloured table runner. Bowls of baubles in the centre, or wire trees, depending on how we feel. Sometimes the Bon bond are the table centrepiece. Mum made serviettes rings by stapling wired ribbon in a circle years ago and we recycle them every year. We have a separate food table, put ice around the cold stuff and eat buffet style, outside.
Tips - Plastic plates, but real cutlery; check you have enough serving plates/spoons/tongs etc in advance; put glasses out beforehand if you have room (on a separate table); ice, ice, ice; extra cold water; extra bread (when everyone gets the nibbles later on you can crank the BBQ, cook the ham and serve with toasted bread); get others to bring the bread, a salad or nibbles to start with.
This will be the second time I have. We split the food up between who's attending. Works for us I have a pretty table cloth and placemats for the kids but that's it.
I've done it a couple times now. After the first time I said "never again" and only agreed to the second because certain people were going to be overseas .
My advice - lower your expectations. Drastically. People arriving on time - not gonna happen, people allowing kids to open presents at their own pace - not gonna happen, allowing a minute or two for you to locate instructions/all pieces/a camera before moving on to another present - not going to happen. More than once, instructions or pieces have been thrown out with the wrapping because grandparents want the kids to open 10 presents at once. Another thing, plan your menu. Then take 4 or 5 things off, unless you like having a stressful morning/day/week before cooking, cleaning and cooking some more only to have most of it go back in your fridge or in the bin. If you can, ask others to bring things instead. And a nice quiet room you can disappear too when everyone's getting drunk & obnoxious. Clearly my experiences have not been that great . But if you expect the worst, you are less likely to be disappointed.
Anyway, what I did was:
Food - I planned it all out and asked everyone to bring 1 or 2 things. We did a roast chook, a crunchy noodle salad, fruit platter & rum balls, others brought ham, other salads, platter of cheese & bikkies etc for nibblies, other desserts. FIL brought prawns unasked lol. We supplied a couple esky's with ice for everyone's drinks.
Table - pale gold tablecloth, white dishes, red christmas serviettes, red bonbons and a few decorations on the table with some tinsel around it as a centrepiece. Simple but looked great if I do say so myself lol.
We did a turkey on the Weber. I actually prefer to host Xmas, but it's never been more than MIL and partner, BIL, SIL and niece, so not exactly huge attendance. Much easier than dragging the kids away from their pressies and my huge self around on a hot day. We keep it simple and have everyone bring something along. It's more just a family dinner with turkey and slightly more food than normal than any big event. Tree is already up and I do throw on a table cloth and some simple decorations - but with the food there isn't room for much more than a pot plant with a few baubles.
And we all hop in the pool for a dip to keep things cool afterwards.
We also have everyone on notice that it can get cancelled at a moment's notice, considering I'll be 38 wks pg... I think it's unlikely it'll be labour day, but I can't control that!
I popped back in to say the cheese tree looks great, and now want to say ditto to absolutely everything Rowellen has said!
After last year I never wanted to do that again. But I've just agreed to Christmas at our place on Boxing Day. This only because it will be my family only, and on Christmas Day we'll be at the inlaws so they can do it all for theirs.
This time I'm asking everyone to chip in and bring something, they're all more than happy to seeing as at the time we'll have a two month old. I definitely don't have any expectations around my Mum and Nana, they're very pushy. Mum wanted to open presents asap before everyone was there - even while DD was sleeping, and said it'd be better that way because then all the focus would be on DD opening her presents. We did wait, but there was still yelling from every corner: "A, look here! Stop, look like that, no put your hand here, now smile!" because it was all about getting the best photo of her opening their presents. Infuriating.
Hopefully your family is fantastic, but lower expectations across the board will mean no one is disappointed.
We did an early Christmas here last year, I got the kids to make the Bon bons, for the table cloth I used butchers paper (actually it was the art paper from ikea), table decos, was a gingerbread house the kids and I made, jars full of christmassy pencils, and tree decos.
For our meal I did a couple of salads, a ham, turkey, and pork I think. We cooked all meats the day before and served cold (or reheated that day, honestly cannot remember) and dessert was a pav, gingerbread house, and some choccies. Yep it was a fairly laid back day.
I will always host it again, dh is an amazing chef, his food beasts all other family members and best of all his food is edible and doesn't gift food poisoning
Beef on the bone on the webber. Yorkshire puddings, roasted vegetables.
Lentil Salad and green salad.
I am buying a pudding from the Flemington Market, have been buying the same one for a couple of years and it's a winner and I am not usually a fan of Christmas pudding.
Very simple on decorations, just the Christmas crackers, usual tree and house decorations for Christmas.
No table clothe, maybe a table centre piece.
It's been at my place for quite a few years now. It used to be biggish with 13 or more of us. Now there is 8. Gotta love family. So it's a pretty quiet day. My kids are the only kids. Mum cooks the turkey and brings it down as soon as it is out of their oven. My Grandmother does the plum pudding and brings ham. All I have to do is roast veggies and a couple of salads. I try to make it as Christmassey as possible but I think I'm the only one that enjoys it, apart from the kids.
i think we will have 10 adults and 5 kids. Hoping the weather is good and we can set up outside and the kids can run around and play in the cubby house. Otherwise, the tables will fit longwise inside.
We have a few non/selective meat eaters, so need to cater for both. Guests are happy to bring food along too.
So far, we are thinking of cooking meat on an outside spit (red meat + chicken), mushroom moussaka or similar, roast potatoes (maybe pumpkin) and get people to bring salad and/or dessert.
I love the idea of making decorations/table things with the kids. We have two fold up tables (and can borrow more) so can make long table so we can all eat together.
Love the esky idea, and will have to use that because our fridge is not that big. i am quite conscious of food hygiene, so want to keep the things that need to be cold cold.
Love the idea of jumping in the pool, but alas i don't think the shell pool will be big enough.
We are not big (alcohol) drinkers, but will have to think about whether we get some, or get someone else to bring it. No-one coming is a big drinker actually, but i'm sure a cold beer might be appreciated. Thought i might make fruit punch too, pretty simple and it feels a bit fancy even if it is not.
Slice or rum/bliss balls might be nice and easy to make beforehand. Or maybe overkill? will have to see what desserts people want to bring.
DO you usually have an entree? Mum has been doing prawns but she doesn't eat them and so doesn't get the difference between dodgy ones and really nice ones, so it is hasn't had the impact she was looking for (but noone has told her yet). i don't think i want to do soup. Maybe nibblies (cheese/dips etc) would be better, because i am assuming there will be a wide range of when people arrive.
I want to have some food that we can feed kids, even if others not here/not ready because they are all under 4 and without food get cranky.
Loving hearing all the different ways that people have done things!
We don't have an entree as such, just pickings (often while unwrapping pressies) because, as you say, people tend to rock up whenever they darn well feel like it....grrr! So, the cheese plate, rum/bliss balls could come out then - keeps the kids and hungry adults happy. Sometimes we do smoked salmon on Melba toast with cream cheese and chives, or dip and lavosh bread bikkies (just bake pieces of oiled lavosh bread for 10 mins - can be done a few days before too). We try to do everything cold so the oven doesn't heat the house and we're not reheating. Have done mini quiches or pizza pinwheels before, but then we're in the kitchen while everyone else is relaxing and it's no fun at all
It's always BYO alcohol to share as my family enjoy good wine. Then we watch my side of the family and DH try to keep the good stuff away from MIL, who skulls it, despite saying she doesn't drink. Funny watching my Dad try to convince her they're drinking the same thing when they're totally different colours, lol! We provide soft drinks/fruit punch.
Forgot to say that if we do it all, we get the rest of the family to chip in some money as it can be expensive. It also saves us worrying about getting food poisoning from MIL's potato salad that gets made the day before, but transported for 45mins in a hot car because she can't be bothered putting it in an esky! Pity, as her potato salad is awesome, but we only eat it if we're going to her, lol! Or worrying that people don't bring what they say they will (my brother is a 'forgetter' and my in laws say one thing and bring another, so we've had times where we've had three garden salads and nothing else).
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Christmas dinner at your place
Just don't overdo it!!
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. But if you expect the worst, you are less likely to be disappointed.
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