Christmas lunch prep

DWhite

Thank you for the advice and suggestions. I hadn’t planned on hosting, but my sister seems hell bent on visiting! She knows not to expect much in the way of anything. My family, though don’t quite get how my job is, despite the fact I’ve been doing it now for nearly 20 years! Im thinking it will be a simple affair, a joint of ham as I prefer that and she won’t be eating meat so won’t care. Veg is always fairly simple with me anyway, so I will cheat and buy prepped veg then boil it. Roasts are relatively simple, I like the idea of par boiling/roasting then freezing. I’ll give that a go.
I have asked my sister to provide nut roast/vegan option to save me worrying about it.
Saices etc will be shop bought as I’m not a fan of them anyway and not sure my sister is either, though my daughter is.
Xmas pud is made and just needs heating on the day with some brandy sauce that will be shop bought!
Then it will be snacks and wine to help me relax! 😬
Thankfully the house doesn’t need any work other than a clean and put the furniture in, so I don’t have to worry about that.
After years in my industry and moving around I’ve learned to pack light and unpack quickly as time is limited!

Pollycat

DWhite wrote: »

Thank you for the advice and suggestions. I hadn’t planned on hosting, but my sister seems hell bent on visiting! She knows not to expect much in the way of anything. My family, though don’t quite get how my job is, despite the fact I’ve been doing it now for nearly 20 years! Im thinking it will be a simple affair, a joint of ham as I prefer that and she won’t be eating meat so won’t care. Veg is always fairly simple with me anyway, so I will cheat and buy prepped veg then boil it. Roasts are relatively simple, I like the idea of par boiling/roasting then freezing. I’ll give that a go.
I have asked my sister to provide nut roast/vegan option to save me worrying about it.
Saices etc will be shop bought as I’m not a fan of them anyway and not sure my sister is either, though my daughter is.
Xmas pud is made and just needs heating on the day with some brandy sauce that will be shop bought!
Then it will be snacks and wine to help me relax! 😬
Thankfully the house doesn’t need any work other than a clean and put the furniture in, so I don’t have to worry about that.
After years in my industry and moving around I’ve learned to pack light and unpack quickly as time is limited!

Maybe learn to say 'no' to a sister - regardless of how 'hell-bent' she is...;)
I'd have said 'no'.
No discussion.
You've made a rod for your own back.
Hope the move goes OK.

VfM4meplse

Pollycat wrote: »

Maybe learn to say 'no' to a sister - regardless of how 'hell-bent' she is...;)
I'd have said 'no'.
No discussion.
You've made a rod for your own back.
Hope the move goes OK.

As long as everyone gets on with each other already I wouldn't be bothered.

It's when the hell-bent are hell-bent on causing disharmony thay you end up with a very helly Christmas!

Pollycat

VfM4meplse wrote: »

As long as everyone gets on with each other already I wouldn't be bothered.

It's when the hell-bent are hell-bent on causing disharmony thay you end up with a very helly Christmas!

Maybe you wouldn't be bothered.
But as a sister, I'd never put my sister in a position where she was so stressed at Christmas - plus a house move.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Pollycat wrote: »

I'm a red cabbage fan - raw or pickled - but I can't seem to find a recipe for cooked red cabbage that doesn't include apples, sultanas, nutmeg or cinnamon.

Add caraway seeds, a few peppercorns , few juniper berries squished between your fingers and a splash of pickling vinegar into the cooking water.

JIL

VfM4meplse wrote: »

As long as everyone gets on with each other already I wouldn't be bothered.

It's when the hell-bent are hell-bent on causing disharmony thay you end up with a very helly Christmas!

One year a good while ago, we all descended on my mother in law, considering she had eight children I thought it would be easy for her, but it wasn't, we all ended up helping. We didn't eat til very late. The table wasn't big enough for everyone, so father in law, took an internal door off its hinges, balanced it on two tool boxthings, threw a sheet over it and we sat round it on all sorts of improvised stools. It was one of the best times I have ever had, we all pulled together and laughed and laughed.

DWhite

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I made it through the day in one piece! Realised on Xmas eve that my hob is an induction hob and my saucepans don’t work on it so had to go to father in laws to use his kitchen and cook there. Luckily it’s only 10 minutes down the road so no big hardship.
I managed to make traditional dinner, vegan dinner and also a few bits that I like.
Next year I’ll be at my house and it will be myself, my daughter and an open door policy where people can come if they want but no pressure.
FIL is a bit of a grinch, MIL seems to be miserable at Xmas every year so I’d rather she didn’t drag us down and my sister is ill and hasn’t managed to stop mentioning it for more than 5 minutes at a time!
Still, first Xmas as a homeowner is complete and I survived