Christmas Dinner, dare to be different!

I prep as much as I can the day before - in fact this year we're having Christmas dinner on Christmas eve! We've got friends coming over for dinner, and I'll make loads for leftovers for the next day to make 'man-wiches' with chunky chips as our main meal

I'm still deciding what we're actually going to have but I tend to do - Turkey (and this year we're looking at getting a goose), Trio of roast veg (Carrots, pots and parsnips - saves pans and also hubby HATES boiled veg), a few sprouts, peas, and I think I may do leeks in cheese sauce this year as I love it but don't normally bother....but with guests lol......plus stuffing, yorkshires and about 2 dozen pigs in blankets as there's never enough for my mob! Most of this is prepped in advance or bought from M&S frozen to bung in the oven. The one thing I do take time over is the meat and gravy. I follow a Jamie Oliver recipe for the gravy using the turkey wings and it's beautiful. I make a big pan of it and then it's there for the leftovers and on chips too

I do prawns too as a 'starter', or pate as an alternative, and then I ALWAYS make trifle for afters. This year I've had a request for chocolate orange flavour

I prepare everything Christmas eve day. I buy those foil trays and everything gets put in those. I prep as much as possible, even making the gravy and part roasting the potatoes. Then Christmas day whack it all in oven.

I also pre-lay the table Christmas eve and generally get ahead. polishing the wine glasses, crackers out. Napkins ready, wine chilled.

we always have a prawn cocktail to start (mums favorite) and ive been known to even get these ready in the serving dishes and put in the fridge overnight, then I just have to butter the brown bread Christmas day.

I like to cook a full traditional Christmas dinner because I love all the leftovers