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Dinner mid-day? Dinner in the evening? What do you have for the other meal and breakfast? Is it lamb, pork, turkey, chicken or something else for the big meal? I haven't decided yet but I think it will be chicken and maybe a small ham, new potatoes, asparagus and baby carrots - gravy, of course. I would be strung up if I didn't make gravy - even if we were having cold meats and a salad.

My lot always want the main dinner around 1 oclock . Hot... gravy.... stuffing..... Pudding... the works . Some of everything and plenty of it.
I would love to just have salads and and cold desserts . Why not ? It makes sense with this climate, But, alas, even if I do not get out voted outright, and they start off saying , oh , yes, I suppose mum. .... it never works out . For a few days later I get, " Oh but we have to have this or we have to have that ! Tell you what mum... I will make that, but mum, can you please do something or other else that we can't make like you can. -- And before you know it.. it has all gone full scale again. I protest and say, what about this cooler easier christmas we were planning on this year? Oh, but then it won't be Christmas mumn !. Jeepers they give me the nadgers sometimes !.
I have said that I will contribute a ham, plus , hopefully nice new potatoes grown especially by me for the occasion. Anything else they want , they do between them. I did agree to do a Chocolate log, and a strawberry shortcake for the youngsters. But it looks like we may even delay our Christmas day and have it on Boxing Day .ONe SIL thinks his throat has been cut if there is no Christmas Pudding or sherry Trifle. That is what is under consideration at the moment, since we have found that one family member has been rostered to work on 25th and will not home until early hours of Boxing day.
It has been suggested that we do this - delay Christmas to Boxing day. As usual in families there are some that say yay, and some that say Nay, so I am just sitting quitely and letting them sort it out between themselves . But knowing them, we will probably end up having TWO Christmas dinners . I

My sympathies for two Christmas dinners. I being the cook in the house always end up having to do the traditional roast pork, ham, roast veg, xmas pudding in other words the full works. No one else seems to want to take it on. However this year we have an added complication in that my sister has decided to come over from Sydney on new Years Eve. Now being a scottish family we also have to celebrate Hogmany so we always have a second Christmas like dinner that day. I'm hoping we can combine the two otherwise I feel like all I do between Christmas and New Year is cook!

Well this year we are changing it again, Mum had a stroke and I am shifting daughter in the few days before Christmas so we are having cold meat and salads. Don't know if this would work for you ladies, but you could give out the recipes for this christmas with a special note, ordering your christmas present for next year ie. them cooking it all.

I like that one and I think I might try it

Roast Pork at my place. Lots of roast Taties and Kumera. Apple sauce and gravy. Pavalova and fresh Fruit salad.
Silly hats and crackers and Bubbles. Lotsa Bubbles for the cook and NO dishes ! That is boys work on Christmas day in our family. once the food is on the table, no woman is allowed back in the kitchen for 24 hours. My dear old dad made that rule years ago.

Sorry about your mum Delta, and yes, your idea would work for me for next year too ! Fran, that rule of your father's was a more or less unspoken one in my family as well and I must say that my son is almost always the first on his feet to clear the table after any meal that I have cooked at my place, not just Christmas. He is very good like that. He has the table cleared in no time and usually plugs in the kettle to make a brew of tea while he is doing it. One of his brother's in law could take a leaf from his book , that is for sure.
Christmas day tea is a very disorganised thing in my house. Everyone is left to fend for themselves. There are always plenty of left overs, and I don't care if they end up just eating a plate of trifle or hunk of ham in their hand, for their tea.. as long as they are careful when they open the fridge door to get it out and as long as they close it quietly after they put whatever is left back. After all, I am usually blissfully asleep by then

We will probably have dinner mid day and since it will only be the 2 of us, I will be making a turkey tenderloin with sweet potatoes (for me) and white for Harold and a vegetable. I was thinking about tossing a loaf of bread in the machine but not sure yet. We had a big family dinner on the 18th, so Christmas dinner willl be very quiet.