Boxing Day Tea

As I read it (I may be wrong), you have now agreed to do a Christmas dinner, which the children will eat? In that case, keep it very simple. Accept the offer made by your daughters MiL to bring the turkey, ask your daughter to bring all the desserts, not just the one for the GC - don't bother with a Xmas pud as you will probably have had that at the restaurant, keep the veges simple and off you go. Most importantly, enjoy and encourage your family to "muck" in with preparations as much as possible! (Don't bother with starters, either)
Good luck.

I just read a silly Facebook joke.

"My boyfriend took me to this very posh, high-end restaurant but I wasn't in the slightest bit fazed. I looked the waiter in the eye and said, 'I'll have you very best quality chicken nuggets please.'"

Lyndiloo if they've forced you into a corner and now you're doing the veg, buy a packet of Tesco frozen vegetable medley £ 2.00 and bung 'em in a pan of water

I'm sure the family will be happy as larks.

I don't really understand the problem either. You have been offered help with the meal so not a lot of work for you. I understand you are disappointed that plans have changed but you have plenty of time to prepare.
I wouldn't do a full Christmas dinner either, cold buffet or a pie as someone else suggested. Let the children enjoy their nuggets etc. Relax and enjoy the time with your family Lyndiloo

What is more important, the menu or enjoying the day with your family?

Maybe your gc are happier eating what they like, what is the harm?

I would do the chips and chicken nuggets for kids and cold buffet or hot buffet for adults. Our kids eat chips/nuggets, pasta, simple pizzas and it's much easier to give them that than have food wasted, then adults can help themselves to the Christmassy foods.

I am thinking of doing roast beef dinner for Christmas Eve. There will only be 4 of us. Long time since I cooked a beef roast so looking for advice as to cut of meat etc. Thanks Grans.

I understand your dilemma OP, this year one of our sons and his girlfriend are coming on Christmas Day when I will be doing the classic roast turkey dinner and all the trimmings. Our other son will be bringing our gc to us on Boxing Day, when we usually do cold meat, salads etc. Problem is our young grandchildren are sticklers for roast dinner, not sure how the Boxing Day fare will be greeted, certainly don't want to be doing a roast two days running Christmas, or certainly parts of it can be a pain sometimes!

OH and I book a local restaurant for Christmas Day for DD and my grown up DGCs we have either a Traditional Christmas Dinner or an Indian Buffet (which my DGSs prefer)
After all the excitement of the morning seeing the younger GGCs opening presents its so good to relax for 3/4hrs and be waited on.
Boxing day is a buffet of cold meats/salads/chilli or curry & rice if no one wants to join us they are quite welcome to cater for themselves at their own houses its a case of my house my menu I'm afraid.

I don't really understand what the problem is with the kids having nuggets and chips as your daughter wanted and everyone else can have the turkey, jackets and salad. Am I missing something?

It seems as though help has been offered and accepted, so I'm afraid I don't quite understand why this is bothering you so much. You will be preparing vegetables instead of doing, what exactly?

You say, 'I've given in', which indicates that you resent allowing yourself to be coerced/cajoled/persuaded into doing a dinner rather than a 'tea' and that maybe you still feel you are acting against your own desires? From your last sentence I think you realise that you really do just need to go with the flow this time, but make a note to self for the future that you will not be persuaded against your will again.

I hope you'll come back after Christmas and tell us how you all had a lovely time and the meal was a great success.

Every year on the weeks before Christmas we get swamped with tales of woe about who is doing what for christmas and person posting goes on and on about how their feelings have been hurt about change of family customs. Etc.
You get my drift!
I read these tales of woe and think for God's sake its only one day in the year- get a life !
There are so many of us who would love to have a family get together- but it can never happen again because of Bereavement or family estrangement etc.
So those of you who are fortunate to have your nearest and dearest with you this christmas can we have a few less pathetic tales of woe about who does what on the big day!.
Just get on with it and be grateful for what you have.

OP, I don't think you are being unfair - Boxing Day was allocated to you, so imo, you are not being unreasonable in expecting to choose the menu.

However, as the others have hugely simplified your task by offering to supply meat and desserts, I would go with the flow (while secretly breathing a huge sigh of relief at the reduced workload), and if I could get away with it, I would just do salad and oven chips rather than 'proper' veg!

It's always difficult when members of the family are involved. I used to always do a buffet (cold) on Boxing Day for my daughter and her husband. It was manic!! She was so argumentative as she has spent Christmas day with his family and it wasn't to her liking so she took it out on me. I stopped it and said to hell with it. Now we have cold meat and chips with my husband and my youngest son, peace all around. Its up to you as its your boxing day as well!!!

We usually have a Boxing Day buffet which includes whatever is left over from Christmas Day, plus a pork roast for hot sandwiches and a curry (well there are usually a lot of us!). One year I left out the curry and there were significant mumblings! This year we are away for the holiday, self catering. We will go out for Christmas lunch but I don’t think much thought has been given to what we will eat the rest of the time, so we will have to address the issue soon!

I have always enjoyed Boxing Day which is my eldest childs birthday. I was in labour through out Xmas day so this may be the reason ?

Cold meats, and pickle for me with my home-made potato salad and home-made salad cream.
Happy as Larry, with plenty of leftovers for callers. I don't now put pressure on myself.
It's a help yourself affair on Boxing Day. Our kids will eat anything.

Relax and enjoy a great time with the family. Many would envy you!

OP, don’t be made to feel guilty because of things like this. It might be true, but you don’t live life for others.

You may as well cancel the idea of Christmas dinner out if you're going to be doing the whole thing on boxing day.
Ridiculous, I think, to run the food around what the children want.

Why doesn’t your DD host if that’s what she wants?

Well, we always have a full house on Boxing Day, as we don’t have anyone here for Christmas Day, husband in charge of food, sometimes he makes an enormous Boxing Day pie, sometimes a traditional Christmas dinner, last year a big chicken and leek pie, lovely cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes, this year he’s opted for lasagna.

We don’t do requests.

Yes, guess that you are being a tad unreasonable, as everyone is chipping in. Get prepared veg, ready made trimmings and it's job done. Relax and enjoy a great time with the family. Many would envy you!

They would eat whatever was served to them. Sorry, unless there were food allergies involved I wouldn't be pandering to them. Surely going out on Christmas Day means no one has to do all that prep and cooking? Tell them you will be doing a cold buffet and they can serve themselves. S** that!

Just DH and me on Boxing Day. Cold turkey, home made chips, cold sausage meat stuffing, bits of left over salad and bacon rolls, mayonnaise, then hotted up Christmas pudding and custard. Lovely.

Enjoy it far more than the actual Christmas dinner.

Just remembered, one year when my H was starting his illness, we went to D's for a few days, in Boxing day we had cold turkey and bubble and squeak with everything thrown in, sprouts and chestnuts, roast potatoes, stuffing, it was absolutely delicious.
I can't imagine going out for lunch and not having those leftovers to use up and a carcass to make wonderful soup.

Sorry meant to say, your house, your decision and choices.