Bad Christmas dinners

One year I had cooked the turkey, I used some big forks too lift it out of the roasting tin. When I pulled them out of the turkey realised the plastic tips on the forks were missing, obviously I should have removed them before using them. I spent ages trying to find them, worried they might choke someone, I couldn't find them so had too warn everybody to cut the turkey into small pieces in case they swallowed one

We went to a newly married relative who had insisted that the whole family should come for the day. Clearly 'over ambitious' was the theme as the poor cook was frantically making tiny biscuits with individual names iced when we arrived, and dinner was rather late. She also got into a terrible flap and had all the vegetables cooked and cooling off way before the turkey was ready, and kept fending off the offers of help. We were given a plate of cold food with a selection of overdone and underdone offerings , but all ate with great gusto, and thanked her profusely; she had absolutely done her best, and we all had a great day!

Not a terrible meal but a bit of a disaster when my sister cooked a goose for lunch and poured all the hot fat out of the tray into a Tupperware bowl! The bowl melted!
There was goose fat all down the kitchen doors and in the drawers and the floor was like a skating rink for hours afterwards.
I don’t think she’s had goose since!

Sat eating boxing day meal one year. Phone call to say dad was in hospital after having a heart attack. Binned the dinner and drove up to London from Devon. He died before we got there.
The year before last, despite flu jab, mum and I came down with flu on Xmas Eve. On Xmas day an ambulance was called out to me because my temp of 41c led them to believe I could have sepsis. Fortunately not. Spent rest of Xmas drowning in snot with mum.

I've cooked Christmas dinner every year since I was 16. Luckily I love cooking.
Not a bad Christmas for us but certainly for someone- When we were newly married one of our cats came home on Christmas Eve dragging a raw turkey with him- he was trying to get it through the cat flap. It was dirty & scuffed & we had no idea where he got it from. We never found out & no-one ever mentioned it but someone must have had a spoiled Christmas- we lived nowhere near shops so it could not have come from a butchers.
I avoided the neighbours for weeks!!

MissAdventure
You should have photographed it and sued them for millions!

This was not the worst dinner but just funny, I invited mum and dad for Boxing day and it was my first attempt to do Christmas type lunch.

I was most pleased with myself and everything seemed good.
We were eating and enjoying the dinner and Dad asked if I had boiled up the giblets for the dog.
I replied there were no giblets and my dad asked did I look inside the turkey, needless to say I cooked the turkey with the giblets inside.
Well how do I know that turkeys have giblets?
Nobody got poisoned and no sickness so that was okay.

Years later I know about giblets only these days I buy a crown as not as many to feed.

beans on toast, cash didn't go in the bank and all i had in at the time was a slice of stale bread and some beans since this happened i now have a built-up pantry, never happen again.

It wasnt Christmas dinner but the first Christmas as a new mum. Christmas Eve, I had a bug and was feeling very unwell. DH wasnt feeling much better but struggled to the phone box and rang my Mum. She got the bus over to us packed everything needed for baby daughter into the big pram and took her home which was an hour and a half walk. So DD spent her first Christmas Day with Nana and Granddad instead of us. She was only a month old so didnt know the difference. By Boxing Day we were feeling better so went over to my parents and walked her home the following day.

I never cooked Christmas dinner always went to either parents who cooked the dinner this went right up till my mum was 87.I always brought all the drinks.It became a family joke.Than on her 87 th and my mother in law 88th they both decided they couldn't do it anymore.So i said i would do it news even reach Canada were my moms sister lived.How to start well i prepared everything dressed the table started getting decorations for the table 3 months early.I decided to go with a gold theme everything matched it looked wonderfull.Every plate had a gold lint bear by the side of it.The turkey was delicious and i didn't get chance to eat the pigs in blankets they all went .So what i thought would be the worst was the best.My wonderful mum died in the march of the following year and always mentioned the wonderful Christmas dinner that she had waited 37 years for.

I always worried at my MiLs when she started cooked the veg before the turkey went in the oven.....!

All my Christmas lunches as a child we’re prepared by my martyr of a mother.
She served everything with an extra dollop of resentment!!

I love to cook and share food with family and friends.
I always feel so privileged to sit at a dinner table and eat with people I love.

Oh the worst one was when all of us got the Nora virus over Christmas eve, Christmas day and boxing day! The dinner was fantastic but no one ate it x

One Christmas I completely forgot to buy any vegetables! I realized on Christmas morning so it was too late to get any.
I remember one year my Mum put the defrosting turkey in the tumble drier to keep it safe from the dog. Unfortunately, my Dad didn't know and popped his wet jeans in with it and turned it on!

One of the memorable ones was the year the main oven packed in. I’d put the turkey in, checked it after an hour or so and thought it wasn’t cooking very fast. It eventually dawned on me the oven had stopped working. I removed the bird, with great difficulty cut it in half (no decent knives) and continued to cook it in the mini oven. The final result wasn’t the best meal I’ve ever prepared but certainly not the worst!

Our first Christmas meal we had at the in Laws was just after we had got married. She served up cold chicken, packet gravy, tinned green beans and tinned new potatoes. I wouldn't have minded but she did and still does talk as though she is a top class. I refused to ever have another Christmas meal there again.

I have always wondered how you keep everything hot before you serve it. Professional chefs seem to do it well. I just panic and some food is lukewarm despite all efforts to keep it hot.

We were dining with friends on Christmas Eve afternoon when I suddenly felt really unwell and we had to leave earlier than expected. In the taxi home, amid waves of nausea, it came to me that I had forgotten to collect our meat order from the butcher (and now way past his closing time). We did have a chicken in the freezer which was hastily removed and defrosted, naturally, overnight. Christmas, though rescue foodwise, was a write-off for me, though as I was ill for a few days.

Only had 1 bad lunch,when i was younger and pregnant with my first child,id never cooked christmas dinner before myself,and burnt the pudding.i got upset so my poor young (newish) husband remembered where an asian shop was open all day so we went & got one there.

Nothing wrong with the food but one year my mother in law "forgot" that we were having Christmas dinner with my parents and tea with them. We arrived stuffed to the gill with a full turkey dinner to find another full turkey dinner being served at mother in laws!!! We put a brave face on it and ate as much as we could but it must have been obvious that we weren't hungry and didn't do it justice at all.
My then husband put a record to break the atmosphere. It was one I had bought him for Christmas and as we listened we realised the lyrics were VERY rude. Father in law smirked and mother in law mercifully didn't seem to notice. We squirmed - a lot.

I like dream topping. theres never enough to cover the top when you get it in birds trifle packs.

A "really hot day"& bbq are not words usually associated with a british christmas dinner are you in australia?

Take it your definitely not in uk Kimrus?

Ive had the power cut scenario too. 8am just about to put turkey in oven when everything went! Ten coming for lunch so a bit of a panic. Sent them to the pub and waited. At 11am the power came back so in went the turkey at 190 instead of the low slow method. All ready by 2pm and the best turkey ever so always cook hot and fast now.
My friend had the worst disaster. She'd done all the food shopping several days in advance and in the fluster of finding space in the fridge and cupboards for everything she just put the turkey in the oven while she thought where to store it.
Of course she promptly forgot it and come Christmas Day was in a panic as she couldn't remember where it was. Finally found it but on unwrapping it stank so badly that she couldn't possibly cook it.
Fortunately there was a farm in the village that had one left in cold storage so her day was saved.

I should have said, before I complained for availability & it was.