If responsibility for the big family Christmas meal falls on your shoulders this year, don't miss our ideas for keeping the crowd happy. Our festive recipes are designed to serve a group of eight or more. If you have a party of six, check out our guide for a Christmas menu for 6. Where there are several dishes listed, these are alternative ideas rather than suggestions for an entire course.
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Need more ideas for Christmas dinner? We've got a range of menu suggestions, from gluten-free to vegan and vegetarian dinners, plus quick and healthy recipes on our Christmas menu hub.
Christmas morning
If you want to serve up something savoury, get prepared for a marathon egg-cracking session. Pick your dishes wisely – starting the day poaching dozens of eggs isn't the way to go. Batches of muffins, pastries, breakfast buns or individual omelettes are ideal alternatives. Stack them high and let everyone dig in. Our stunning flower-shaped cherry and marzipan pastry can be made the night before, then reheated in the morning.
Breakfast casserole
Feel-good muffins
Fruitburst muffins
Cake of kings
Mini smoked haddock omelettes
Christmas dinner
Starters
Sharing dishes work well when feeding large numbers. Try making a large dip, pâté or terrine, or serve up a selection of nibbles and let everyone help themselves – it saves plating up lots of individual dishes before the chaos of the main course ensues. Large sharing platters with gooey melted cheeses, such as camembert and raclette, are always a popular choice.
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Sharers:
Vegan terrine
Luxury hummus
Baked camembert dough ball platter
Seafood co*cktail platter
Beetroot hummus party platter
Baked camembert pie for sharing
Spicy potted crab
Nibbles:
Spiced prawns with coriander mayo
Chicken skewers with satay dip
Thai chicken skewers
Main course
Turkey is the ultimate roast for feeding a crowd. A 5kg turkey should comfortably serve eight people.
Turkey for eight, plus leftovers:
Turkey for 10:
Prosciutto-wrapped turkey roll
Mustard butter-basted roast turkey with bacon
Find more turkey recipes...
If you’re catering for a large group of vegetarian diners, try one of our meat-free show-stopping mains:
Vegan Christmas wreath
Side dishes
Accompany your main dish with an impressive spread of crowd-pleasing sides, several of which can be made ahead. We've got plenty of inspiration for all the trimmings, from red cabbage, sprouts and potatoes to stuffing and pigs in blankets.
Stuffing pigs in blankets
Herb-infused roast potatoes
Triple pigs in blankets
Lightly spiced Christmas stuffing
Hasselback roast potatoes
Charred brussels sprouts with Marmite butter
Sticky spiced red cabbage
Golden spiced roast potatoes
Winter root mash with buttery crumbs
Sauces
Take the stress out of sauce prep by making these flavourful blends ahead, then chilling or freezing until the big day. Try our traditional recipes for gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce – you can add extra ingredients for a special twist.
Easy red wine gravy
Sloe gin cranberry sauce
Sourdough bread sauce
Vegetarian gravy
Desserts
Most of our festive cakes and puddings serve between eight and 10 people. Whether you're going for a traditional fruity Christmas cake or a lighter alternative, such as a roulade, we've got plenty of sweet treats to choose from.
Mince pie cheesecake
White forest meringue roulade
Rocky road cheesecake pudding
Christmas pavlova
Festive frozen chocolate parfait
Glam trifle slice
Iced chestnut ripple cheesecake
Trifle cheesecake
Chocolate mint loaf cake
Bûche de Noël
Drinks
Avoid having to make individual drinks by serving up large jugs of co*cktails and bowls of punch. Alternatively, get the slow cooker out and let the beautiful aromas of mulled wine or hot chocolate fill the house.
Gingerbread gin
Cranberry sea breeze punch
Chocolate eggnog
Christmas sangria kit
Slow cooker mulled wine
Cranberry gin fizz
Slow cooker hot chocolate
Rumberry punch
Winter Pimm's punch
Want a plan that takes all the stress out of Christmas dinner? Try our easiest ever, next level or budget menu plans, complete with timeplan, pre-loaded shopping list (to print out or use for online shopping) and all the recipes you'll need for the big day.
Visit our Christmas section for recipes, tips and guides. Plus, check out our other Christmas menus.
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Vegetarian Christmas menu
Vegan Christmas menu
Gluten-free Christmas menu
Quick Christmas menu
2 hour Christmas dinner menu
Christmas menu for a crowd
Christmas menu for two
