I have a fully pre-cooked ham and turkey for Christmas dinner for 6 adults an 11 children.?

Question

I lost my job Friday. FIRED!
Before this happened I promised my wife that we could have Christmas dinner at our place and we invited her entire family over. They all said, "Yes."
We've never people over before... EVER!
We've already bought the ham and turkey. Cancelling the dinner is out of the question. So now I have to have a nice dinner very inexpensively. I need some ideas to have a quality meal, easy to prepare and CHEAP!!

I can not tell anyone about my work situation. I made a few big mistakes and they fired me. I was wrong. The company I worked for (7 years) had no choice and had to let me go.

So, please help me with ideas for a great inexpensive meal. I want to create a nice memory for my wife, our kids and her family... Without embarrassing myself...
Please help me. Please.

Answer 1

First, so sorry to hear about your job loss, however, you accept the responsibility being your fault & you are to be respected for that. Just remember, when 1 door closes, a better one opens & best of luck you will find a terrific job. And none of your guests have to know.

One great aspect is that you already have the turkey & ham, I would serve rolls, whipped potatoes (w/ gravy on the side for the turkey eaters), candied sweet potatoes & 2 veggies.

Usually, people ask if they could bring something. Absolutely say yes! If they are like me & my friends, we never go to places 'empty handed', & trust me, if they ask to bring something, it's because they WANT to.

Last, keep smiling. Your dinner will be perfect, regardless what you decide as the sides, you will be w/ people who love & care about you, & I see a brighter job op just around the corner for you. God Bless.

Answer 2

First of all, take a deep breath and know that you will be ok. Stop blaming yourself. It is what it is....

Now, you have a fully cooked ham and turkey. All you need now is lots of side dishes. Not expensive.

You can make mashed potatoes. Need russets, yukon gold, idaho or red potatoes. Cut them into uniform pieces and place in boiling water until fork tender. Maybe 20 minutes.
Drain the water. Smash the potatoes with a masher, add butter and a bit of olive oil. You can season it with garlic or chopped parsley.

You can make frozen peas, or spinach. You can bake potatoes (white or yams).

Make a beautiful big salad with 2 kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, celery, onions, croutons, cucumber, green and red peppers, black olives. Buy a good bottled dressing.

You can make string beans or squash. Frozen or fresh.

For desert, buy three pies and some chocolate chip cookies.

Be sure to have some cranberry sauce for the turkey - you can make this (easy) or buy in a can.

Have fun. Enjoy your friends and family. One of them might know about a good job! This happens to many people, so just face it and deal with it.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Don't feel badly about your job. you are where you should be at this time in your life and surely God has a better plan for you. When my friends or I have a big get together at our houses, the host furnishes the meat while each household attending furnishes set dishes including salad, vegetables (corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, pies, cakes, cookies, and dips. We do it this way because we are all pretty well broke most of the time and the money we do have gets spent on the children. This greatly decreases the amount spent for everyone and the amount of time your wife spends preparing which leaves more time for family. It will also decrease the clean-up as everyone will want to take their dishes home with them. You and your family are in my prayers.

Answer 4

Well it sounds as if you have the base for around 15-20 people depending on the size of the turkey and ham. I would have mashed potatoes , gravy , glaze for the ham cranberry sauce (canned whole cranberry sauce), candied yams, dinner rolls. You could also make some sugar cookies pretty cheap and easily. Everything I listed is cheap and easy and can be made quality. I think you should be able to make your meal for around 40 dollars. Make sure to tell your guests to bring their own pop and furnish milk, coffee and water.

Answer 5

Sorry to hear about your job situation. I am sure something will work out for you and your family. I have here is a cheap vegetable casserole that is filling and make alot. My family get togethers love it.

VEGETABLE CASSEROLE
2 (16 oz.) cans French cut green beans
2 cans bean sprouts
2 cans white shoe peg corn
2 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped onion
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1 c. grated sharp cheese
1 c. sour cream
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. slivered almonds
Salt & pepper to taste
Drain all vegetables. Mix all ingredients together. Place in large casserole baking dish, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Or place into crock pot on high for 3 hours. Freezes well.

Answer 6

So long as you make everything from scratch, a Christmas dinner shouldn't be too expensive. You've already bought the most expensive items, after all.

Try roast potatoes, perhaps other roast or steamed veggies, depending what's in season in your area, make your own cranberry sauce, make some stuffing from the turkey using breadcrumbs from leftover bread, and so on.

For desserts, any kind of cake made from scratch is relatively inexpensive, so long as you avoid cream and other fattening and expensive items. Fresh fruit in season is good, too after a heavy meal.

For drinks you can heat apple juice made from concentrate and stir in a little cinnamon, or serve lemonade (from scratch, or from concentrate) for children.

Answer 7

In my family everyone brings a dish to contribute to the meal...maybe you could ask everyone to bring something so you aren't stuck providing everything?

Main staples would be:

a veggie of some sort: green beans and red peppers blanched (thrown in boling water for 10 seconds) then heated in a microwave work well and looks festive

Potato, mashed or oven roasted

Stuffing for the turkey

Rolls

Dessert....pies, cookies...esy thinsg you cab bake at home.

Answer 8

Just hope the guest bring some wine. On arrival serve own label ginger wine punch, large jug, ginger wine ice, equal lemonade, sliced apple & orange. Have a happy Xmas & a good new year. All the best AR