WHAT’S your Christmas dinner table going to look like on Thursday? Well, pretty much like it did last year, and the year before that, and the year before that...
A new survey from supermarket giant Tesco reveals that shoppers here still love the traditional turkey, ham, chicken and beef when it comes to dinner on the big day – and a plastic tub of Quality Street or Celebrations is the favourite festive treat, closely followed by the good old mince pie.
Tesco conducted a survey to learn more about Christmassy habits here. While 92.73% of people plan to celebrate Christmas this year, it seems that change comes more slowly to us than it does to others, with alternative dinners like lamb and goose remaining just that – an alternative, and a rare one at that...
Tastes even better the next day
Christmas Day breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner (yes, all of the above) top the list of festive food moments in the North, followed by Christmas dinners throughout December in second place. However, the next best thing is enjoying turkey leftovers, be it in sandwiches, the inevitable turkey curry or even ham and turkey pie.
Turkey, ham, and roast beef: The Holy Trinity
Turkey reigns supreme as the centrepiece on Christmas day, but ham and all the trimmings come in a close second in Northern Ireland. Roast beef claims third place, but it has to be said that in this case third place is quite a way down from first and second.
When it comes to leftovers: sandwiches remain the most popular post-Christmas meal – hopefully not for too many days as food safety must remain the watchword, particularly with turkey and chicken. Some also get creative, freezing or turning them into curries.
HARDY ANNUAL: Ham remains a Christmas staple, not just at dinner, but later on too, so that you can find out what a real ham sandwich tastes like
Trimmings showdown
Cauliflower cheese fans, where are you? The good-old cocktail sausage is non-negotiable as the favourite Christmas dinner trimming for everyone. After that, it’s traditional stuffing, with intriguing combinations such as chestnuts, cranberries and apricots becoming more popular. Roast potatoes are a must, of course.
Sweets and timely treats
When it comes to naughtly delights it’s all about getting into the festive mood. As we sit beside the twinkling Cristmas tree with a glass of something festive in hand, chocolates come first, followed by mince pies with tins of Christmas biscuits in third place.
A growing number of households admit to the shameful crime of having to re-buy products because they’ve been eaten before Christmas. We’re looking at you tubs of chocolate, mince pies and biscuits.
Santa snacks
Mince pies and milk are still top of Father Christmas’s menu in both NI and the UK, but if a Chinese takeaway and six-pack of beer is left on the fireplace and disappears overnight, check and see if the man of the house is looking at all sheepish on Christmas morning.
Merry mayhem
Hosting stress is universal, with cooking the main meal and cleaning up being most likely to send our festive anxiety levels rocketing. However, over 40% of Tesco interviewees here blame tricky family dynamics for a not so merry Christmas.
The biggest downer for the chef on the day is criticism of the food, with second place going to people who don’t help clear up (and who don’t even offer). In third place are guests that don’t know when it’s time to leave so you can do what you’ve been wanting to do since mid-afternoon – fall asleep on the settee.
Festive fun
Playing games and watching family movies are our two favourite ways of entertaining ourselves on Christmas Day – more popular even than opening presents.
Party food favourites
When it comes to grazing after the Christmas dinner, various tortilla dips and good old crisps are our most popular snacks. But let’s not start arguing about whether North or South Tayto is best. It’s Christmas, after all.
