P&O Cruisers - What are things like where YOU are?

[P&O SUE]

1 hour ago, Vampiress88 said:

Nothing to do with cruising but what’s everyone doing for Christmas and since most have been around longer than me if I do a buffet for the family on Christmas Eve what would everyone suggest I make? I don’t want to poison them but don’t want lots of complicated things. 
Or we could take them to the pub but then we are looking at £200 for 10 of us including drinks and I’m not sure I want to spend that amount 

Im not a great cook, I find it stressful! But I think a buffet at yours would be very much appreciated by your family. Just being together after last years awful Christmas should be good. Why don’t you look at the party food in M&S or Iceland?

[brian1]

1 hour ago, Vampiress88 said:

Nothing to do with cruising but what’s everyone doing for Christmas and since most have been around longer than me if I do a buffet for the family on Christmas Eve what would everyone suggest I make? I don’t want to poison them but don’t want lots of complicated things. 
Or we could take them to the pub but then we are looking at £200 for 10 of us including drinks and I’m not sure I want to spend that amount 

Well,as an old geezer from my manor.2 essential buffet items,a party bowl of jellied eels and a cocktail stick hedgehog of cheese,pineapple and sweet pickled onions.

[P&O SUE]

4 minutes ago, brian1 said:

Well,as an old geezer from my manor.2 essential buffet items,a party bowl of jellied eels and a cocktail stick hedgehog of cheese,pineapple and sweet pickled onions.

Ugh to jellied eels but I do like the cheese and pineapple on a stick 😆

[brian1]

1 hour ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I'll be making my preparations for Christmas early, as soon as things are available this month.  As it's just the two of us on Christmas day, we don't have to get that much anyway.  I've already got my turkey joint in the freezer. I saw the last one available in M&S a couple of weeks ago, so I snapped it up.

 

December is going to be carnage in the shops, unfortunately. 

You could join us for xmas octopus.We'd have 2 legs each.

[brian1]

5 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Ugh to jellied eels but I do like the cheese and pineapple on a stick 😆

I must admit it's an acquired taste,lol.

[Guest ccpm]

2 hours ago, Vampiress88 said:

Nothing to do with cruising but what’s everyone doing for Christmas and since most have been around longer than me if I do a buffet for the family on Christmas Eve what would everyone suggest I make? I don’t want to poison them but don’t want lots of complicated things. 
Or we could take them to the pub but then we are looking at £200 for 10 of us including drinks and I’m not sure I want to spend that amount 

Are you thinking party food type buffet or couple of hot dishes. I usually go the latter. Use the slow cooker to do a chilli, then large lasagne in oven, tray of chicken drumsticks, jacket spuds, big tray of cauliflower cheese, salad, also may do big tray of oven baked fries. Few puds and a cheeseboard/fruit If veggies coming adapt one recipe to be veggie. I like cooking so do it from scratch think £50 should see that.  More elaborate is more time and more money. But could buy it in. Drinks on top. 

Edited October 1, 2021 by ccpm

[ann141]

I buy everything from M and S.I used to feel I had to make everything but noticed that the lunches/ parties where people seemed most relaxed and enjoying themselves were the ones where the host or hostess was able to chat and mingle rather than be in the kitchen or worrying whether things tasted ok.

[Vampiress88]

1 hour ago, ccpm said:

Are you thinking party food type buffet or couple of hot dishes. I usually go the latter. Use the slow cooker to do a chilli, then large lasagne in oven, tray of chicken drumsticks, jacket spuds, big tray of cauliflower cheese, salad, also may do big tray of oven baked fries. Few puds and a cheeseboard/fruit If veggies coming adapt one recipe to be veggie. I like cooking so do it from scratch think £50 should see that.  More elaborate is more time and more money. But could buy it in. Drinks on top. 

not sure. When I was little mum did gammon, salmon, dauphinois etc the meats were cold but I don’t remember what else we had. We don’t talk so not asking her and I’m not quite sure what everyone will eat. Lasagne sounds like I good idea

[Ardennais]

1 hour ago, Vampiress88 said:

not sure. When I was little mum did gammon, salmon, dauphinois etc the meats were cold but I don’t remember what else we had. We don’t talk so not asking her and I’m not quite sure what everyone will eat. Lasagne sounds like I good idea

Something easy to serve as I anyway wouldn’t want people helping themselves or sharing tongs etc. Not a problem in the past, but I would be very careful now! 

[Billish]

1 hour ago, Ardennais said:

Something easy to serve as I anyway wouldn’t want people helping themselves or sharing tongs etc. Not a problem in the past, but I would be very careful now! 

Although it us pretty clear now that Covid transmission is airborne,  so surface transference 8s negligible.  All this wiping down of chair seats etc is just theatre.

[Ardennais]

26 minutes ago, Billish said:

Although it us pretty clear now that Covid transmission is airborne,  so surface transference 8s negligible.  All this wiping down of chair seats etc is just theatre.

That may well be the case, but if I were hosting a gathering at home, I would prefer to serve the food myself rather than allow everyone to help themselves buffet style. 

[Purdey16]

Thank you everyone for the car hire info , I think it was autoreisen, but I am reading some bad reviews about them at the moment, they certainly have put their prices up, so we are thinking of CICAR still expensive but a bit more better on price and better cars seen them all at the airport, we are going away for the Christmas break again for a month this time so get away from all this madness in shopping, fuerteventura is hot today 80  but will be a cool 22/24 in December hopefully .

when I do a buffet for family always warm homemade sausage rolls, homemade coleslaw, pasta salad, sliced gammon, chicken drumsticks , cheese / pickles, but if doing a hot one lasagne is a favourite with salads and garlic bread, all this food is making me hungry now 😋

we are off to the pictures today now to see the new James Bond film since it’s going to be raining all day and fish & chips on return home uhh more food 

have a lovely day everyone.

[brian1]

7 hours ago, Ardennais said:

That may well be the case, but if I were hosting a gathering at home, I would prefer to serve the food myself rather than allow everyone to help themselves buffet style. 

The breakfast buffet in every UK hotel now is a help yourself free for all.Surprisingly the same in France.Italy still doesn't allow and you have to point and ask what you want to the server.

[Billish]

8 hours ago, Purdey16 said:

think it was autoreisen, but I am reading some bad reviews about them at the moment, 

I'm amazed at that.  On that well known travel forum, TA, they get sparkling reviews. I would never use anyone else. 

[bobstheboy]

36 minutes ago, Billish said:

I'm amazed at that.  On that well known travel forum, TA, they get sparkling reviews. I would never use anyone else. 

It is nearly three years since I used them and they were excellent and if you timed the booking right, very reasonable. 

[Purdey16]

3 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

It is nearly three years since I used them and they were excellent and if you timed the booking right, very reasonable. 

Yes very reasonable we used them last year in fuerteventura, car was a bit rough and dented and parcel shelf broken but it was ok for our needs , but prices have doubled for our stay this year and admittedly all the bad reviews was from lanzarote, still lots of time way them all up .

[zap99]

26 minutes ago, Purdey16 said:

Yes very reasonable we used them last year in fuerteventura, car was a bit rough and dented and parcel shelf broken but it was ok for our needs , but prices have doubled for our stay this year and admittedly all the bad reviews was from lanzarote, still lots of time way them all up .

We are off to Menorca on Friday. Car hire prices look quite high at the moment, so we will wait until we get there. There always seems to be a deal, or two locally. If not we won't bother.

[Purdey16]

1 minute ago, zap99 said:

We are off to Menorca on Friday. Car hire prices look quite high at the moment, so we will wait until we get there. There always seems to be a deal, or two locally. If not we won't bother.

Well have a lovely holiday anyway Zapp and hope you have plenty of hot sunshine 🌞 

[Billish]

40 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

It is nearly three years since I used them and they were excellent and if you timed the booking right, very reasonable. 

And if the price goes down after you book, you can cancel your original booking, and rebook at the lower price.

[Host Sharon]

On 9/28/2021 at 10:31 PM, Host Sharon said:

Well, no phone call today, so, as long as it isn't cancelled once I get to the hospital, I will be away from the boards for a week or two. Please be kind to each other and keep politics off the threads so my stand-in doesn't have to delete too much. Thanks.

OK - sent home from hospital as no icu nurses!!  Maybe next week - we'll see 😞

[Angel57]

18 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

OK - sent home from hospital as no icu nurses!!  Maybe next week - we'll see 😞

Oh no. So sorry to hear that Sharon……😘

[Dermotsgirl]

38 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

OK - sent home from hospital as no icu nurses!!  Maybe next week - we'll see 😞

Oh no. That's awful for you

[Presto2]

1 hour ago, Host Sharon said:

OK - sent home from hospital as no icu nurses!!  Maybe next week - we'll see 😞

Oh no - I can't imagine how you are feeling. Bad enough the day before but being sent home .......

[Splice the mainbrace]

Is it just me but is this website been playing up the last couple of days?

 

Yesterday when changing from threads or cruise line subjects it took varying times to load and for some reason kept disconnecting me from my wifi (no other website did this). Then today it took me 3 times to post a reply before it appeared.

[Adawn47]

3 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

OK - sent home from hospital as no icu nurses!!  Maybe next week - we'll see 😞

Oh no Sharon, not again, I am sorry. When you hadn't posted I was assuming everything was fine this time. Stay positive.

Avril