NO NO NO...Christmas wouldn't be christmas without having the family around the table, with a special roast, trimmings, crackers and party hats, Queens speech, falling asleep, belching and farting, port ,stilton and crackers...
Actually it sounds like any given sunday in Normy's house lol
We used to have family christmases and we enjoyed them but I think it is nice for the grandchildren to be in their own home with the toys etc. We go round for a couple of hours in the morning and then go off for lunch. There are still a lot of people around and we enjoy our meal. I have two dogs so do not like to leave them alone for too long, so it works well all round.
Definitely a NO to lunch in a restaurant for me. . It's just not the same as being in the house and having all the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen. I would honestly rather spend Christmas on my own in the house with a nice crusty bread roll and hunk of good Cheddar cheese than eat an overpriced and possibly badly cooked Christmas meal.
We went to a restaurant a few Christmases ago (or is it Christmasses?). The whole point, obviously, was to avoid slaving over the stove all day. Sounded fab to all of us, except my mum then insisted she/we needed to cook a giant turkey and whatnot anyway on Boxing Day, just in case guests arrived who looked hungry! We've stayed at home since then.