A cozy house Christmas dinner is a personal favourite uni tradition of mine. A kitchen full of students, none of which with any discernible cooking skills, whipping up a feast with about a fiver to their names. It sounds fancy. It sounds hard. It sounds expensive. But the bonding experience, the chaos, and the laughter, all to a soundtrack of Mariah Carey, are always worth the potential culinary crash-out.

First things first, set a date. Finding a date when everyone is free is always a pain, especially if you’re in a big house. I often opt for a google poll, but anything really works. Make sure everyone has it in their calendars. The big house dinner is not to be skipped. An important thing to remember here is setting a budget too! It doesn’t have to be pricey, especially split between lots of people, and remember to utilise what’s in your cupboards! I know one of you has gravy granules somewhere. 

Next step- assign the roles. I’m on turkey duty this year, a task I take entirely too seriously, but I’d recommend getting your most competent chef on this one. Frozen ones are often cheaper if you have the freezer space! Any meat or non-meat element works a treat, but something to anchor your meal around is needed. Put someone on your veg, your roasties, your yorkies, assign it all. For your less culinarily minded housemates, they can provide a festive drink, or maybe even buy a cheeky sweet treat for dessert!

Once you have your date, budget, and roles set, you’re good to go. Whether you want to pool resources and do a big shop, or leave everyone to their own shopping, just make sure everyone is on the same page! If any of your housemates have a car, doing a big shop may be much easier. 

The day arrives. The pressure is on. Come dine with me: Selly Oak Edition. Finally you can convince your housemates you can cook more than pesto pasta .The key element here is team work, and oven timings. Make sure you know what needs to go in the oven when! A large turkey will need to rest for at least half an hour, as will most roast joints, so factor this into your oven timings.  Hob space is important too as it’ll probably be lacking, things will get cosy in that kitchen! If you have any +1s coming that live nearby, you could even be super cheeky and ask to borrow their oven if you end up short on space. Put some music on, don’t take things too seriously, and have a laugh. Cooking with my friends is an endless source of entertainment, and such a fond memory to look back on.

I’d recommend getting some christmas crackers, and if you guys are doing a secret santa, the dinner would be a great time to host that too! Reach into the back of your wardrobe for your ugliest Christmas jumper and settle into the festive vibe. Laugh at all the terrible Christmas cracker jokes, play some games, wear the little paper hats. Relish the distraction from all your January deadlines and lean into the festivities. House christmas dinner is an amazing way to bring a little piece of home comfort to Selly (and judge your housemates cooking skills!).

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