More People Are Ditching Homecooking For Christmas Dinner Out

As we've mentioned, there are a lot of issues involved with family Christmas dinner, such as considerable expense, possible food allergies, conflicting cooking personalities, etc. Some wise diners are finding that the easiest option may be to just go out for the main holiday meal. The Telegraph reports that a recent OpenTable survey in England found restaurant reservations on Christmas Day have jumped 240 per cent in the last five years. Between 2016 and 2017, restaurant reservations increased 14 percent, and The Telegraph predicts there will be another increase this year. Most diners opt for British cuisine (19 percent), followed by Italian (12 percent), followed by Indian and French (both at 8 percent).

Frankly, this trend make a lot of sense: It spreads the financial burden across all guests, everyone can order what they want, and best of all, nobody at the party has to do the dishes. Even our own Salty Waitress is a fan of going out for holiday dinner. We can't stress enough how generously you should tip those people who will be doing the dishes on the holiday, as well as your server, the runners who bring you food, etc.

But those of us who already trying to store up the energy for hosting on Christmas Day can't help but be moved by this description of the day by one traditional restaurant diner: "We tend to have a lovely easy breakfast (Waitrose frozen croissants and scrambled eggs), get ready, go out, and then head home as soon as the meal is finished to relax in a tidy(ish!) house and open our presents, followed by cheese and chocolates." Sounds like heaven, even with the lack of leftovers.