Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Is it worth paying not to cook on Christmas Day? Advance bookings in Inverness suggest more people think so

Growing numbers are eating out or buying in pre-cooked dinner for the big day.

Eating out, or having dinner sent in, is becoming more popular at Christmas. Image Redshank
Eating out, or having dinner sent in, is becoming more popular at Christmas. Image Redshank

Christmas Day has traditionally been a time to be in your own house enjoying a home-cooked family dinner.

But for many who are too busy or find it over stressful, there is a growing appetite for having the turkey and trimmings prepared for them.

Growing numbers feel the cost of dining out on the big day is worth it to avoid the hassle of shopping and cooking.

There’s also more interest in buying in a pre-cooked, restaurant standard dinner.

Some of Inverness’s best-known hotels and restaurants say their Christmas Day sittings are either sold out or going fast.

Christmas dinner in Inverness

Two of the leading hotels in Inverness – the Kingsmills and Ness Walk – both sold out for Christmas Day dinner sittings by early October.

And bookings are strong for other city venues, including Lochardil House Hotel and the Macdonald Drumossie Hotel.

The Drumossie is offering a gourmet four-course Christmas lunch at £125 per person (over 16s only). They also have a carvery option at £95 each (£32 per child)

Many people want to avoid the hassle of cooking Christmas dinner. Image Shutterstock

General manager Stéphane Portès said: “Bookings are currently slightly ahead of where we would expect them to be at this point.

“Which would suggest that there is a growing trend towards eating out on Christmas Day.

“It may be about someone else doing all the preparation and tidying up.

“But I think there is also a growing number of people who see Christmas Day eating out as a well-earned treat, and a great way to bring people together.

“And no-one needs to worry about the washing up.”

Taking the hassle out of Christmas cooking

The Lochardil will be celebrating its first Christmas under the Highland Coast Hotels banner, having been bought over in February.

It has already taken a number of group bookings for parties of five or more people for a four-course Christmas dinner costing £95 a head (£40 for children).

Robert Ratcliffe, the hotel’s general manager, said: “We think this offers great value for the local community who are booking well in advance to celebrate in style with family and friends without the hassle of having to cook and do the washing up themselves at home.”

More people in Inverness are paying to eat out on Christmas Day. Image Drumossie Hotel

Christmas Day at the Kingsmills is priced £115 (£40 per child) for a four-course lunch or £95 for a festive buffet (£33.50 per child).

Ness Walk, part of the Kingsmills Hotel Group, is £135 per head (£55 per child) for a five-course lunch.

Angus Macleod, marketing manager for the Kingsmills Hotel Group, said: “We’ve built a great reputation over the years at both properties and we are selling out earlier year on year.

“The welcome from the team, the atmosphere and buzz, the stunning menus and of course the not having to do the dishes are all reasons, I would say, that guests choose to join us.”

Christmas dinner to your door

For those who like having Christmas dinner at home, but not the actually cooking, there is another option.

Inverness catering company Redshank, which has two businesses in the Victorian Market, can deliver a solution.

For £50 diners can choose a pre-cooked three-course menu which can be delivered or collected.

This the fourth year the Redshank has offered the service and it is growing more popular.

Having pre-cooked Christmas dinner delivered is a growing trend

It has already exceeded last year’s bookings and expects to make around 80-100 pre-cooked dinners this year.

Some orders are for charities and carers.

Owner Jamie Ross said: “For many people it’s the time involved (in cooking dinner) that takes away from the family.

“This takes a lot of the effort out but you still get the home-cooked experience.

“We are also pretty generous with portions, so there is plenty left over for midnight picking later.”

For more Inverness news and updates visit our dedicated page and join our local Facebook group.

Conversation