London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Christmas dinner rules - how many people can get together to safely sharing food

Christmas dinner rules - how many people can get together to safely sharing food

Not only is it nearly the Christmas – with all the presents, TV and food that always come with the season – but families and friends will soon be allowed to enjoy their Christmas bubbles.

The Christmas bubbles will allow up to three households to meet and mingle indoors, which could be the first time many have been allowed to see one another in quite some time.

As people will no doubt be preparing to set Christmas tables and buffets, what’s the advice around sharing food? And just how many people should you have round for Christmas dinner?

Here is all you need to know before tucking into some figgy pudding.

How many people can come for Christmas dinner?


Your Christmas dinner table will depend on a few factors: who is in your Christmas bubble and whereabouts in the UK you are.

Between December 23 and 27, the three households in a Christmas bubble can mix indoors and stay overnight – meaning you can have members from up to three households round for Christmas Dinner.

In Northern Ireland, this window is a bit longer – December 22 to 28 – to allow travel between the nations.


Up to three households will be able to mix indoors, regardless of tiers


The bubbles are fixed once you’ve had your first gathering, so you will not be able to mix with two households on Christmas Day and then two different ones on Boxing Day.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, there’s not a limit on how many people can count within those bubbles, provided they are in the same household.

This is to cater to big families who live together.

Even though there’s no official limit, the government guidance is to keep it ‘as small as possible.’

However, in Scotland, there is a limit of up 8 people from up to 3 households.

Bubbles will be allowed to meet each other:

*  In each other’s homes

*  At a place of worship

*  In an outdoor public space, or garden

How to serve food safely this Christmas


If you’ve got family and friends coming over, you might be putting on a spread.

We spoke with chef Dom Taylor about the problems with buffet-style spreads.

He told Metro.co.uk: ‘A buffet can be an easy place for bacteria to lurk and multiply. Bacteria is present in all food and can become unsafe if not handled correctly.’


Be careful with doling out the treats this Christmas


‘Food Standards Agency recommended prepared food to be consumed within 90 mins of being prepared if not temperature controlled. The reason being is that the danger zone which is the temperature at which bacteria can multiply at a unsafe rate is between 8 and 63 degrees.’

To help combat the spread, Dr Olivia Szepietowski from Medic Testing told  there are some best practices to follow.

These include:

*  ‘Clean your hands and encourage everyone else to clean theirs. Leave hand sanitizer stations at either end of the buffet and on tables. Remember to clean them after serving yourself because everyone has been using the same spoons.

*  Cover the food. Place it under lids or cover with cling film/tin foil when not being used. This reduces the chance of any droplets landing on the food. Also any servers should wear masks to reduce the spread.

*  Consider having a couple of people serving the food so that not everyone is handling it.

*  Keep food to individual portions. Eg don’t have a loaf of bread that requires everyone to handle it to cut themselves a slice.

*  Use disposable cutlery and plates that can easily and quickly be thrown away limits the number of people who need to come into contact with used dishes which is a risk.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×