If you plan to hold this food for several hours, then yes, the meat will be overcooked. An open house style of party usually spans several hours and involves mostly heavy appetizer type offerings, some of which are cold or room temp. If you serve turkey and roast beef, then your guests will need a knife to cut their meat....while sitting down with their plate on their lap?? Not such a good idea IMO. I would be looking at dishes that require only a fork and can hold in a chafing dish without overcooking and becoming tough.

Could you change your hour and start with the appetizers at 5:00PM then put out the chafers at 5:45 or 6:00? If you have parents with little children, they will want to get them home at a decent hour on Christmas Eve.

Or cut the meat small enough to go on good rolls, add a cheese slice tray, a few good mustards or chutneys and call it "easy"....But then you'll not need the mashed potatoes..but maybe an au gratin???

For an afternoon open house, I'm with Terri and think sandwiches. Some nice rolls and condiments set out on a pretty platter with the meats next to it so that everyone can make their own.
If you aren't seated, I'd stay away from the meats you need to cut and all of the casseroles that are traditional sit down stuff. Esp if folks will be having their own traditional dinners the next day. It might be green bean casserole burn out!

Grace

I too would shy away from a big hot meal. Most of these folk will be having a big meal the next day and it's liable to be beef, turkey or ham.

I like the idea of cooking the meat, slicing it and serving it cold with a selection of rolls, breads, mustards and pickles.

I'd keep sides to cold salads.

Use the chafing dishes for hot appy's, like meatballs and the lil suasage thingies. Even a nice warm Mexican style dip.

If you really want to WOW them make a Tourtiere, a tradional French Canadian dish served Christmas Eve......they will be so impressed with your International know how! LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: Tourtiere

This link is to a Niman Ranch website in which they reproduce a recipe from Molly Stevens' great cookbook, All About Braising. It's for a fancy pot roast called Estouffade de Noel, or Christmas Estouffade. Naturally they call for Niman Ranch products, and I'm sure they're excellent, but I have made this Estouffade before with ordinary supermarket meats and it has come out absolutely delicious.

One advantage to it is that it can be for the most part cooked a day or two in advance, so your last minute task is simply to reheat it and cook up some sort of noodle to soak up the scrumptious juices.

It's fabulous. Very rich and elegant but not at all stuffy or fussy. The pig's foot does make the dish rich, but you needn't bother picking off the meat and chopping it up at the end if you don't want to. (My dog did appreciate the pig foot, though.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Estouffade de Noel

Thanks! I am going to set up a card table so I will have enough seating - just not for a formal sit-down kind of dinner if that makes sense.

That sounds delicious, Arley.