Food at Christmas

TraceyM

TraceyM

Sweet Shoppe Designer
I struggle every year about what to serve for Christmas dinner. I don't know that we set down any traditions. For several years I made duck breast with cherry sauce for Christmas. My daughter won't eat duck anymore - she can't eat beef because it gives her stomach pain. We just did the turkey on Thanksgiving.

So what are you all having for Christmas dinner? Any great recipes you'd love to share? I'll even take Christmas morning recipes, Christmas Eve recipes... I seriously need ideas.
 
For the last few years, we have made a little ham, pineapple filling, and a bunch of appetizers instead of a big dinner for Christmas Day. We make sliders, mozzarella sticks, bacon-wrapped crab meat, stuffed mushrooms, little smokies, veggie tray, relish tray, and just make them throughout the day when we are hungry for them. We make cinnamon rolls for breakfast, but I might make a breakfast casserole of some sort this year. We actually stay in our pjs all day and watch the Disney parade and movies together instead of dressing up for dinner like we used to. I can share the pineapple filling if anyone is interested. It's definitely not healthy, but its so darn good!
 
We have the same foods as Thanksgiving - turkey and ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, a few veggie options, mac and cheese, stuffing, etc.

We don't have any Christmas Eve traditions.
 
I struggle with what to serve my family at Christmas too. I won't eat turkey (gives me intestinal issues for days), my dil is serving ham for her side of the family so that's out and a tender-cut beef roast costs almost $100 Canadian which sadly is not in the budget. I'm thinking of making my sons' favorite soup which is roasted red pepper and perhaps shrimp and scallop vol au vents? Other than that, my mind is a blank. Because I can't stand on my feet too long (back issues), I have to do a lot of prepping in advance but this year I don't even know where to start and I can't find my mojo. I wish we could just order pizza, lol.
 
We're like Carrie, we typically have the same types of food as Thanksgiving. We did switch to a prime rib a few years ago, but I do a lot of the same sides we'd have at Thanksgiving, we go to my inlaws on Thanksgiving and we all miss the stuff I make. LOL!

I also make Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, then Christmas Day we have Gingerbread Waffles, and go to my inlaws in the afternoon, this year we're having soup, snacks and dessert, but we do appetizers, we've done tacos, no real set thing for Christmas day.
 
My DH is Canadian and according to him, turkey is traditional for Christmas so we usually have that - although sometimes I'm sick of turkey after Thanksgiving and we'll do a big roast beef instead.
 
Turkey for Christmas here.

We're lucky in Canada because we get to space out our thanksgiving and Christmas dinners a little bit more LOL!
 
Christmas here is in the middle of summer, so we go with Ham, BBQ meats (steak, sausages, chicken skewers etc), potato bake, boiled baby potatoes and salads (brocolli salad, pasta salad and a green salad).

For dessert we're having pavlova, icecream, jelly slice and fruit. It's a potluck family dinner, so everyone will bring a dish or two to spread the load.
 
We usually eat mostly snack style foods for Christmas dinner (or we go to my inlaws for a couple hours and they make something). I try not to make anything really big, so we can enjoy time together! We will do a cheese spread, crackers, fruit and/or veggie tray, summer sausage, and Grinch juice and just snack throughout the day.

This year my inlaws will be out of town, so my husband wants to do a turkey or ham Thanksgiving style dinner. We shall see!
 
Lidia G said:
I struggle with what to serve my family at Christmas too. I won't eat turkey (gives me intestinal issues for days), my dil is serving ham for her side of the family so that's out and a tender-cut beef roast costs almost $100 Canadian which sadly is not in the budget. I'm thinking of making my sons' favorite soup which is roasted red pepper and perhaps shrimp and scallop vol au vents? Other than that, my mind is a blank. Because I can't stand on my feet too long (back issues), I have to do a lot of prepping in advance but this year I don't even know where to start and I can't find my mojo. I wish we could just order pizza, lol.
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I understand the bit about not being on feet too long due to back a little too well. I do stuff for a while and know that then I'm going to sit for a while and chill.
 
I make lasagna with my traditional Sunday sauce every Christmas. I put out some anitpasto/charcuterie and also make a nice green salad. When the gatherings are larger, there's also a beef roast and usually a pot of meatballs/sausages.

Sometimes I'll make my family's Italian cream cake. It's a large cake, but I've been experimenting to make a smaller version. This recipe is pretty close to the one I use (mine was passed down from my grandmother in her handwriting :wub:). I always use walnuts, though, and I put coconut around the outside of the cake.
 
catgoddess said:
I make lasagna with my traditional Sunday sauce every Christmas. I put out some anitpasto/charcuterie and also make a nice green salad. When the gatherings are larger, there's also a beef roast and usually a pot of meatballs/sausages.

Sometimes I'll make my family's Italian cream cake. It's a large cake, but I've been experimenting to make a smaller version. This recipe is pretty close to the one I use (mine was passed down from my grandmother in her handwriting :wub:). I always use walnuts, though, and I put coconut around the outside of the cake.
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The most I've ever had to cook for over Christmas was 4 of us when my sister visited. I'm betting it all tastes great but wow, that can be a lot of work.
 
Our tradition is pretty much the same every year... my mom usually makes ham for Christmas Eve dinner with all the fixings.

Christmas Day, we host my husband's side (my parents do come over too)... I always make shredded beef sandwiches, calico beans and german potato salad... then the rest is all appetizers. The first year back from covid, I made lasagna because it was the easiest to limit the number of people touching things... and my parents weren't coming... my mom is allergic to tomatoes.
 
Christmas dinner has always been at my in-laws and we've always had ham. This year, we are having a spiral ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and for dessert, death by chocolate, a carrot cake, and fruit fluff.

Christmas morning has always been at our house. I make a hashbrown casserole with eggs, cheese, and sausage or bacon. I make a three ingredient casserole which is crescent rolls and filled with Jimmy Dean Sausage cooked and with a brick of cream cheese. I make Monkey Bread (I believe it's Paula Dean's recipe). We also have fresh pineapple. I'll likely make wassail.
 
On Christmas Eve, we all go as a family to my mom's church's early service (usually around 5 or 6 pm). Afterwards, we drive to my mom's house and have hamburger soup. She makes Chex Mix to snack on, too.

On Christmas Day, we have Christmas at our house first and then go to my parents' for more gifts and lunch. My mom is a baker and bakes several different kinds of cookies between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The ones she doesn't give away get set out as a great big buffet for us to snack on while we open gifts and before lunch is ready. Christmas Day lunch is always ham + whatever sides people bring. This year, it will be ham, sweet potatoes, potatoes dauphinois (fancy scalloped potatoes), two different Jello salads, deviled eggs, rolls, roasted carrots with a yogurt sauce, pumpkin pie, & mint chocolate cheesecake with chocolate ganache and an Oreo crust. We get home from my parents' mid-afternoon and for the last two years, my kids' dad has been out of the country so we haven't had to rush and get them back to him. We bring some leftovers home but not enough for all four of us to have for dinner. I think last year we may have had homemade pizza for dinner.
 
Usually we let someone pick or suggest something, so it changes every year. Last year it was lasagna and a big salad. In our family "big salad" is an antipasto type salad full of meats, cheese, olives, veggies, etc. It really is a meal on it's own. LOL

I am already trying to figure out what to have at our family Christmas party next year. This year we did a taco bar, but I don't think anyone was in love with it. I would like to come up with something that is a little more "special" I guess. It is hard because the party is the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so it have to be different from the "traditional" fare.
 
That mint chocolate cheesecake sounds divine - is there a recipe?

LeeAndra said:
On Christmas Eve, we all go as a family to my mom's church's early service (usually around 5 or 6 pm). Afterwards, we drive to my mom's house and have hamburger soup. She makes Chex Mix to snack on, too.

On Christmas Day, we have Christmas at our house first and then go to my parents' for more gifts and lunch. My mom is a baker and bakes several different kinds of cookies between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The ones she doesn't give away get set out as a great big buffet for us to snack on while we open gifts and before lunch is ready. Christmas Day lunch is always ham + whatever sides people bring. This year, it will be ham, sweet potatoes, potatoes dauphinois (fancy scalloped potatoes), two different Jello salads, deviled eggs, rolls, roasted carrots with a yogurt sauce, pumpkin pie, & mint chocolate cheesecake with chocolate ganache and an Oreo crust. We get home from my parents' mid-afternoon and for the last two years, my kids' dad has been out of the country so we haven't had to rush and get them back to him. We bring some leftovers home but not enough for all four of us to have for dinner. I think last year we may have had homemade pizza for dinner.
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We will be having just immediate family on Christmas morning - our tradition is monkey bread, scrambled eggs, bacon & hash browns & some kind of fruit. We used to have a big Christmas dinner with our extended family but no one wants to host/make the big meal this year. So we are having a baked potato bar at my house (with everybody contributing something) and my mom is bringing her cinnamon buns (which are delicious and rare treat).
 
We go out for sushi one of the days every year! I am making lasagna this year for the other day. Some years I make soup & salad. I keep it pretty simple.
 
We'll be celebrating with my side of the family, and our lunch will be our usual tamales, rice and beans, and then Christmas cookies for dessert. We used to have ham and all the sides, but about 10 years ago, we decided to keep it simple. For dinner, we'll have leftovers. On DH's side, we have either beef tenderloin or roasted pork butt. When my MIL was cooking, it was always turkey, dressing, etc.
 
My mom is trying to convince us to go to a fancy Chinese restaurant with her for Christmas Eve. Not sure what my kiddo will eat. Pho was our first Christmas dinner after our son was born - we followed our noses through the streets of Atlanta to find it. We tend to do Chinese, Thai, or Vietnamese on Christmas Eve and I'm totally cool with Panda Express.

We're going to do cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning for my husband. It's something he always wanted as a kid and I'm the mom now so I get to make everything magic :D

Due to my brother being a pain in the butt, my mom has extra steak so we can always make steak for dinner on Christmas Day. I won't complain if my husband and son cook for me ;p

My family does Italian food (plus latkes, of course) for our big family Hanukkah party. It starts with the kids - and kids at heart - decorating an obscene amount of cookies. There's pasta, meatballs, eggplant, etc. One of my other aunts always makes some sort of chocolate covered pretzels or chocolate bark. It's always a ridiculous amount of food and I think I eat mostly latkes.
 
I missed doing latke's this year. Doesn't feel the same without my daughter at my side doing the frying. I didn't have the energy or desire to mix them into a simple Christmas dinner and with how much oil they bring, it's probably healthier for me to just skip them this year. Now I'm off to look at your layouts which I noticed in the CMG gallery last night. Bad me had plans to do Christmas and Hanukkah kits and got none done - doh!


Brendazzle said:
My mom is trying to convince us to go to a fancy Chinese restaurant with her for Christmas Eve. Not sure what my kiddo will eat. Pho was our first Christmas dinner after our son was born - we followed our noses through the streets of Atlanta to find it. We tend to do Chinese, Thai, or Vietnamese on Christmas Eve and I'm totally cool with Panda Express.

We're going to do cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning for my husband. It's something he always wanted as a kid and I'm the mom now so I get to make everything magic :D

Due to my brother being a pain in the butt, my mom has extra steak so we can always make steak for dinner on Christmas Day. I won't complain if my husband and son cook for me ;p

My family does Italian food (plus latkes, of course) for our big family Hanukkah party. It starts with the kids - and kids at heart - decorating an obscene amount of cookies. There's pasta, meatballs, eggplant, etc. One of my other aunts always makes some sort of chocolate covered pretzels or chocolate bark. It's always a ridiculous amount of food and I think I eat mostly latkes.
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TraceyM said:
I missed doing latke's this year. Doesn't feel the same without my daughter at my side doing the frying. I didn't have the energy or desire to mix them into a simple Christmas dinner and with how much oil they bring, it's probably healthier for me to just skip them this year. Now I'm off to look at your layouts which I noticed in the CMG gallery last night. Bad me had plans to do Christmas and Hanukkah kits and got none done - doh!
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So what you're saying is that you will make the most amazing kits next year and I should try to drop hints on what I want next Halloween? ;)

We don't actually make our own latkes; we wait until we see family or order in some. The ones from Toojays aren't the best but they beat cooking. In theory, you can make them in the air fryer but I feel like that takes the 'miracle' right out of it.

Thank you for loving on all my pages. Expect 6 more nights of being tagged since you're one of 4 designers I've seen in my 10+ years of scrapping who have wholly Hanukkah kits. (I do use "all the December celebrations" kits too but there's just something about being the star of the show - pun intended - that I gravitate too.)
 
Our Christmas tradition is to do charcuterie boards along with several baked goods. This year, we made lofthouse cookies, regular iced sugar cookies, double chocolate peppermint cookies, jam thumbprints, christmas crack (cracker toffee), vegan toffee, vegan fudge, and oatmeal raisin cookies. My son wanted to try fruitcake since we had never made it before, and it totally flopped. It just didn't turn out lol - soft like pudding - not sure what happened! I'm sure we will try again next year.
 
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