4ofus Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 This is the first year my little family will be spending Christmas alone. Usually we have family in town & we prepare a turkey dinner very much like Thanksgiving. I asked the boys if they'd like a turkey dinner for Christmas this year & they said no. This is great news b/c I despise preparing turkey. So...give me some ideas for Christmas...Eve & Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 My favorite is something soupy on Christmas Eve. Chili or stew. DH maintains its the perfect day for red beans and rice with sausage, so we will prolly go with that. We are doing the big Christmas Dinner with beef this year, but the years we don't, we have had late brunch and snacking all day on Christmas and that has been a huge hit. Lots of sandwich stuff, sausage and cheese to graze on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I get one of those beef tenderloins that roasts in 30 - 40 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Our tradition is for each person to choose one dish. One year we had spaghetti, chicken fingers, and hot dogs. This year we're having steak, corn casserole, mac and cheese, and green beans. We enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 We typically have Italian food because I can make it in advance and just bake it that day. We usually have stuffed shells but this year we're having lasagna. Christmas Eve is usually appetizers. Junky finger food like mozzarella strips, meatballs, etc. We go out for a drive and see the lights, watch the Pope, wrap gifts, maybe watch a movie or play a game. So we just snack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Our tradition is for each person to choose one dish. One year we had spaghetti, chicken fingers, and hot dogs. This year we're having steak, corn casserole, mac and cheese, and green beans. We enjoy it. I love this idea so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calledtobehome Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Christmas Eve we're having PF Changs carry out and a few appertizers. Christmas Day It's going to be some type of pasta. Stuffed shells, lasagna, or baked ziti(haven't decided yet) with salad and breadsticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltop Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 We like to have tamales on Christmas Eve with a variety of appetizers. Our Christmas day dinner is usually steaks, baked potatoes, and salad. We've also had ham, au gratin potatoes, and green beans. Merry Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 We like to have tamales on Christmas Eve with a variety of appetizers. Merry Christmas! I just love tamales at Christmas. I don't have a good recipe. Mine always turn out dry. I'm willing to try again, though. We're usually at my mom's all day on Christmas. Our big meal of the day is brunch - egg casserole, meat, variety of rolls and bread, juice. Supper is generally pulled pork sandwiches from the crock pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane in CO Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 We are changing things up this Christmas as well! Christmas Eve Dinner: Steak Baked potatoes with all the fixins Salad Key Lime Pie Christmas Day we will be doing appetizers and snack type food as we didn't want to to a formal dinner: Pioneer Woman's recipe for cheese ball with club, wheat and vegetable crackers Veggie tray with onion dip Buffalo wings rotel dip with tortilla chips Guacamole dip pumpkin pie, apple pie, homemade christmas cookies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 We used to have crown pork roast. It's really pretty and very yummy. But a lovely parishoner always gives us a Honeybaked Ham, so we tend to have that. For a couple of years, we've had an awesome, $75 beef roast (a tenderloin?) that my hubby makes--he gets a little stressed over it because it's so expensive! We've also had duck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Christmas Eve is usually appetizers. Junky finger food like mozzarella strips, meatballs, etc. We go out for a drive and see the lights, watch the Pope, wrap gifts, maybe watch a movie or play a game. So we just snack. This is what we do as well. Except for watching the Pope. :p (We go to our church's Christmas Eve service.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Steaks on the grill and a big green salad. Delicious and low-prep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrittanyM Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Roast beef sandwiches, potato and pasta salad and layered jello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 For our family on Christmas Eve--we eat snack type foods. Little hotdogs in sauce, sausage balls, cheese crackers, veggie tray and dip, pasta salad..basically lots of finger foods. Christmas day--I make spiral sliced ham, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and Italian cream cheese cake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyco Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 We also like tamales on Christmas Eve, along with green chile stew. For Christmas day, it's always a beef rib-eye roast (aka prime rib), au gratin potatoes, roasted green beans, and Bailey's creme brulee for dessert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 I usually do everyone's favorite finger foods so we have a spread of a variety of crackers, cheeses and summer sausage cheese, baked brie, shrimp cocktail, meatballs, bacon wrapped smokies and dates, potato skins, mozzerella sticks etc. Last year dh wanted a ham dinner so I made that. This year we are grilling steak, shrimp, baked potatoes, salad, rolls, red velvet cake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 We have ham at my mom's and since I'm also tired of turkey were doing a sirloin roast for just us. I wanted to do a rib roast but the kids don't like that cut of meat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Christmas Eve:Cracked Dungeness crab and sourdough bread and green salad for dinner. Sometimes shrimp cocktail beforehand. A very special cheese plate for DD, who is vegetarian. French silk (heavenly chocolate!) pie for dessert. Christmas Day: Some kind of roast beast, usually a big potluck family meal with prime rib and all the fixings. If we were home alone I would do Cornish game hens with wild rice stuffing, and some kind of fancy vegetarian dish from 'Savory Baking' that could be DD's main dish but a side dish for the rest of us, and another green salad, this time with fruit in it, and probably Angel Pie for dessert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 We usually do ham for Christmas, but since MIL made an executive, last-minute decision to make ham for Thanksgiving...*ahem*... we're having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for Christmas. :glare: Christmas Eve is going to be pizza and cookies. Oh my gosh, this thread is making me want sinful cheese dip and summer sausage!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 My parents will be here for Christmas. Between them and my husband we have one seafood allergy, one who can not eat pork due to digestive issues and one who can not eat beef due to sever digestive issues. Oh and one picky pain in the butt kid. That does not leave me with a lot of options. (and gets better when my FIL is around as he can not have anything with seeds so that knocks out tomato sauces and many cooked veggies.) Since poultry is about my only option, and we just had turkey, I am making four or five cornish game hens. Much less time than turkey, but more 'special' than just a regular chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 We're having company on Christmas Eve. My sister and I have decided to do an all day appetizer buffet. We're just gonna hang out and eat and visit all day. We might force the kids to watch Emmett Otter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applethyme Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Christmas Eve we always have appetizers. Its fun, easy food we don't eat the rest of the year. Christmas day we make a big breakfast then later just snack on the appetizer left overs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 This is the first year my little family will be spending Christmas alone. Usually we have family in town & we prepare a turkey dinner very much like Thanksgiving. I asked the boys if they'd like a turkey dinner for Christmas this year & they said no. This is great news b/c I despise preparing turkey. So...give me some ideas for Christmas...Eve & Day. What are their favorite foods? Is there something that is not 'holiday' but special to them that you could make? Here we have the Feast of 7 Fishes. It's very traditional Italian and in keeping with the fasting from meat aspect of Advent (not that we fast meat all Advent anymore). Of course being Christmas eve and Italian, it's over the top. Crab, mussels, clams, cod, flounder, shrimp.... You name it. Cod is the big one, though. This Christmas because we're having a lot of people, I'm making ham, scalloped potatoes, and probably green beans (though I'm so sick of green beans). Then we have clementines and nuts and torrone. For dessert we'll have espresso, chocolate whiskey tart (the only time of year it's made) and bread pudding with whiskey sauce (I've not made it in YEARS and Dd begged me for it) and probably a simple creme brulee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 We're on a low-sodium diet now so we need to make a few changes. Christmas was always lasagna because I could make it the day before and not have to "work" on Christmas. But my kids don't really like lasagna and my traditional recipe is a sodium bomb. My first lower-sodium experimental lasagna was not very good--certainly nothing you want for Christmas. So I think we're going to try this appetizer/finger food idea. Some of them may be higher sodium kid favorites but I think we can still come up with plenty of things for dh too. Ham for Christmas Eve is out--too much sodium. For Christmas Eve I think I'll do the Christmas dinner I grew up with--prime rib, yorkshire pudding, salad, rolls, some kind of potato. Leftovers can be part of the appetizer buffet the next day. We're usually sugared-out by Christmas and don't desire a fancy dessert, plus we have a kid birthday a few days later that will involve cake. We usually do chocolate ice cream or milkshakes. And we have a tray of Christmas cookies out for Christmas Eve and Christmas, but not too many get eaten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 We're on a low-sodium diet now so we need to make a few changes. Christmas was always lasagna because I could make it the day before and not have to "work" on Christmas. But my kids don't really like lasagna and my traditional recipe is a sodium bomb. My first lower-sodium experimental lasagna was not very good--certainly nothing you want for Christmas. So I think we're going to try this appetizer/finger food idea. Some of them may be higher sodium kid favorites but I think we can still come up with plenty of things for dh too. Ham for Christmas Eve is out--too much sodium. For Christmas Eve I think I'll do the Christmas dinner I grew up with--prime rib, yorkshire pudding, salad, rolls, some kind of potato. Leftovers can be part of the appetizer buffet the next day. We're usually sugared-out by Christmas and don't desire a fancy dessert, plus we have a kid birthday a few days later that will involve cake. We usually do chocolate ice cream or milkshakes. And we have a tray of Christmas cookies out for Christmas Eve and Christmas, but not too many get eaten. I love a prime rib dinner for Xmas. If it were just my own family? That is exactly what I would do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 We have done chili for Christmas Eve and might do that again. For Christmas Day, we like doing casual, self serve, snacky sorts of things -- cheese, fruits, veggies, dips, cranberry bread, soup, etc. Nobody wants to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and the kids tend not to want to sit for a formal meal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 We have fish on Christmas Eve, because we go to church and don't want to have meat before. Usually salmon, but once I tried a mini version of Italian seven fishes. On Christmas day, we eat in the evening to make the day seem longer. Rib roast, followed by a buche de Noel. We have lots of special sweet things scattered about. Christmas breakfast/lunch is an assortment of cheese, pates, smoked salmon. No cooking for me, unless you count heating up a Brie, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 We do cheese & crackers, appetizers, hors d'vours, chips & dips and desserts on Christmas Eve. Christmas day is some really tender roast (tenderloin, sirloin or london broil) with potatoes and gravy, broccoli cassarole, green bean cassarole, sweet potato cassarole and rolls. We do this because we have turkey at Thanksgiving and ham at Easter so we want to do something different at Christmas. This year we will be reversing the order of Christmas Eve and Christmas DAy meals because one of my children has to leave Chrismas Eve to go to in-laws for Christmas Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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