barnwife Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Inspire me.Bonus points if it's really easy/not time-consuming. It will just be DH, our 3 little kids, and me. I don't really want to spend lots of time in the kitchen, but I'd still like something different/special. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Ham (small one) Mashed potatoes Glazed carrots pre-made rolls pre-made salad chocolate pie & cheesecake, both from the frozen food aisle. We're going simple this year. We'll have a fruit/veggie/cheese/crackers platter on the table most of the day, and heat-and-serve biscuits and gravy for breakfast. The only things I'll need to be in the kitchen for are the potatoes and carrots. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 The usual, a large beef tenderloin. It is tasty, and roasts in about 40 mintues, so I can use the oven for other stuff, too. Then I have a rice pilaf, made with a variety of rices, including wild rice from Trader Joe. Mashed taters for non-rice folks, veggies, and too many desserts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingaway Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 It's fondue for us. We've done this for several years now. I make bread bowls for cheese fondue and we have cubed ham, meatballs and veg. Then, we do chocolate fondue with bananas, strawberries and shortbread cookies. It's easy, delicious and fun. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandragood1 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 (edited) Flyingaway, I love for idea! I may steal it for Christmas Eve dinner. The only problem is that dh doesn't like cheese. I'll have 14 people at my house for Christmas Day dinner. The youngest is 12. Idk what to make. Roast beef sounds good. I think I'd rather focus on the sides. Edited December 8, 2015 by Sandragood1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applethyme Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Appetizer bar for Christmas Eve with chicken wings, meatballs, pigs in the blanket, veggie tray, cheese tray, pinwheels, ham and cream cheese roll ups and some yummy dessert. Christmas day is a big breakfast with breakfast casserole, muffins and fruit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Leftover Chinese from Christmas Eve. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmvaughan4 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 It's just our family (no visitors) for Christmas. We'll do finger foods/appetizers all day and eat when anyone gets hungry. I haven't made the actual menu yet. DS9 requested a veggie tray and sliders. DS6 wants cookies. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We usually do an Indian-inspired meal with everyone's favorites: Channa masala Curried potatoes Lentil puri (I cheat and buy these frozen.) Onion chutney Mint chutney Basmati 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 (edited) Pizza and ice cream! We host a dinner at our house for folks in our parish who don't have family nearby (although it's extending to include anyone who wants to come) and it's become a tradition to have pizza. We have a fairly new restaurant in town that has artisan pizzas, so I'd love to do something like that. My favorite on their menu is "black and bleu" -- blackened steak with bleu cheese -- but they have a great multi-variety mushroom option, too. Edited December 8, 2015 by milovany 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We're either having tamales or beef brisket. We're waiting for the final vote tally from among my kids. I think we're doing a shrimp boil for New Years Eve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We've begun a funny new Christmas dinner tradition. For years, we had a big Christmas meal on Christmas Eve with my extended family, and then another big Christmas meal on Christmas day with my husband's extended family. We did that for 25 years. We always travel several hours to the city where both of our extended families live, and stay with my parents (because they have the space) for several days. Three years ago, we drove to my husband's family's Christmas day gathering only to find that -- they had decided to make it a dessert-only event! Somehow we had missed that message! :) We were starving afterwards, so decided to find a restaurant on the 20-minutes drive back to my parents' home. After driving up and down block after block after block, the only restaurant we could find open was an Irish pub. We got Irish stew and Irish coffee, and it was delicious, with a cozy little atmosphere too. Since then, that has become our tradition. We have our big Christmas Eve dinner with my extended family, spend Christmas morning with my parents, drive to our little Irish Pub around 2:00 for our Christmas dinner of Irish stew and Irish coffee, and then continue on to gather with my husband's family for desserts. You never know how a tradition will begin! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 (edited) Mine will not be intersting or special, just easy. Ham, potato casserole, green salad, curried fruit. Pie for dessert, likely pecan. We do egg casserole or french toast casserole for breakfast. Christmas is very casual for us. My in-laws usually do beef tenderloin for Christmas Eve, so we get our fancy dinner then. In previous years we have done seafood on Christmas - Shrimp scampi is easy and yummy. A newburg is easy and rich too, especially with good pastry on it. A couple of years ago I made lamb for Christmas and it was delicious! With roasted potatoes, haricots verts, and a green salad with cranberries and blue cheese and pecans. Not hard or time consuming. I have also done lasagna, made ahead, or ordered Chinese on Christmas. Edited December 8, 2015 by ScoutTN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CupOCoffee Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 ((listening)) keep these great ideas coming -- there's no big family dinner thing happening this year, so we are just 4 of us...trying to make new traditions. :) ~coffee~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We have always had roast beef with mashed potatoes, a couple of vegetable sides. I'm rather tired of that and would rather just do snacky stuff but we do that for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve so I don't think I can get away with it for Christmas Day. My husband and son aren't getting enough beef for their liking these days, so I will go with it. Roast beef is easy enough. Christmas dinner isn't just about me and what I want, right? I get what I want on Christmas Eve. Fair enough, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We had ham for Thanksgiving, so we're having a nice steak for Christmas. We'll also have baked potatoes and corn casserole, maybe green bean casserole if I'm feeling like cooking it. I didn't for Thanksgiving and no one but me missed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Ivy Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 With my immediate family, we're doing Christmas on Dec 18, so we'll go out to our favorite restaurant.At DH's family dinner, it will be Turkey, green bean casserole, rolls, and then lots of other stuff that doesn't seem like it belongs at Christmas dinner. lol We are doing Christmas with my family on New Years Eve, so we'll just do pizza and some desserts. In the past, we've done appetizers or ham, broccoli cheese casserole, corn, rolls, and dessert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocomom63 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We have done sandwiches for many years now. I buy shaved ham, roast beef, turkey, and something else from the deli. Add to that an assortment of sliced cheeses - swiss, provalone, cheddar, pepper jack. And two kinds of rolls as well. The last couple of years I've bought those big assortment bags of chips so everyone can choose what they want. And soda - four varieties to suit everyone's taste. And probably beer for the adults in the family. One of my older boys is going to make Italian meatballs in sauce in the crockpot for meatball subs. Dessert is the cookies and candies we've made. I came up with this idea because after all the prep that comes before, I wanted Christmas Day meal to be easy. People can eat what they want when they want. We also use paper plates and cups so cleanup is easy.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyS Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Tapas. We never have them, so it feels special and fun to have a meal of just that. A lot of make-ahead available there, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilma Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We always do fajitas. It's really the only time of the year I go all-out for the fajitas -- beef and chicken, a couple/few salsas, guac, a couple of cheeses, etc. I love fajitas. And I do not love turkey, mashed potatoes and that lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 seafood newburg. It is one of my favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 we haven't done a menu yet (christmas is wherever the whim takes us.) entrees we have done in the past. standing rib roast mirin prawns (easy, and uber picky dudeling will eat them.), served with rice. ham (my midwest farmer heritage won't allow me to consider any ham without a bone as being a 'real' ham. I can taste the difference. costco currently has one that they boned - but didn't fill with a bunch of junk - so it tastes "real" ((I had it at a party over the weekend. and it was okay.)), and is easier to cook and serve than a full ham.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Lol!!! Love reading everyone's traditions and responses. Totally agree with someone who mentioned Turkey,mashed potatoes and green bean casserole belonging to a different holiday. If I did that for Christmas, dh and oldest dd would say right away that it's not Thanksgiving! Also lol about fajitas once a year? Our family would go through withdrawals! We have fajitas probably a couple times a month :) Answering the initial question...are your kids old enough to give any input? I'd ask what everyone is in the mood for ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Tamales 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Chinese or tamales while I lay around in pajamas reading my new book, playing games, and working on a puzzle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 I'm trying to decide. Ham, a roast, or go different with finger foods/appetizers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Christmas morning we are having brunch at my mom and dad's house. The menu is ham, sweet rolls, fruit salad, scrambled eggs, and whatever I decide to bring. At this point I have no clue what to make. My mom suggested cookies or something sweet. Christmas afternoon was are supposed to go to the IL's house for dinner. MIL told the kids that the grandkids get to choose the menu this year. I am a bit nervous about that one. So far I have heard pizza and quiche from my kids, but I have no idea what my nephews might want to add to the mix. They are 4 and 6, so who knows what they will come up with. Apparently, the adults get to pick the desserts. I want to just stay home and have dinner here and just go over to the IL's house for visiting afterward, but I doubt I can get away with it. Usually for Christmas eve we go to IL's house and have breakfast for dinner. Typically it is waffles, eggs, bacon, and fruit. This year I am not sure what the plan will be. DH has to work that day so it makes thing kind of late. I was thinking it would be nice to stay home and have appetizer type foods along with popcorn and hot cocoa and watch Christmas movies in our PJs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Not sure yet, but I usually make prime rib (and ham for DH because he won't eat beef). Prime rib is pretty easy. Sides are usually some sort of green veg and potatoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Not sure yet, but I usually make prime rib (and ham for DH because he won't eat beef). Prime rib is pretty easy. Sides are usually some sort of green veg and potatoes. This is what I always make. (By the way, for Thanksgiving, I made boneless turkey breast. In order to keep it from drying out, I wrapped it in... bacon. It was awesome.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Roasted beef tenderloin (so easy! Really!) Creamed spinach Scalloped potatoes Salad Orange ambrosia Rum cake Cookies All make wonderful leftovers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RioSamba Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 I make prime rib, it's ridiculously easy and everyone loves it. I usually serve it with Potatoes Anna, asparagus, and a green salad with citrus. Bûche de Noel. Yum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Probably frozen chicken nuggets and applesauce. Kid friendly and easy on the stomach of the person(s) whose turn it is to barf through the holiday. I've resigned myself to *that* being a tradition. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in FL. Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 I make Eggs Benedict for breakfast, which is always a big production with 12 of us. So, we just have Honeybaked ham and turkey, rolls, relish tray, potato salad, and one of those cheesecakes with the four different flavors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatechip Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We usually have pot roast, which we rarely have but all love, so it's special. With that: Roasted carrots and turnips Salad with cranberries and blue cheese and walnuts A potato item, be that scalloped, mashed, or ? Dessert might be pie or cookies. Also, this is all still up in the air for this year, but it's roughly what we've done in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropymama Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 We always order Chinese takeout. (We have no family anywhere close) This year I was considering ordering a ham from Honeybaked Ham, since I got a $7 off coupon in the mail. Just found out they run $70 or more! Guess we're not having that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 We're going up be traveling on Christmas Day, summer, day spent on beaches along the way to our holiday destination. I've decided to do roasts on the 22nd and 23rd and freeze leftovers. The leftovers will serve as the basis for our Christmas picnic lunch, with easy deli items to finish it off. The 24th is going to be pizzas so I'm not cleaning up from the 24th on the 25th! The last two Christmases were disastrous (illness while travelling and stress respectively), so I really, really need to keep it simple for my sanity. If we have another disaster I'm cancelling Christmas permanently 😋. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 This year I want to grill so the men have to do all the work. We live in Florida so how bad can the weather be? Shoot, it's suppose to be 80 degrees this Sunday so I'm all for eating outside with everything plastic and paper too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I have not figured it out yet. We used to always do lasagna (which is what my family did for Christmas Eve), but the kids don't really like it and now we're watching sodium and it's a major sodium bomb. We did ham a few years ago which was great for me and the kids, but it's also a sodium bomb and not really dh's favorite. We did prime rib last year which was okay, but very expensive and no one loves it enough to eat leftovers. I'm thinking about grilling steaks which is actually a major treat since we all love them but we don't grill in rainy Oregon from November-March. Would need to move BBQ to covered front porch for this. For Christmas Eve I'm thinking about an Italian buffet that would include pizza and maybe a little lasagna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) Christmas Eve Salmon filet, TJ polenta or rice, frozen peas -- easy b/c we go to midnight mass Strawberry almond torte Xmas morning/daytime, eat when you want Cheeses, pate, smoked salmon, membrillo, breads and crackers -- plate and serve The most I do is toss a Brie into the oven. Three kinds of homemade cookies and lots of purchased things (marzipan, Turkish delight, good dates, Jordan almonds, etc) Xmas dinner at night Rib roast or other good beef roast, simple veggies Bûche de Noel with meringue mushrooms, gigantic amount of work, but insanely popular Once, I tried to do a mini version of Italian 7 fishes -- too much work for a small family. But my kids beg for maple soy marinated scallops wrapped with bacon from that dinner, so I try to do those as a starter on Xmas Eve Edited December 9, 2015 by Alessandra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbi in Texas Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 There is quite a bit of stress right now in dh's family, so mil wants to keep it simple. We are having chicken creole, rolls, brownies, and a salad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Big fat expensive steaks. ;0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 This is what I always make. (By the way, for Thanksgiving, I made boneless turkey breast. In order to keep it from drying out, I wrapped it in... bacon. It was awesome.) everything is better with bacon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Something easy. We are having a very laid back Christmas. We are going to go see Star Wars. I am thinking something like bacon mac and cheese with roasted garlic broccoli and maybe some crab cakes or something. I can make that all ahead and heat it up when we get home from the movie. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I have no idea. I'm hoping that my vegan-eating son and his girlfriend will be here. He will have to let me know what to fix. He was vegetarian for a few years before he left home, but vegan for only a short while, so I'm not up to speed with all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berley Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 My mom usually does 3-4 types of soup in crockpots, a salad, and cornbread or rolls. Soups are normally veggie, potato, cheesy broccoli, chicken noodle, chili (not really a soup, but we pretend)-all homemade. She throws it all in the crockpot in the morning and cooks the cornbread. Before the entire family gets there for dinner, she puts together the salad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 We did chili for Christmas Eve several years. DH would probably appreciate that again, so maybe I'll do that. My family always had cranberry bread and hot chocolate for breakfast Christmas morning, and I've already heard from at least of my children, saying that they want cranberry bread as well. So maybe that and an egg dish of some sort. It'll be just the seven of us this year for Christmas Day, so we will probably go casual. Finger foods, chili, appetizers, cheeses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Indeed Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Cinnamon rolls for breakfast and steaks, baked potatoes, stuffed jalapeños, rolls, and salad for dinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I have no idea and am refusing to think about it for two more weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Bonus points if it's really easy/not time-consuming. It will just be DH, our 3 little kids, and me. I don't really want to spend lots of time in the kitchen, but I'd still like something different/special. I don't really know what you consider "easy", so if you think this sample menu is too hard I'll come up with another one. Ham steak (it cooks fast, so this is going to be the last thing I put on the stove) Peas and carrot ribbons (which you make by running a peeler over a few carrots over and over again until there's no carrot left) quick steamed, with fresh mint and scallions (add the herbs after cooking) Cranberry sauce (made ahead of time) Mashed potatoes with spinach Roasted sweet potatoes, parsnips, and beets with a maple glaze Apple crumble for dessert Actually, that looks good, and I'll probably make it for dinner this week! Now I just need to decide what *I* am making for Christmas. I kinda want Swedish meatballs, but I'm just about the only one in the family who likes Swedish meatballs right now. Hm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 (edited) I finally have our menu worked out. It will just be our family. :crying: I'm also going with simple, so I don't have to spend all day in the kitchen. I like having everything ready to go the day before. Christmas Eve: DH is a pastor, so our Christmas Eve is very busy! DH makes fun of this, but we have a "Christmas Eve Taco" tradition...from a kit! :lol: I can make the meat ahead in the crockpot and have the toppings ready to go. We can eat and run in between services. Usually just cookies for dessert, and the kids usually get a bunch of sweets at church as well. Christmas Morning: Orange Rolls (Pillsbury from a can)--also quick and easy Christmas Dinner: Ham, rolls, cracker barrel casserole, green bean casserole, jello salad (jello, pineapple, cottage cheese, & cool whip), & dessert will be pies. We have like 5 schwan's pies to choose from in our freezer, but I may make pecan pies if I have time. Edited December 21, 2015 by Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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