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3 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Danish open faced sandwiches.

Tostada or street taco bar.

Loaded baked potato bar.

Seconding this. We do all three. This year we had our nuclear family for Christmas and I did a Smorgasbrod (Danish open faced sandwich dinner) and all the trimmings. Everyone loved it. I highly recommend it. So much fun!

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1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

Seconding this. We do all three. This year we had our nuclear family for Christmas and I did a Smorgasbrod (Danish open faced sandwich dinner) and all the trimmings. Everyone loved it. I highly recommend it. So much fun!

Ooh, did you do those little woven heart bags?  I keep meaning to make a whole bunch of them for some Christmas cookies but I never start early enough to have them for everyone.

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1 hour ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Ooh, did you do those little woven heart bags?  I keep meaning to make a whole bunch of them for some Christmas cookies but I never start early enough to have them for everyone.

Yes, I had cookies in them. I bought a Danish American recipe book on eBay dating back to the 1960's and written by a Danish American who spent most of her childhood in Denmark. Tons and tons of recipes. I had to tweak many of them to accommodate my son in law's food allergies, but it worked out really well.

Our tree was Scandinavian themed. Lots of Nisse, reindeer ornaments, berry garland instead of tinsel, a flag of Denmark, etc. This year we are having an Icelandic Elf house at the Alabama home.

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5 hours ago, Ottakee said:

Not sure if kids would like it but we have done a soup bar.  Start with a basic broth recipe and then have bowls of pasta, rice, beans, meats, etc to add.  That went over very well at a bridal shower.

We do something similar with a more limited range of toppings/ingredients, based on this recipe:  https://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/mexican-chicken-and-rice-soup

I heat the broth w/salsa and seasonings in a pot, then we have shredded chicken, rice, beans, avocado, cheese, etc on the side to create a custom soup bowl.  It's one of my kids' favorite soup meals.

We also do a "Create your own" with hot sandwiches -- one is a stromboli-type sandwich that starts with uncooked bread dough and toppings are rolled inside and baked into the bread.   It ends up being a bit like pizza w/o the sauce, except that some "filling" combos that would be a bit gross on pizza work really well in the stromboli.  A favorite is broccoli, ham, and cheddar cheese.

It's not quite as customizable, but I do something that's a bit like a cheesesteak -- every person's sandwich starts with a basic layer of beef shreds or slices on a bun, and then my kids come by and add their onions, bell peppers, spicy peppers, mushrooms, and/or cheese.  (ETA...the beef is precooked in the instant pot, and then I just "finish" the sandwiches by heating them in the oven long enough to melt the cheese).

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7 hours ago, J-rap said:

Ice cream sundaes.  

I've also been to chili bars.  Usually you start with two basic options:  one with meat and beans, and the other just beans.  Then all the added toppings.

We do one with just meat and one with just beans.  The people who want both can mix them.  Half my family wouldn’t be able to eat at a chili bar without a no-bean option.

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10 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

So, the gimmicks that my kid likes aren't quite "make your own".  We do that too, lots of deconstructed dinners here, and you guys are giving me different ideas.  It's delivering to a grandparent a plate with 5 different little things, each made by one of the 5 grandkids and sitting around speculating whose they are going to like best.  Or "I'll make one for you, and you make one for me", or blindfolding people and making them guess what it's in it.  

 

Is something like canapes too similar to the tapas? (I've never had tapas, so I am not sure what kinds of toppings they have).  But my mom used to make huge spreads of canapes for special occasions with all different kinds of toppings...they were really fun.  She would do some on bread and some on crackers.   These ones all have the same spread, but you could have different spreads as well as different toppings:  https://preppykitchen.com/easy-canape/

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4 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Um, is it embarrassing if I admit I don't know what a canape is? 

I should probably research that rather than admitting it.

I don't think I would necessarily have known if my mom hadn't been "into" them -- I think you could summarize it "toppings and spreads on bread or crackers"  😄

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2 hours ago, Danae said:

We do one with just meat and one with just beans.  The people who want both can mix them.  Half my family wouldn’t be able to eat at a chili bar without a no-bean option.

That's a good idea to do it that way.  Can I ask why some of your family cannot eat beans?  We have different diets in our family as well... GF, veggie, keto, paleo...

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3 hours ago, J-rap said:

That's a good idea to do it that way.  Can I ask why some of your family cannot eat beans?  We have different diets in our family as well... GF, veggie, keto, paleo...

The texture makes us gag.  I mean that literally, not in a “we don’t like them” way. I’m not a picky eater, and even the few things I don’t like I can fake it to be polite, but not beans.  

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