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We have ham on Christmas Day with squash dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese and homemade yeast rolls. Dessert is usually cheesecake and several different pies. I have a big family and every year we say that we will all stay at our own houses for Christmas Day and just enjoy our own family time. But every year, we call each other in the morning and make plans to eat Christmas dinner together. Everyone just brings what they were making and it is a big buffet. So much fun!
Well, growing up, we always did fondue on Christmas Eve. Now that I am married with kids, we still go to my parents on Christmas Eve and fondue. The funny part is that we go to my in-laws on Christmas Day (after presents) and her family's tradition is to fondue on Christmas Day...so we do again!! It's the ONLY time we fondue, so it's OK to do it two days in a row.
Christmas Eve is a big buffet with all kinds of seafood- shrimp cocktail, crabcakes, bacon-wrapped scallops, stuffed clams oreganata. We also have swedish meatballs, baked ziti, antipasto salad, chicken cordon bleu, rice, cookies, fruitcake, fudge etc. We have my husband's whole family and usually a few friends, or daughters' boyfriends over. We start the evening out by attending the 5pm Mass, then go right into the feeding frenzy! After eating we exchange family gifts, watch family videos and listen to Christmas music.
Christmas Day is quieter. It's usually just the immediate family and my mother-in-law. We open our gifts, have a special breakfast, clean up then cook dinner. Dinner is usually roast beef, baked potatoes, salad, green beans and cheesecake. It's nice, but simple! We take the time to admire our gifts. One year it snowed 18 inches on Christmas Day. It was actually festive because everyone was snowed in and the entire neighborhood was outside sledding, building snowmen or shoveling!
Yeah...I neglected to mention the vast array of appetizers our families put out for consumption. Dips, snacks, cookies, nuts, candy...you name it.
Dec 24th, Christmas Eve, is the big day in Germany.
We have sausages and pretzels.
After handing out of presents we have cold punch, grandmas home made Christmas stollen ( which we always eat when we drink coffee in the afternoon ), my home made Welfenspeise and ice cream.
On Dec 25th we have turkey.
I think we have a plan, after lots of discussion.
Im probably going to do braised pheasant for the adults me, DH & my mum, with roast potatoes, red cabbage, Yorkshire puds I know they dont go, but DH would feel robbed if he didnt get a Yorkshire pud, roast parsnips, sprouts & peas. Im hoping to make the braised pheasant the day before, as it apparently according to Delia tastes better on the day after making. For the DDs I thought I might do them a poussin each - they love chicken, and theyd probably appreciate the mini-ness of a poussin.
Not keen on Christmas cake or Christmas pud, so am planning a trifle for dessert, plus perhaps a lemon tart with ice cream.
Starters will be smoked salmon & selection of other cold meats for DH who doesnt like smoked salmon.
Anyone else care to share their Xmas lunch menus?
We dont make too much of a fuss over crimbo dinner.
We have roast lamb, roast spuds cabbage carrots, sausages in bacon, yorksire pudding ( i know they are only meant to be with beef but we love them) peas honey roast parsnips.
We dont do a starter and generally dont bother with much pudding as we are full from dinner lol
It the snack gobblies that make crimbo in our house, the cheeses, pates, sweets, biscuits :dizzy:
Re the vegetarian option, when I was a veggie I loved (and still do) the cashew nut roast that you could get from health food shops, mmmmmm May have to get one soon, love it with lots of gravey!
Our Christmas eve my family does a pot luck style dinner where everyone brings their best dish. Which ever family members house will do the main course, which is usually either a baked ham , roast beef, hen or duck. Then on Christmas day we find a Chinese restaurant open and have "A Christmas Story" style dinner.
we have 4 family functions we go to every christmas eve and christmas day. my husband and i's dads sides are on christmas eve and my dads side has more like apptizers like crackers,cheese and sausage and ham sandwich type stuff then my husbands dad has turkey and rolls and lots of sweets! our moms sides are on christmas day and its basically the same one mom does appetizer style food and then my mom does a huge dinner which i always look forward to because when i was growing up it was always turkey mac and cheese homemade dinner rolls all kinds of veggies mashed potatoes the list goes on!!! to me that is how you do a christmas dinner! lol :elf3:
Well - you are very lucky because, even though you have to do alot of running around, you get to spend time with everyone! My husband's entire family - Mom, brothers & their wives and nieces and nephews all live within an hour of us. The bulk of my family lives 4.5 hours away and my sister and her family live on the other side of the country - so I rarely see them!Quote:
Originally Posted by purpleskies