What do you eat on Christmas Eve?

[Inmydreams88]

Growing up we would always order Chinese takeaway but the past few years I’ve done a buffet style tea. This year I was thinking of serving the ham I am going to cook on Christmas Eve but what should I have it with?

We always have what we call a ‘Bethlehem Supper’ - which is Middle Eastern mezze type food. I just stock up on nice things from the deli counter - olives, dolmades, hummus etc. And any leftovers are nice to have in the fridge over the Christmas holidays. Plus this type of food never sells out in the Christmas rush 🥙 🫒

That sounds lovely!

We do a nibble fest -a buffet!
And we make homemade things like sausage rolls and biscuits to go with it while watching classics like -
'The Snowman'

Potato salad and green salad or butternut squash and lentil salad.

This is interesting to see that most people have a takeaway of some sort. I actually like the idea of a chippy tea.

We usually have a buffet with drinks and such. Myself and DH work in retail ...its one of the busier days so we have a sort of mini celebration with family when we finish our shifts.

@ElleDeeCB I really like this idea! Seafood is great but I wouldn’t mind changing it up this year. I’ll see what the others say, 🤞

We like to go out for brunch and then have a buffet in the evening.

By buffet, I mostly mean cheese.

We have ham baguettes / crusty bread sandwiches, crisps and veg sticks. The rest of the ham is eaten up on Boxing Day as part of the buffet. I can’t face cooking on Christmas Eve, to much else to do!

👏👏👏👏

Slow cooked sweet chilli sticky lamb, Greek salad and roast potatoes. Can’t wait!

This year we're having Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, but usually we have ham, broccoli and macaroni cheese.
I wanted to just do turkey and ham baguettes with roast potatoes, pots of gravy and salad but DD is working Christmas Day so has requested the full dinner.

Husband makes a lovely smoked haddock and chorizo risotto.

We're out Christmas day and boxing day.

We've gone for an Indian meal in our local restaurant.

We used to just have whatever type of meal we would have had on the day Christmas Eve fell but the last few years we have decided to go out for a meal.

iv really enjoyed the process! It’s nice having a quiet day then going out for a lovely meal before coming back and maybe watching a film or there is a Christmas special we all are interested in in our pyjamas.

We normally either have a curry or a Chinese (been for to a steak restaurant too) depending on if we are on our own or if the house guests (adult children) have a preference.
this year its Chinese at out lovely local restaurant.

Takeaway

Christmas eve I usually do some sort of seafood thing. So often scallops and prawns and blinis and salmon roe and sour cream and vodka. For vegetarian DH I do blinis with a pureed beetroot and boursin paste topped with chives.

And perhaps a light pudding like meringue nests.

Boxing day I do ham, cauliflower cheese and peas with cranberry sauce. This year though we were talking about how we like both those meals much more than a 'proper' Christmas day meal and so we might do the seafood and blinis as a starter, ham etc for the main and then vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce for pudding.

@ElleDeeCB you see I think that's a great idea - but only me would eat it

When we had big family Christmases, I baked the ham on Christmas Eve and we had it with broad beans in parsley sauce, Carrots, and roast potatoes. Mince pies for pud.

Boxing day was cold ham and Turkey, continental meats, anti-pasti, pickles, cheese, pork pie, salads, Christmas cake and trifle. That was the big event.

@SilverBlueRabbit

For vegetarian DH I do blinis with a pureed beetroot and boursin paste topped with chives

can you post the recipe please. They sound lovely!

No recipe at all! I boil a beetroot (I don't like the vinegar pre-boiled ones in the market) and then blend with boursin- about 20% beetroot, and boursin with added fresh chives and dill (which is my favourite herb ever). Maybe thin with a little sour cream and then mix like a paste. DH loves it. :)

We have homemade sausage rolls, cheese and biscuits, pork pies etc. sat in front of Christmas films with the fire lit. Bliss!

I just messaged the adult dc to ask what their buffet priorities are (we're having Christmas Eve buffet as our main event, as dd will be elsewhere on Christmas Day).

DD wants cheese, gherkins and Yule log
DS wants chorizo and smoked salmon

Easily pleased!

I do a massive gammon (which we eat over the course of Christmas), cauliflower cheese and baked potatoes - all things I can put in the oven and leave while I'm pottering about.

We normally eat out locally on Christmas Eve but all the local places are not serving food this year.

Will do a mac and cheese with pancetta and then have the fridge stocked with cold meat and salad so people can help themselves as we are all in and out that day .

How is that a famine?