Christmas Eve.

[Alliwantforchristmasisbooooze]

What do you do and what do you eat/cook?

Especially after ideas for what to cook/eat?

Christmas Eve (at around 7.00) is takeaway night here

I always have a Chinese.

Evening/night spent browsing the Internet and watching a few Christmas films

@jemenfous37

It has nothing to do with ‘hedging bets’. It’s simply enjoying the festivities. Nothing wrong with that in my book.

Food for us on Christmas Eve is usually something light. Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs with sourdough toast is a favourite.

Usually an M&S curry in a box!

Agree, absolute hypocrites and very bizarre.

This is interesting to me. Does everyone get a stocking or just the children? I’m wondering what is in the stockings to make them special enough to open as a grand gesture in front of everyone during such a special meal?

it’s just DC in our house mainly opening socks, bath bombs and other “Just stocking fillers”

it's my birthday Christmas Eve so dinner is sometimes out or a takeaway. This year I've chosen to head for a lovely crisp (hopefully dry) winter walk somewhere nice with a coffee, and have a takeaway for tea. In the evening my birthday stops and I'm in mum mode for my dc lol

Also an atheist, I went to a Christmas Eve Carol concert a couple of years back as I was invited by a friend I'd made at a gym class, who also happened to be the vicar.

It was lovely, she was grateful we came, we were grateful to have been invited, nobody's religious beliefs or disbeliefs were in any way shaken or offended.

Not sure what we'll do during the day but for dinner our tradition is steak, chips & peas with peppercorn sauce for DH & I and the DC have homemade pizza in Christmas shapes.

We eat something that not at all roast like. My parents did bolgnase or chilli or the like. We may do that or get a Chinese takeaway. We have left over pork and veg with homemade fhips and gravy on Boxing Day.

Churches welcome everyone. I assume you can't be Christians with that attitude.

This year we are going to a Christmas Eve party at our local soft play with some friends (whyyy did I agree) then home to build/wrap etc.

We usually order Chinese food. But this year we are doing a cheese board with meats and sausage rolls and some party food. Jammies on, the greatest showman and a drink to cheers 🥂 if we haven't killed each other from building toys 🤣

We have a buffet and watch a Christmas film. Kids absolutely love it.

We don't do a huge amount in the day, dc2 will have just had their birthday on the 23rd so we're still a bit in birthday mode. Then in the late afternoon we light the fire, we'll maybe watch a film. We eat pigs in blankets because there is so much food Christmas Day today you can never eat as many as you want. Plus we eat garlic bread and a load of shitty but addictive frozen party food like "tempura" prawns and satay chicken. Then board games and persuade the children to at least get in their bed and pretend to be asleep so that we can fill their stockings. Because even though 2 of them are practically adults we still have to fill stockings after they've gone to bed.

Our traditional meal is fish pie and peas. Something completely different from all the Christmas goodies to follow.
Christmas Eve is usually spent getting the table laid, serving dishes labelled, everything prepped for cooking Christmas dinner.
This year it's just DH and me - neither of us is very well - and we are just going to eat naughty nibbles all day and watch cheesy Christmas films. We are going to the Christmas Eve service at the Cathedral on Christmas Eve so we are just going to stay in and take it easy on Christmas Day.

It's a ni cooking meal! So takeaway or something we can just slap together. Enough cooking the next day, plus expect another guest Boxing Day.

Standing in a garage doesn't make you a mechanic just as standing in a church doesn't make you a Christian. I say this as a strong atheist myself. I'm heavily involved in our village school and sometimes I'm required to attend activities they're having in church and despite my thoughts about religion I go based on my first sentence. Sometimes I actually even enjoy it!

We tend to have a Beige Buffet of Sainsbury's finest, but this year I have floated the idea of going out for an Indian.

Chinese takeaway and champagne

That sounds lovely x

Raclette or Fondue or you’re doing it wrong

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea did no one introduce you to the magic that is duplicate stockings then they are stuffed ready hidden in our bedroom and in the excitement no one notices they are not identical! Christmas starts at 3pm Christmas Eve as that lone choirboy starts his goose pimpling rendition of once in royal David’s city. When the children were young it used to be off to a christingle service where you watch them toasting the fruits of the earth in the candle then salmon en cruet for the grown ups and a special midnight mass for me in a proper country barn. Time has moved on now and we’ll enjoy our daughter and son in law’s cooking on Christmas Eve and we’ll take a new generation to a crib service and for once I might not make it to midnight .

When I was little christmas eve was the best Chinese takeaway ( we'd always be running late on preparations and getting up early to get the last few bits) with relatives coming round who I only saw a few times a year but were great fun for children, together we'd " steal" a chocolate off the Christmas tree as the rule would be not to eat any Christmas food until the day. And we'd put out the Christmas food ( treats)

Now still have Chinese food and put out the food but unfortunately the relatives have died. We watch Christmas films and do a bit of baking and I've passed on the stealing a chocolate off the tree to my niece and nephew.

For lunch quails eggs with crab and gravad lax, for supper salmon wellington.

I favour a fairly light selection of foods compared with the proper pigout the following day.

Grilled skewered prawns and scallops, usually with a spicy sauce or pesto, cold ham off the bone with an assortment of pickles, potato salad, green salad.

Maybe some small savoury tarts, pâté, smoked salmon, olives, fine cheeses etc. Mince pies, heated and served with custard. Christmas cake, shortbread (save the pudding for next day).

Selection of complementary table wines plus cocktails, good sherry, good scotch etc.