what do you eat on Christmas Eve?

[Onedayinthesun]

Trying to decide if we should eat out and save the mess and stress, order a takeaway or cook something scummy?!

We are family of four and try to get together by 3pm on Christmas Eve and start our family Christmas once work and last minute bits & pieces are done.

Interested to hear what you are all planning to eat on Christmas Eve?

We always had a Chinese takeaway on Christmas Eve when I was a kid and I have continued doing that but I am thinking of doing something different this year.

Lotta ring your local dominoes up and see if they do it. Collection only which obviously means taking your badge up to prove you work for them. Hope that helps?

Australia here, will be warm so me and DP will have seafood. His preference, we'll get the traditional English roast at the parents' next day. Maybe prawn cocktail followed by crab and bugs with fresh bread. Something naughty for dessert. Better do something like macaroni cheese for the kids :)

I usually have to feed a lot of folk, some of whom will have travelled a few hours to get to me.

I roast a huge pork and make hot sandwiches, which I serve with nibbles/pickles plus mince pies plus Christmas cake.

Shegot can we come?

Now that I know that I can outsource the roasting of the bird to my butcher on Christmas Eve, we have capon (which we collect hot and fresh off the rotisserie at 7pm and leave to rest for an hour) and full Christmas Dinner. The capon is absolutely delicious - so much better than if cooked at home. There are no roast bird smells in the kitchen, the oven and hob are free to cook all the trimmings with no juggling. And Christmas Day is so very much nicer: we can focus on presents and having fun rather than on cooking.

Just our usual meals.

Chinese shredded duck and pancakes.

We have baked ham, chips, fried egg and pickles. Like OP I could never decide what to have and equally always cooked a ham and never got round to eating it all!

Some of the gammon that has been cooked for the following day. I'd be well up for a Chinese though!

Something that I can make ahead of time and keep in the freezer until Christmas Eve. Lasagna, or a cheesy potato bake. All in one foil tray which makes washing up easier. I try and do as much Christmas day food prep done the day before, so I like to keep things as easy as possible for eating.

Starving reading this thread, particularly after reading about the roast pork sandwiches and steak dinners [santa]

We used to always throw a load of M&S party food in the oven after DD had gone to bed, and open the baileys and bucks fizz (Actually, the baileys and bucks fizz had been open all day) But we eat a lot of picky bits/party food over Christmas so I changed it last year. We now have hot roast turkey and homemade pork and chestnut stuffing sandwiches, with some mayo and cranberry sauce on. We also have a camembert topped with a caramelised onion chutney and we dip cool original doritos in it. There's baileys, bucks fizz, snowman soup (white hot chocolate) and also some cheese and onion rolls and m&s mini sausage rolls.

Was thinking of doing a honey roasted gammon, Nigella's macaroni cheese and some red cabbage but will stick with the traditional Christmas eve dinner and move the gammon to the 27th.

A very very tasty ham that DH cooks and Nigella's deluxe macaroni cheese.

When DCs are tucked up me and DH will gorge on picky bits and oyster

Just read your post village You've got impeccable taste

I'm working on Christmas eve until around 8pm so we're having our traditional buffet on wed the 23rd, invite family round and watch christmas movies and generally just have a carry on!
We have a small hamper with shortbread, christmas cake, coffee, lindor and fudge which we will eat along with a few savoury nibbles once i get home from work.

Cooked ham with cheese, crackers and chutney on the side, apple juice for the DCs and a cheeky cider for DH and me. Always plenty left over for Boxing Day too. After that we all pile onto the sofa with mulled wine (made with red grape juice so DCs can share) and watch It's A Wonderful Life before bedtime.

Often a takeaway here. I'm working Christmas eve so it's my excuse for being lazy and not cooking when I get home. I find something spicy (like an Indian) also breaks up the (sometimes slightly boring) roast dinner over-load that comes with December! By the time I've had one at the work Christmas party, had a Christmas meal or two with friends, and, of course, had Christmas dinner, I'm usually starting to get a bit fed up of roast dinners.

At my folks for a take away my DP is working mostly likely until 10pm and DD is having her first xmas with her dad and his family 150 miles away (trying not to cry thinking about it)

As do you BaconandAvocado

At the Christmas festival we go to on Christmas Eve, they do an outdoor BBQ and serve gorgeous steak burgers topped with cheese and you can add any salad you want, plus pickles, mustard, burger sauce, ketchup etc so that'll be lunch sorted. They serve mulled wine too. It's a great day.

Aah Special that will be tough, but hopefully you'll have a lovely grown up Christmas filled with gorgeous food & drink.

Our Christmas Eve tradition is a trip to the cinema to watch whatever Christmas movie is out & then pizza express. I save some tesco clubcard vouchers for this so it's free. That usually takes us to 6pm then it's home to watch tv & chill. Lovely

Dcs and I prep all the food for Christmas day on Christmas eve morning, they get their 'elf boxes' around lunchtime (dropped of by the elves when they're not looking) containing new pjs, popcorn and stuff to make hot chocolate with all the trimmings. We have hot chocolate and popcorn while watching Father Christmas. Dh comes home from work around 2pm and after dropping off any gifts to family we have a buffet for dinner which consists of cheeses, fresh bread, pork pie etc with trifle for pudding. When I lived at him it was always a takeaway but we have takeaway on new year's eve.

We go out for a Chinese meal and pay half each.

We have champagne and a buffet watching Carols from Kings.

Love reading all of these it's making me feel so festive! It will be my first year as a mum so it will be special!