What is your Christmas eve meal/snacks

[AJFsmummy]

Normally we order a full works Chinese banquet, this year we are hard up....so im surfing the web now for cost effective ideas.

What does everyone else have? xx

Nibbles - cheese, pate, smoked salmon, party food.

I'm doing a sausage casserole this year!

Usually we have a filthy KFC

We go out for brunch late morning. Then we have a cheese board for tea, with pickles and sausage rolls and salad. Mince pies and cream for pud. Completely faff free.

Freezer party food

We have a cheese & biscuit evening. We love cheese & biscuits after Christmas day meal but find we are too full, so we have it as a separate meal the night before. As we also go to the Church carol service early evening it saves cooking.

We're doing a whole salmon, baby potatoes with parsley butter, lemon and coriander couscous, a green salad, tomato salad and garlic bread. Got 6 adults and 3 kids coming... then probably some cheese and biscuits.

We're having a ham. I'm going to boil it tonight and make a macaroni cheese to go with it. Then, when we're back from the crib service tomorrow evening, we'll slather it in a glaze, pop it in the oven for 30 minutes, finish off the macaroni cheese alongside and then serve it with peas.

The children like it, it's festive, there's very little to do on the day itself, and there'll be plenty of leftovers for the next few days.

We'll have trifle for pudding which the children will help me make while we wait for DH to come home from work tomorrow afternoon.

the traditional route for us - I cook a large ham and homemade coleslaw which works out great value - too easy to do a large ham which can be then used for lunch Christmas Day (full turkey and trimmings early evening) and on Boxing Day

Takeaway pizzas and Die Hard. Isn't this what everybody does?!

We're having a side of salmon with couscous and butternut squash and pomegranate salad

Crispy duck and pancakes followed by cheese cake. Popcorn while watching a movie. Bailey coffee for the adults and hot choc for the kids.

We have a curry.

We have our Xmas dinner on Xmas eve (we are having turkey and gammon this year) then we have a help yourself buffet for Xmas lunch. I put out the leftover meat, lovely breads and salads, lots of nibbly bits and we have some nice little puddings - people can eat whenever they like. I make a big curry for later in the evening. It works for us as the kids hate sitting down for a meal on Xmas day (too busy playing and full of sweets) and the adults enjoy a relaxed day with the cooking all done. We eat on Xmas eve with the grandparents then play board games until the kids pass out.

I'm cooking leek and chestnut risotto. Festive without stealing Christmas Dinner's thunder I hope! Black Forest Roulade for pud (not homemade) and I'll probably open some fizz for me and my mum once DS is in bed.

I cannot imagine having my christmas dinner on christmas eve and eating cold food on christmas day! And until I came on MN I never heard of anyone doing this!

We cook the ham on Christmas eve night. This year we have a huge M&S crackling gammon and we are having it with macaroni cheese and green salad. There will be tons of ham left for christmas day and beyond. And I will most likely put some in the freezer finely sliced for new year.

I love christmas eve dinner! We always have the ham hot from the oven, some years with bread and salad and pickles. Other years with baked potatoes. This is our first year having macaroni cheese but I got the idea from Nigella's christmas book.

Oh his that's tomorrow! I haven't even sorted out Christmas yet!

Hmmm, popcorn, chips n dips I suspect! Maybe a pizza express pizza? I'm working a full day tomorrow (poss longer as my PC incinerated my work today and I'm a day behind!).

We are having curry goat, and rice & peas.

milkmilk room for 4 more? That sounds like a brilliant idea.

SafariOrigami - we did this as kids because my dad worked in the emergency services control centre and it was easier for him to arrange to be home on xmas eve evening/christmas morning than to have the full day off on xmas day, This way we still got to have xmas dinner together. I suppose its just what you are used to.

Mary Berry's Fish Pie which has a bread and soufflé topping instead of potato.

We have baked camenbert, bread and salad followed by chocolate fondue with bits of fruit and amaretti biscuits to dip.