Christmas Eve dinner

[Mallowmarshmallow]

What do you all have?

I always find whatever we choose a bit of a disappointment. I don't really want a take away and we go to the carol concert on the green at about 4ish so it would be nice if it was something we could come back to fairly easily.

usually a nice buffet but I'm toying this year with something less faff like decent burgers in rolls which we can scoff while watching a film after Carols from Kings. one dc away this year and other two are adult/teen so no desperate need to pull out all the stops and seriously can't be arsed with it any more...

Usually I do a ham - eg Nigella ginger ham. We have it warm with dauphinoise potatoes and veg them cold on Boxing Day.
One year we had fish and chips and champagne.
This year we are at a party so will have some nibbles and probably cheese when we get home.

Moved from UK to Sweden three years ago. So Christmas Eve is the big ticket here. Lunch is a Christmas porridge which is a mire like a rice pudding with cinnamon. Christmas dinner would be a ham, smoked smoked, pickled herrings, potatoes. Red cabbage, Johnssons. Afterwards it cake and coffee in the living room and presents. Swedish presents from MIL, SIL and cousin and a couple of pressents are opened then. Christmas morning in stockings, english presents from DM and us. Christmas lunch last year was supposed to be traditional English but we had so much from the Swedish left over that we had the turkey and trimmingsl on boxing day - including crackers.

We have quite a quiet Christmas Eve with just dh and me watching the TV.

This year I'll probably just do antipasti- lots of olives, meats, salads etc

I usually cook a big gammon and leftovers can be eaten with Christmas dinner. I get those new potatoes already in the mint butter to go with it because they're quick and easy. I don't like to do lots of cooking on Christmas Eve and I don't like to eat too much either because I love to pig out on Christmas Day

Always a Chinese takeaway. Although last year we had beef wellington on Christmas Eve Eve and that felt quite festive too

I have been thinking of doing this the past two Christmases, I usually have to have the Parents in law christmas day so never have convinced hubby! Wish I had done it when the children were younger. I feel like I miss christmas day in the kitchen!

Ear christmas dinner on christmas eve I mean!

I made this for a few years, but I've hosted Christmas for the last couple, and it's been too hectic with all the food prep:
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2265/braised-beef-with-red-wine-and-cranberry

The last couple of years we've had pizza. I might test the beef out in the slow cooker though, see how it goes. If it's good, that'd be perfect. I'd probably buy some ready made mash and prepared veg (lazy) to go with it.

We have a family tradition of crispy duck pancake supper on Christmas Eve. For no better reason than it's always half price in Sainsburys and we all love it
Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve sounds like a great idea although I have never once not been up wrapping presents until past midnight so it wouldn't work for me until DDs are older and I get to be more organised
Loving reading everyone's traditions x

Pasta bake. It's what my German MIL served up for her family, and my husband loves it. Christmas Eve is the big event for us too, with Christmas Day being much more relaxed. Love it!

We go to my parents and have a large gammon joint, jacket potatoes, salad, coleslaw, cheeses, olives, crisps and lot of other picky buffet type things. I love it.

we usually hack bits off the ham, nice rolls/bread and salady bits....it's usually been driving everyone crazy all day with it porky goodness wafting round the house, and it is inevitably too big for the fridge, so we have to eat some of it in order to get it put away for the Boxing Day Buffet.

We always have fish or seafood, usually spaghetti vongole and champagne!

Christmas dinner. Done for 5 years or so, means I get to relax on Christmas day and don't resent the time in the kitchen!

Growing up, we had Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve as it made it easier for DM - we went to a drinks party at her friends' every Christmas Day and it meant she could enjoy herself without having to consider cooking the turkey when we got home.

Now I run my own Christmas, we usually have a roast ham on Christmas Eve with jacket potato and cauliflower cheese. I do a huge joint so there's enough for leftovers for at least two or three days afterwards.