What do you eat on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day?

[OrangeCactus]

We are having Christmas at home this year, just me, DP and dd. It's going to be really relaxed and I can't wait!

We need to sit down and decide what we are going to eat on Christmas Eve, Christmas morning and exactly what we are having on our Christmas dinner (only got as far as roast beef so far).

We usually go to parents for Christmas so don't have to really think about it.

So what do you usually eat? Any special drinks that you have?

In need of some inspiration!

On Christmas Day we host so on Christmas Eve we always get a Chinese take out to have a restful Xmas eve; its become a tradition in our house and the very rare time we get one. On Christmas morning sometimes we have bacon rolls (bread fresh from oven) with some Buck's Fizz. This year we have a baby so will have to serve dinner early to fit with ds dinner time so prob will skip breakfast and save our appetites! I'm excited for Christmas now, I like this thread!

On Christmas Eve we usually have roast pork sandwiches with stuffing and apple sauce and a couple of roast potatoes on the side in front of a Christmas film.

There is usually cheese and biscuits (with port for adults) after if anyone fancies it. We also have sherry.

On Christmas Day we have bacon sandwiches and Buck's Fizz.

For dinner we usually have a different starter every year - usually something smoked salmon based or some fresh soup with a hot roll, then turkey with all the trimmings (pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, stuffing, Brussels sprouts with pancetta, cranberry sauce, white sauce, gravy, carrots, roast parsnips).

Dessert is usually bought in Christmas pudding and custard or homemade sherry trifle.

We get red wine, champagne/prosecco, Advocaat, Baileys, Sheridans and sherry in.

Evening food is just leftover cold turkey/pork, pork pies, cheese and biscuits, bowl of crisps, etc that we can pick at as usually full at that point!

Plus we always get in mints to have with coffee after Christmas dinner...After Eights or Bendicks

Christmas Eve is a normal family dinner could be anything from casserole to a lasagne. We have hot chocolate at night with a few snacks while we watch films. Christmas morning the kids have cereal and it's probably the only day of the year me and DH have breakfast with the kids (usually some toast). I cook hot snacks (mini pizzas, mozzarella sticks, mini Kiev's stuff like that during the day for people to pick at) and then tea is cooked at 6pm just a normal Christmas roast. Then we eat junk (chocolate, sweets, leftovers ect) till we pass out

Christmas Eve for us is always a little spread of ham (glazed with honey mustard this year), freshly baked crusty rolls, a selection of cheeses/pickle and preserves, some salads and some general “buffet” style bits such as mini suasgaes, sausage rolls etc. For afters there will be yule log, mince pies and lebkuchen.

For breakfast on Christmas day, I have some frozen pastries I can stick straight int he oven and then lay our for people to help themselves. Nice and low effort.

Christmas dinner for us is turkey and gammon. With the meats we will have roast potatoes, roast parsnips, pork sage and onion stuffing, pigs in blankets, yorkshire puddings (husbands insistence!), carrot and parsnip mash, glazed carrots, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, cabbage and leeks sautéed with bacon bits, mash potatoes and sprouts. Will have gravy, cranberry sauce and mint sauce to go with.
Will also have Christmas pudding and an alternative dessert, which we have yet to choose.

As we have Christmas dinner at lunch, in the evening I will do a buffet dinner using up all of the left over meats and some general nibbles. All of the family come over to our house for games and drinks in the later afternoon through to the night.

Drink wise the children always have sparkling grape juices (red and white). Adults don't really have any special drinks, except for bucks fizz.

Christmas Eve we always have lasagna. I'd love to do something different but DS won't hear of it. So lasagna, salad and garlic bread. Chocolates and Baileys and a Christmas movie after.

We usually have a fry up for breakfast as we don't have Christmas dinner til around 4.30. Again I'd like a change but I go with the majority!

We do some nice nibbles with champagne and a board game while dinner is cooking.

Christmas dinner around 4.30. We have turkey and ham and all the trimmings. Not sure about dessert yet. I fancy a chocolate and almond torte with orange and star anise ice cream. Or a pavlova. Or a trifle.

Not sure about the evening. Will depend on if anyone is hungry. Sometimes have turkey sandwiches. Or maybe just cheese and biscuits.

my mum and dad usually come for tea on Christmas eve so i do a hot and cold buffet, they arent this year though so we are going let the dc choose, Christmas day breakfast is normally cereal/toast , dinner is full on roast, usually turkey but this year im doing roast lamb. i do a small buffet for tea. i buy a bottle of advocaat, rum, baileys and brandy, a few bottles of wine, bottled beers and nice lager. getting excited now

Actually I tell a lie about drinks, I nearly forgot one of my favourite bits on Christmas eve!

I always treat myself to one or two or three or four, glasses of champagne with a few frozen raspberries in and a dash of Chambord.

Forgot to say for Christmas dinner we have turkey, pork sage & onion stuffing, roasted honey glazed parsnips & roast pots, leek mash, steamed carrots, broccoli & dark green cabbage, pigs in blankets, caramelised onion gravy and Yorkshire pudding. Condiments are mint, cranberry and apple sauces and also some pickled onions. Usually drink martini Asti with our dinner and jug of iced water on offer.

Oh and mashed swede_

Christmas Eve DH usually works a half day so we have a Pizza Hut lunch then just nibbles in the evening. Can't remember how it started but it's become a bit of tradition now!

Christmas day breakfast is normal so usually toast/crumpets/muffins.

Christmas dinner is roast chicken (we all prefer it to turkey), roast potatoes, stuffing, pigs in blankets and 3 or 4 veg (not decided what yet). Mince pies or Christmas pud for dessert.

Neither me or DH are big drinkers so a small bottle of vodka and 2 bottles of wine will last us into January! Always get Baileys from MIL too. We'll also get some J2O for DC as they always say it seems grown up.

We've had all sorts on Christmas Eve. We've had pie a few times which I like a lot as I can make it in advance. We've had Chinese which was nice but can't get my head around that on xmas eve so won't be doing that again. I might do a little buffet this year. We don't usually have a big pudding, we have hot chocolate and cookies in front of a Christmas film.

Christmas Day is some kind of roast meat (turkey and ham this year), roast potatoes, roast carrots, parsnips, sprouts with bacon, pigs in blankets, broccoli, peas, Yorkshire puddings, stuffing and gravy. I will probably do vegan pie or vegan sausages for my brother. I haven't decided on pudding yet. Something fruity and something chocolates usually.

Oh Christmas Day breakfast is cinnamon rolls, bacon rolls and fruit.

Christmas eve is carpet picnic with stuff like samosas, bhajis, spring rolls, mozzarella sticks, satay chicken, tempura prawns etc (and ham sandwiches for the children, they hate all the spicy stuff).

Christmas morning breakfast is normal food - toast, cereal, maybe pain au chocolate for a treat but not really anything special.

Christmas dinner as normal.

Sorry I missed the drinks!! Bucks Fizz Christmas morning, J2O for the kids as a treat, I get lots of different juices and lemonade/coke. Dh will have some beer and I will have prosecco or wine.

The last couple of Christmas eves we’ve done brisket in the slow cooker and had it with stotties and the onion gravy, lush! Think we’ll do that again this year as we are hoping to go to a NT house so can leave it cooking all day.

Christmas morning we would normally do Nutella pancakes and strawberries for the kids, almond croissants for us. I might have my first Buck’s Fizz at this point too!

Later on we go to my mam’s for dinner. We always do a different starter. I’m hoping for seared scallops, crispy pancetta and pea purée this year. Mam then does an amazing dinner of turkey, ham, two types of homemade stuffing, Yorkshire puddings, a tray of roast veg, sometimes cauliflower cheese, gravy. She normally buys a treacle tart from a local bakery to have with cream after that as no one likes xmas pudding but this year she’s ordering a Chocolate birthday cake as it’s my son’s and stepdad’s big birthdays the next day so that will be delicious.

Christmas night is normally leftovers from dinner. I like to put a whole dinner in a stottie and have it all again!

Boxing Day this year we are going out who no idea what we’ll eat. Nothing with gravy though, maybe Mexican.

Christmas eve - we have our big Christmas dinner. This year turkey crown, leg of lamb, pigs in blankets, stuffing, cheesey leeks, braised red cabbage, roast potatoes roast parsnips, sprouts fried with bacon, swede mash, carrots, Yorkshire puddings and gravy.
Christmas day breakfast - salmon and scrambled egg with toasted muffins. Bacon for me as I hate salmon.
Christmas day dinner - DH's amazing bubble and squeak (made from leftover veg) with meat and gravy. Dessert will be Xmas pud and cream, brandy butter and ice cream. I want tiramisu or something as well.

This thread has made me really hungry now.

I'm literally starving now and want my Xmas dinner tonight!! I can't wait until 25th

Christmas Eve - it all depends.

Christmas morning - I used to try to get everyone to have breakfast together but everyone gets up at different times especially now the dc are 18 & 22. I always try to have smoked salmon for me; nobody else likes it - heathens. Then later, while I'm cooking, a glass or two of champagne. I love cooking but don't really enjoy turkey so I do a two fat ladies duck recipe with Chinese 5 spice and the usual roast turkey accompaniments. We have red and white wine, Christmas pudding with brandy butter, custard and cream. This is usually at about 8.p.m. We never eat roast until evening. Everyone gets up too late!

Thanks everyone for the replies! So many variations and different ideas.

Turquoisetambourine I would kill for stotties on Christmas Eve but we can't get them in Yorkshire

I think we might do a 'bits' dinner on Christmas Eve, like a small buffet style. I don't fancy a takeaway or a big dinner. Still no idea about Christmas Day breakfast! Maybe bacon sarnies as dd loves them.

It varies from year to year, but this year :-

Christmas eve lunchtime - Lasagne (DD1 and DD3s favourite food)
Christmas eve - Buffet style with sausage rolls and naice ham

Christmas morning - fresh croisants from the boulangerie with homemade jam and fresh orange juice
Christmas lunch - Normally do turkey but there are only 7 of us this year so we are having beef Wellington, fondant potatoes, roast parsnips and squash purée. Starter will be deep fried camembert with Cranberry sauce, pudding is Sticky toffee Christmas pud from the bbcgoodfood (had it last year - it is delicious).

Christmas evening we will just have cheese, cheese and more cheese (and maybe a mince pie)

Frenchfancy your xmas lunch sounds amazing!!

Orange, I’ll send you some stotties!!

Don't do what I did one year for Christmas eve here with partners parents. I made a fish pie, which was lovely, but all you could smell through the house for the next couple of days was smoked haddock.. Even the roasting turkey on xmas day failed to get totally rid of the smell. It really wasn't very Christmassy.

That's why I play it save and have a takeaway chicken chow mein as nice and light and at least house stays clean and fresh for Xmas day. I do a New Year's Eve buffet so tend to avoid a repeat on Xmas eve