Ideal menu on Christmas Day

[wasthataburp]

Hit me with your perfect menu for Xmas day please ... in detail!

I am an early planner haha

The kids have variety pack cereal & chocolate from stockings for breakfast.

We usually just have tea/coffee but have crumpets/toast if hungry.

Don't tend to do much lunch but have cocktail sausages, cheese, crackers, quiche, salad etc for anyone who wants it. (I did a lovely buffet one year but no one wanted Christmas dinner later.)

Christmas dinner will be Quorn roast, nut roast, mini sausage rolls, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, stuffing balls, carrots, cauliflower cheese, sprouts, peas & corn on the cob.

Pudding will be chocolate torte with ice cream.

Evening snacks are similar to lunch time depending how hungry (if at all) anyone is.

For Christmas Eve this year I'm planning pancakes/waffles with fruit salad for breakfast & a buffet for tea. I'll cook an extra quiche for C.Day at the same time.

We're a vegetarian/vegan household & no one drinks much but we'll probably have a bottle of red (Yellow Tail Merlot) for C.Day evening & some lovely cordials like strawberry & lime & my favourite elderflower one with lemonade.

Boxing Day is usually my favourite, everyone is absorbed with their new toys, there are plenty of tasty leftovers so no real cooking & all the hard work, planning & prepping has been done. So a lazy day that starts with coffee in bed usually - bliss!

As a result of this thread, DH and I are now seriously considering getting a Krispy Kreme dozen for Xmas morning breakfast.

Usually I do smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for me (made with extra yokes and a dash of double cream) on a toasted English muffin, a sausage and bacon butty for DH, and something like Xmas tree shaped crumpets for DC's. So it's a lot of different things and mess right at the start of the day. Box of donuts has real appeal!

Love the idea of a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, they had fab Christmas designs last year too!

@ILoveGroot

Love the idea of a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, they had fab Christmas designs last year too!

Stop it, Groot you're making it worse! Christmas designs?! I can see this becoming a new family tradition!

They didn't have all of these last year, but definitely had the reindeer and the Santa and a couple of others 🎄🎄🎄🎄

@ILoveGroot

They didn't have all of these last year, but definitely had the reindeer and the Santa and a couple of others 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Well I'm sold.

Breakfast: they sort themselves out (probs nothing more than toast or cereal). I dash off to church at 8.30 because I always sides on Xmas morning.

11.30ish: smoked salmon triangles, smoked salmon, champagne and presents.

2.30ish: roast turkey crown, ready stuffed, roast, boned duck, roasties (spud and snips), runner beans, bought red cabbage, bought poultry gravy, pigs. Xmas pud for DH and MIL, chocolate pud of some sort for me and DC. (They are grown up now). Lashings of wine.

6.30/7: birthday cake and tea/champagne.

Evening: chocolates.

I buy almost everything ready prepped now except the spuds and parsnips. Life is far too short!

I don't work for Krispy Kreme, honestly! Just a life long lover of them 🍩🍩🍩

Haggis bon bons for starters!! We discovered them at Edinburgh Festival couple of years ago and have been the adult starter since

Breakfast: Homemade cinnamon rolls, hot from the oven 😋 with fruit, nice coffee and orange juice

Lunch: We don't do starters, just a main. But we go BIG. Loads of sides. Lamb, turkey, pigs in blankets, stuffing (sausage and sage & onion), roast potatoes, potato dauphinoise, roasted carrots and parsnips, broccoli, peas, proper homemade gravy for both turkey and lamb.

Evening: We don't have a proper dinner but we have pudding later on in the evening. Usually Christmas pudding, a cheeseboard and then something else (profiteroles or something).

If anyone is hungry (or just greedy 😁) in between then they can have chocolates, leftovers, nibbles etc.

Also lots of prosecco, wine, beer to wash it down.

Breakfast is really no different to normal, except for some chocolate added from Christmas stockings

I'll be catering for 3 generations - me, DH and teen DC, my DM, DB and aunt. Lunch/Dinner here for the last few years has been: -

Slices of melon wrapped in parma ham possibly with pomegranate seeds sprinkled over for a festive appearance (good cold starter for getting people to sit at table and everyone loves it, if a vegetarian shows up I would just leave off the parma ham and add some segmented orange)
followed by
Carrot and coriander soup, spiced with ginger, a little paprika, a tiny hint of chilli, garnished with a splash of cream and a sprinkling of chives
followed by
Turkey, Ham, Spiced Beef served with
Stuffing - I will include finely chopped apples or apricots, sage, onions
Mashed Potatoes and Roast Potatoes and
Brussels sprouts with Pancetta, Buttered Carrots, Garden Peas
followed by
Christmas Pudding served with Custard or Cream or
Fruit Salad - which will be a labour of love
followed by
Tea/Coffee with chocolate biscuits (from a tin!)

Not much drinking here, we may open but not finish a bottle of wine and I will make DH a nice hot toddy or two when our guests have gone home

I will cheat with the turkey and get something boned and rolled from the butcher - just enough for us on the day and leftovers for my DM to have the next day.

Later there will be toasted sandwiches and maybe a cheeseboard with crackers and grapes

Breakfast - champagne
Lunch - champagne followed by chablis
Dinner - pink port

Might have some food on the side but preferably not too much (perhaps some cheese straws)

B: smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. Poss with brioche toast

L: seafood terrine or smoked fish selection

Turkey, cola ham, roast potatoes, yorkshires, hm cranberry and bread sauces, chestnut stuffing, pigs in blankets, Brussels with chestnuts and pancetta, roasted parsnips, red cabbage.

D: cheese and pâté, baked Camembert, hm nibbles like spring rolls

Love all these menus.
What time do you generally sit down for lunch?

I love this thread! Probably repeating much of what others have said - although I'd like to add Chinese takeaway for Christmas Eve evening!

Breakfast - pain au chocolat and Bucks Fizz or smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels early

Mid morning Baileys and mince pies

Lunch - Turkey with nut stuffing and sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes in goose fat, carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and lardons, gravy

Chocolate version of Christmas pudding afterwards and cheese and crackers and port

Dinner - leftovers, maybe with homemade chips if needed, mince pies, cheese and crackers, pate and chocolates

I can't wait

Starter prawns or lobster for the family -I am allergic so tends to be some pate or smoked goose breast for me.

Turkey and/or venison
Mash
Roasties
Brussels
Carrots
Turnip
pigs in blankets
2 types of home made stuffing
Chunky cranberry sauce
Gravy

Homemade sherry trifle
Christmas pudding and custard
Sticky toffee pudding and tablet ice cream

Mince pies and cheese board
Coffee

Breakfast is just a normal toast and scrambled egg affair .
Dinner is served at 2pm and tend not to eat much else (although there is loads of stuff available!)

Presents opened in early evening with Bellinis.

Copious amounts of booze throughout the day.

We usually eat at my folks so take what we are given. This year though we are planning on just the four of us (2 dc under10).

Morning- pastries (esp choc twists and cinnamon swirls), bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon.

Open presents, kids snack on any sweeties they find in their stockings. Play with gifts, eventually get dressed.

Drive out to the coast for a good walk, with a flask of hot chocolate.

Home and kids into a nice bubble bath each (they always get bath bombs), and I cook a meal which we all eat in our comfies round the coffee table watching a festive movie.

Main meal - turkey, pigs in blankets, stuffing, Yorkshire puds, roast potatoes, honey roasted parsnips and carrots, cauliflower cheese, broccoli and sprouts, gravy, cranberry and mint sauces.

Kids will have some sort of pudding afterwards.

Once they are in bed dh and I will have a cheese board.

Really hungry now!
Breakfast - sometimes smoked salmon & creamcheese bagels, sometimes a really good porkpie, sometimes warmed pastries.
Lunch - we don’t always bother with a starter but if we do, we might have smoked salmon if we didn’t have it for breakfast or a prawn/ general shellfish thing
Main course - some years we have goose, pork or spiced beef but my fav is turkey crown with all the trimmings :- pigs in blankets, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, stuffing, maybe Yorkshires, honey roast parsnips, carrots, petit pois, red cabbage, sprouts ( not for me!), roast potatoes & a rich yummy gravy
Pudding - we wait a while then have traditional Christmas pud with custard. DM used to make a lighter one called St Stephens pudding, which is citrusy.
Tea - a mixture of cold roast & cheeses including Double Gloucester with chives which is divine with cold roast potatoes! I love a sarnie with cold turkey, stuffing & bread sauce or Hellmanns mayo, not forgetting the black pepper!

Love cauliflower cheese with roast beef

Yummmmm. I wonder if I could get away with making some of these elements as pre-Christmas practice...

@nervousnelly8

Yummmmm. I wonder if I could get away with making some of these elements as pre-Christmas practice...

Definitely nervousnelly8 I practice Yorkshire puddings every Sunday throughout the winter months! Have to make sure they are perfect for Christmas 😁

We generally sit down to lunch between 2 and 3.

Currently, the topic of conversation is what we shall eat on Christmas Eve. We're thinking rack of venison. . . which will involve a couple of practice runs. Such a shame. . .

Babycham and Matchmakers is my non-negotiable Christmas breakfast. We have cinnamon buns while opening presents, then lunch at about two - turkey and all the trimmings. We take a break for the Queen and have Christmas Pudding, hard sauce and cream at about half four. About seven DH starts wanting a turkey sandwich...

I love the idea of donuts for breakfast!
I always offer myself to cook on Xmas day because is one of the only opportunities I get to cook ridiculous amounts of food.
I tend to change meat and try different things every year, also depends what country I'm in so will be a complete different menu.
At my MIL,
B: bacon, sausages, crumpets, toast. Loads of coffee and tea. Few chocs when opening presents.
L: Don't do starters as no one apart from me likes shellfish, fish, pate or similar.
Turkey crown, standing rib of beef, 2 kinds of stuffing, goose roasties, cauliflower cheese, orange glazed carrots, honey roasted parsnips Brussels sprouts, green beans, Yorkshire puddings, vats of gravy. Chocolate cake, caramel cheesecake. Cheese board. More chocs, mince pies (probably only for me)
D: you know where the leftovers are. Usually will get nice bread for whoever wants sarnies but usually everyone tends to get another helping of lunch.
Back home at my dad's
B: nice bread toasted with tomato, olive oil and ibérico ham. Fresh orange juice and coffee.
L: for starters tapas style. Grilled prawns, langoustines, razor clams. Clams in white wine sauce. Garlic prawns. Bacon wrap dates. Cold mussels with veggie vinaigrette. Ox carpaccio with lime and basil dressing. Smoked cod and orange salad. Bitter lettuce and pomegranate salad. Dressed black olives. Cold cuts (ibérico, pork loin, chorizo, saucisson). Nice bread to mop up sauces.
Fish soup.
Main roast, usually leg of lamb or stuffed chicken. Baker potatoes and roasted red peppers.
Pears in red wine.
Profiteroles, mini apple tarts, mini chocolate mousse.
Coffes, liquors, homemade truffles and biscuits. Loads of dried fruits and nuts.
D: you know where the leftovers are.
In both houses no alcohol for breakfast, but from 12 the bar is open.

@ILoveGroot

They didn't have all of these last year, but definitely had the reindeer and the Santa and a couple of others 🎄🎄🎄🎄

OMG I need this in my life! That's our Xmas brekkie sorted.