Christmas Eve food help

[HappySonHappyMum]

I am embarrassed to say I've never mad much of an effort on Christmas Eve. We've often ended up grazing on a buffet at someone else's house but this year it's going to be different as we'll definitely be at home. I usually focus on Christmas Day cooking but thought it would be really nice to have a Christmassy meal the night before as well as there'll only be four of us. What do you all usually do? All suggestions welcome!

@HappySonHappyMum

Well crispy dick definitely sounds interesting!! Does anyone have a recipe

Chinese takeaway

I prefer to eat out if I'm cooking on Christmas Day or have got a takeaway occasionally if couldn't get a booking for somewhere suitable. Last Christmas I made the effort as dp was meeting my family, I wouldn't recommend my menu because it was super fiddly and took dd and I half the day to pull it off (was delicious and impressive though I say it myself but I'm never making puff pastry again nor opera cake but we could have won bake off!)

@AriettyHomily love it! I did do duck last year, slow cooked took 4 hours, stupid choice

@AriettyHomily

I don't know how it started but we always have crispy dick in pancakes from the take away.

I feel guilty for not having anything useful to add here (we often have a takeaway too on Christmas Eve) but :o :o :o

We are definitely having crispy dick too now - I'll post a photo on Christmas Eve.

We usually have lasagne though.

I’d love a bit of crispy dick and pancakes.

But this year we’re having Pizza Hut.

Options we have had on Xmas eve before include:
Gammon joint served with mac and cheese
Fish pie
Lasagne, green salad, garlic bread
Nice oven pizzas and salad
Jacket potatoes, gammon, coleslaw, salad
Pigs in blankets sandwiches
Or takeaway - usually Chinese (crispy duck, bbq ribs, Kung Pao chicken etc)

We often have a chinese takeaway!

@AriettyHomily you’ve just made my day with the crispy dick comment. Thank you 😊

We have takeaway pizza. Not sure when it happened, but its a tradition now in our house.

Nice buffet food from m&s or an Indian takeaway

Smoked fish fish pie. I prefer it to the Christmas meal

We used to have roast ham and dauphinoise but now we live somewhere that seafood is really reasonable we have a giant shellfish platter - lobster, crab, oysters, prawns, whelks - plus mussels cooked separately. French bread, mayonnaise, salted butter. Champagne to drink. Luckily all the kids like some sort of seafood, so it’s easy, and takes no time.

We have a cheese fondue here too!

It feels special and wintery and whilst it's a whole heap of cheese we serve it with cherry tomatoes, baby potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cornichons, baby pickled onions and a green salad for a slightly healthy note (in addition to pigs in blankets and heaps of crusty bread too!).

We do lentil bake (autistic ds's favourite) or fish pie on Christmas Eve, and gammon on boxing Day.

We cook a Christmas ham on Christmas Eve and have hot ham sandwiches in fresh bread with stuffing and apple sauce.

Followed by apple strudel from lidl with custard

@AriettyHomily thank you for cheering me up after a rubbish day. The new snapped and farted

@SilenceOfTheEmu

I will now be having pigs in blanket sandwiches for breakfast, thank you!

@TheCrow

Usually Christmas Eve is when we're allowed to break into all the Christmas food so we have picky tea- Wensleydale with cranberries, nice crackers with pate and onion chutney, posh crisps, cheese straws etc Sometimes I do some gammon with coke in the slow cooker.

This! Perfect - you'll eat too much the next day anyway.

It’s usually a fish pie here - white fish, smoked haddock and prawns, lots of parsley in the sauce, loads of mash with cheese on top. It’s a bit of a faff though.

Nothing special for Christrmas eve but am reconsideirng now!!

I always do baked ham with cranberry sauce and cauli cheese for Boxing day though.

We either do fish pie, or Christmas lasagne. It's made with hazelnut size meatballs and mozzarella balls, or chunks off a big ball , in tomato sauce between the pasta. It's fiddly making the meatballs but from then on its easier the a normal one.

Hmmm crispy dick, is that like spotted dick? 😂😂

We usually have fish pie and a glass of fizz as the kids love fish pie and I love fizz! The last couple of years we had hot chocolates and watched a film afterwards. This year I like the idea of a platter and a game / film.

A platter of 'fruits de mer' and vintage champagne.

Ordered it just today for collection on Christmas Eve from those naice people at Waitrose. We used to have a choice of proper fishmongers in the twin centre.

I would love fruits de mer but worry about food poisoning on Christmas Day 😬