What are your plans for Christmas Eve Dinner?

[pinkksugarmouse]

In the past we have had a takeaway and will probably do that again this year, probably Indian as DH isn't a big fan of pizza and I find Chinese too salty.

What do you think you will have? 🤔

We'd usually go to children's mass at 3:30, then come home and put together a big buffet and charcuterie and lots of desserts and snacks. Then we'd do Father Christmas prep, my dad will read the boys a Christmas story. The kids go to bed and the adults party for hours (and DH and my DF are both teetotal so would usually spend a few hours putting together toys for the kids that need building!).

Obviously that is unlikely this year, down to the mass part and as we will be cooking on Christmas Day, we will probably have a takeaway. Or I might make a lasagne early in the day to cook in the evening.

The kids want spag bol - so tbh probably will have that. They’re not fussy but get fed up of the over elaborate stuff over the rest of the Xmas period.

Indian takeaway as an antidote to all the English stodge to come

Love reading these.

We have a cheese board every year once the kids are in bed. I thought I was the only one in our house who held onto this little tradition but I mentioned doing something else last year and was instantly vetoed by DH!

@Lovelydovey

The kids want spag bol - so tbh probably will have that. They’re not fussy but get fed up of the over elaborate stuff over the rest of the Xmas period.

I'm making lasagne for boxing day to alleviate the 25 roasts you eat in a row over Christmas!

Christmas Eve will be so different for us this year, we normally have quite a big party at ours with all our family and neighbours. Around thirty five of us but sadly not this year. We always have pulled pork rolls, a giant cheese board, lots of nibbles and lots of desserts. Everyone fills up on gingle juice cocktails and heads home with their presents. It’s really just an easy plan for us to not spend the run up to Christmas driving round dropping of gifts. This year we’ll try and do something special for just us but it definitely won’t be the same.

@maddiemookins16mum

Either a Chinese or steak and dolphin nose potatoes (we call them that ☺️).

Ha we call them that too!

Always roast pork sarnies. It started as our oven was so small but my husband liked pork and I liked beef. So I'd do the pork on Christmas Eve, have half for tea with nice bread rolls, stuffing , gravy etc and then save what was left for the dinner the next day. Then I'd just lay the pork into a tray and pour the reheated left over gravy on it and pop it in the oven for 5 minutes when the beef was resting. These days I tend to lay the Christmas Eve table from around 2pm in the afternoon as we have lots of people drop in. Lots of nice buffet snacks, grazing board and little mini puddings like doughnuts and eclairs It's also the official "Christmas has started" where the kids get to open some treats that they have been ogling in the cupboard since October!

Italian Christmas Eve Stuffed Cabbge Leaves (Valentina Harris recipe) which we've had off and on for Chrstmas Eves going back 20+ years...

We always have a sort of antipasti board, salami, cheese, olives, breads and stuff. An assembly job basically, easily cleared away!

We usually have a ham (either cooked in Coke or cider) with mashed potato and macaroni cheese. DS won't eat mac cheese, DD won't eat ham/mashed potato, so we've somehow come up with this compromise (ham and mac cheese is delish!).

Might change it up this year - we always have way too much meat leftover anyway, and with fewer people likely to be visiting, I don't want to be freezing half a turkey and half a pig to be eating the rest of the year!!

My husband makes a rum and jerk ham which we have with egg and chips. Then we eat leftover cold cuts along with turkey etc for the rest of the christmas period!

Sausage rolls and nibbles.

Usually it is a Chinese takeaway but as I’ve just been diagnosed with gestational diabetes (and not due until February) then who knows?! Already mourning the lack of mince pies I’ll be eating this year...

Chinese. Every year. I prep and cook all day christmas eve and Christmas day so refuse to cook anything for dinner on Christmas eve so its always been take out 😂

Fish and chips with peas/beans. Mince pies with cream/ice cream.
After dinner we usually go for a neighbourhood walk to look at the decorated houses so will do slow cooker hot chocolate to come back to.

We have french dip sandwiches and fries.

We usually go out for a lovely posh lunch on Christmas Eve with family and have champagne or a cocktail. That won't be happening this year as family can't travel.

I think we might just stay at home and have something nice for lunch, smoked salmon and brown soda bread and crack open a bottle of champagne.

I always cook the ham on Christmas Eve night and we eat some once it's cooked, usually with really fresh bread and pickles and chutney. This year I might make macaroni and cheese to go with it and we can have it for dinner.

Lockdown permitting, we're planning a few beers with BIL and SIL then a big sit down curry.

We follow DH’s family tradition and have ham, jacket potatoes and carrots. It was what was easy for his DM to cook between church services.
This has evolved over the years as we normally have friends around for dinner. So I also make mash, sausages, parsley sauce and a veggie option.
If they can’t come this year I will probably cook it all and drop it on their doorstep.

We accidentally started a bit of a tradition of having macaroni cheese (because that's what Kevin has in Home Alone, so DS asked for it one year.) I sometimes add pancetta and breadcrumbs to make it a bit special. But the kids have gone off it a bit so I might have to think of something else!

We always have cold meats, prawns, smoked salmon, hot bread rolls, pâté, cheeses etc. I love it so much, although it is a huge clear up operation as we lay it all out like a banquet. Never mind, it’s worth it

We always have a little buffet and play board games with the kids.

We usually have a little buffet, me and 2 DC. Whatever party type food is on the 3 for 2s etc. DD is veggie so we get a mix of things like pork pies, pizza, mozzarella sticks, chicken etc and we usually have Xmas pudding and custard because no one eats it on Xmas day, we usually have trifle and Xmas cake then

Our tradition is to eat out on Christmas Eve, however this year the place we've been going to the past few years has closed permanently due to Covid so we need to find an alternative. Will book somewhere soon though. We take PIL out with us & pay for them as a little thank you for all they do for us.