Does anyone have their Christmas Dinner Christmas eve??

[Dickorydockwhatthe]

Christma is normally so busy and hectic that we are shattered and full by late afternoon. We normally got church Xmas eve and get a take away. I'm think of Chrismas dinner Xmas eve and then a chilled day Xmas day with games, TV and a buffet and maybe family walk. I guess it depends if we can see family or not.

That’s what I’m doing this year. Similar reasons too, Christmas Day is hectic. I just want a chilled day. My son won’t eat a big meal too early in the day and I don’t want to cook in the evening after a long, tiring day! So I decided after last Christmas that we would have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve this year and see how it goes.

Doesn't the Queen do this? German tradition stemming from Prince Albert?

This is the done thing here in Brazil. Big dinner on Christmas Eve and very chilled Christmas day. Love it.

Yes, we've done this for the last three years now. Works well for us.

I'm not Brazilian or the Queen but have being doing this for many years! We love it and would never change back. I want to enjoy watching the DC opening the presents that we put so much thought into and have time to spend playing games and things with them. I also want to properly enjoying cooking the food and eating it and generally entertaining. So we make it two separate events. In 'normal' times the grandparents come along too and we usually invite any friends who are at a loose end or spending Christmas alone.

My mum is a great cook and when I lived at home would go to so much trouble to make Christmas dinner special but the constant to-ing and fro-ing to the kitchen getting progressively more grumpy yet refusing to accept any help raised everyone's stress levels to the point where the shine was taken off it a bit.

We don't do this and I have never known anyone in real life who does it.

We cook the ham on Christmas Eve night and I have very fond memories of growing up with this tradition. And as a teen / early 20's going to meet friends in the pub and coming home to find the house finally empty after family and friends calling in all evening. It would just be me and my siblings and our parents. My dad would carve some ham and we'd have amazing sandwiches and exchange our presents. We all loved it.

We never find Christmas morning a stress as we have coffee and mince pies opening presents when we wake (dc now teen) and then a cooked brunch and we eat our dinner in the evening with candles etc, We don't start eating till about 7pm or after.

We have done it this way ever since we got married and it has always suited us. Dc had plenty of time to play before we had the focus of the delicious meal.

We would have a full cooked breakfast at around midday or pancakes and crispy bacon and maple syrup or eggs benedict with champagne and that would keep us all going till dinner.

I would really miss my Christmas dinner on Christmas Day!

Despite being German our Christmas meal is on Christmas Day.

Main reason for us is that we do presents at 5-6pm and the last thing I want is cooking afterwards.

We normally do a short and fast dinner just a bit more special and eat around 7.30pm

I normally work on Christmas Eve until lunchtime and prefer my afternoon in peace and quite with Stollen.

I am this year. Decided to have my parents Christmas eve and dhs Christmas day - if allowed - to minimise mixing and therefore will have more meat eaters on Christmas eve and I am always irritated by everyone after cooking on Christmas day so think I might like this. Will miss our extended family visiting at twixmas, but won't miss the work of hosting!

Yes for a few years now, DH has half day Christmas Eve then 25th and 26th and that's it so like to make the most of it and not spend the 24th killing time plus it is so much more relaxing on Christmas Day and I am not all hot from the oven and smelling of roast dinner. We have so much more time to look at and play with DCs and their gifts, a walk and no fixed times for anything. I cook more pigs in blankets and maybe a baked Camembert but the rest we graze buffet style then Boxing Day is the true lazy, leftovers day.

We did last year, and then had a sort of running buffet from lunchtime onwards on Christmas Day. It was brilliant.

We are going to this year. It's just the four of us and even though we mostly do M&S food, it's still a lot of effort and takes someone away from playing with the kids. Last year was stressful; baby DS wanted held throughout, DD ate nothing at all and constantly whined to get back to presents. I hate turkey but DH won't consider a Christmas dinner without it so it was an awful lot of effort so that one person got to eat some turkey! It would maybe be different if we had lots of visitors to occupy the children, but then I'd feel like I was missing out.

This year, we are going to have it on Christmas Eve with less rush and pressure so DH gets his turkey and ham fix and then a takeaway curry on Christmas day. My parents have my sister and her young children on Christmas Day and they are doing the same after a similar disaster last year.

As a child, we always had Christmas dinner late in the evening because my Dad was working on the farm until after 6 so a huge meal at lunchtime was never part of our day.

We don’t but my favourite part of Christmas is Boxing Day because it’s a lazy leftovers day. If either of us had to work on the 26th I’d definitely shift everything back by a day.

I do most of the prep on Christmas Eve so dinner isn’t too much work on Christmas Day but the 24th is always a bit frenetic here, and I’m very envious of the descriptions I read here of lovely relaxing movies and walks and what not.

I'd find it a bit of an anti-climax on Christmas Day not to have Christmas dinner tbh. We don't have it in the evening though - it's a late Christmas lunch. I thought that was what most people did. I don't find Christmas Day hectic though tbh, it's pretty chilled out for us.

YABU
no way! We always have Christmas dinner around 2pm.

We're doing it this year, and we're all really looking forward to it. We've had a couple of years when it's just been the 4 of us, through choice, and the only bit of the day that seemed an anti climax was the Christmas dinner.

So this year we're having it on Christmas eve evening whilst we're all still excited, and having a lovely long luxurious buffet/leftovers on Christmas day.

Can't wait, we all prefer the Boxing day bubble and squeak normally anyway

I don't eat on Christmas eve but I cook absolutely everything on Christmas eve (apart from the gravy and roasties i do them on the day.) I do it all in drips and drabs throughout the day, refrigerate and then reheat in the oven on Christmas day. Been doing this for years now and it definitely takes the stress out of christmas day.

They do that in Spain!
It's not really been an option before as usually someone is working on Xmas eve. It's usually quite relaxed on Xmas day, as we don't do much different than a usual roast dinner.

I'm definitely thinking this year we may try it seeing as Christmas will be very different anyway. I just find it goes so fast and have the morning is cooking even with preparing the night before

There's been a few threads asking the same thing recently. There was quite a long one not that long ago.

Have a look through the Christmas board and you'll find the others!

We tend to have it on Boxing Day and have a buffet on Christmas Day itself. Each to their own, IMO.

We have done this for the past few years and I am a total convert. We have a lovely Christmas dinner early evening on Christmas Eve, then Christmas Day is grazing on a cheeseboard, party food and turkey sandwiches. Boxing Day we then have cold turkey, ham, bubble and squeak etc.

I love how relaxed Christmas Day is now with no worry about what time the turkey should be in the oven.

No because I think it would spoil Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
Christmas Eve is usually a busy day for us, we're either entertaining or we have a special day out. We've got several possible scenarios this year depending on what's allowed. It's a really lovely day full of anticipation.
Boxing Day is the day of relaxation films, and easy food, usually leftover Christmas Dinner pie. We save the tree presents for Boxing Day, sometimes we have visitors but often it's just us. It's a lovely cosy day.

I dont find the Christmas Dinner that difficult to cook or that it takes up too much time. I aim for 1pm. My kids are young and will be up at 6. Turkey in at 9, we've already opened everything by then! Veg all prepped previous day. I do my own pigs in blankets but prep day before. Buy a starter, buy the pudding. Do my own gravy but make stock on Christmas eve.
Once the turkey is in there is nothing to do for hours and hours! Last year I built lego and we played games. This year we have a dog so will probably take her for a walk.

I have family who do this because some of the children traditionally go to dad for Christmas Day and it’s become ‘a thing’ now. Don’t they do this on Italy?

Just do whatever you want and what suits your family. You don't have to do the same thing every year either, not sure why people think there are rules about this stuff.
Your Christmas can be what you make it.

We have done this for years and I love it. My stepson and his gf can come so they have Christmas day for his Mum & her parents (they really appreciate this too as it stops them running to an extra house). I have a nice leisurely day getting everything ready and then we eat around 7pm. We then have a fridge full of leftovers for the next couple of days so we can relax and spend the whole time together. It means that visitors can pop in anytime (fingers crossed!), we can have a lovely long walk and no rushing to get the roasties in and we can just chill out.