Christmas food-what are your must-have items?

[AutisticLegoLover]

The dc love After 8 Mints, Pringles and various sweets but there's nothing in particular apart from the Christmas dinner itself and whatever we bake. I'm wondering what to buy to brighten up our very boring diets (sensory issues) so please tell me what your Christmas favourites are. We are veggie but tell me everything as I'll tweak recipes and ideas.

For me Christmas wouldn't be the same without Quality Street but this year is the last time I'll buy them because they've changed the wrappers and the chocolate gets worse each year. They were our family Christmas tradition from when I was tiny so I'm really disappointed.

[whispers... these have been a gamechanger...]

www.amazon.co.uk/organiser-vegetable-containers-refrigerator-extendable/dp/B08SL72VXM/ref=asc_df_B08SL72VXM/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=520020701960&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15246182564286629267&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045712&hvtargid=pla-1269657896536&psc=1

Tinned ham (those trianglish ones with a key) and salad sandwiches. Only time of year I buy it. So, so reminds me of my late mum bustling about in the kitchen making us a lovely buffet tea after a delicious huge dinner.

Aubergine Parmigiana with rice and garlic bread. I am veggie but the rest of the family isn’t and this is my fav (made by my mum), so this is now our Christmas Eve traditional dinner.

6 different sorts of cheese: always Oxford Blue, Yarg, Brie, fresh goat, then 2 other interesting hard cheeses from the cheese stall at the market.

@roorooA my mum tried to make her own version (bless her) but it wasn't the same. Asda isn't my local supermarket but I'll be going on the hunt in the next few days

Home made

Bread sauce
Cranberry sauce
Christmas cake
Mince pies
Turkey gravy

That cup of tea when you've finally finished looking after everyone all day and can relax

A tin of sugar cookies
Potted cheddar
Quality Street (we have a personalised tin and I order only the flavours I like)
Bread sauce
Sloe gin
Home made pan forte
Brandy cream
Bubble and squeak
Red cabbage and apple (although I eat that all year round)

The frozen unbaked croissants , pain au raisin and Portuguese custard tarts are a must have Christmas Day breakfast , once baked , obviously

Love it or hate it, I must have bread sauce. Only other necessity is plenty of fizz!

Home made brandy butter with a mince pie bliss

Cheese board
Cranberry sauce
Pickled onions with dinner
Sausage meat stuffing
Xmas pudding
Mince pies home made
Home made raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake
Shloer

Apricot and chestnut stuffing. I use a sausagemeat base, but there are veggie alternatives. I've made mine this evening and it is now stiffening up nicely in the freezer.

Nuts to crack- preferably just brazil's, hazelnuts and walnuts.
My mum's turkey stuffing (sausage meat and onion) but no turkey.
Those sugary orange and lemon slice thingies.
Cheeses with crackers and silverskin onions, red cabbage and sweet pickle.
All of the meringue with fruit frozen desserts from Aldi, especially the raspberry roulade!

Cheeseboard and prosecco once the kids are in bed

my DC (teens) love it when a box is installed at the back door as a drinks chiller.

Stilton and fancy chutney
Pickled red cabbage
Roast turkey, ham, roast beef
Prawn cocktail starters
A Tin, tub or box of chocolates everywhere you look.

A Panetonne- love it for breakfast, with unsalted butter
Bendicks Bittermints
Celebrations - better than QS IMO
Lindt Reindeer / Santa
Port with the cheese
Trifle
Mince pies
Bucks Fizz

Traditional Christmas dinner
Cheese board
Mince pies
Yule log
Christmas pudding
Niederegger marzipan & sweets
Stollen
Chocolate gold coins
Bendicks and After Eights
Candy canes

No alcohol as I’ve been either pregnant or breastfeeding for the past five years, but if I drank I’d have sherry and Gewürztraminer.

Ham with leftover cauli cheese, red cabbage and a baked potato.
Okay usually we have salad but I'm craving this for this years Boxing Day. The ham is no good for you veggies.

Last year we found the cheese in bacon in the party food range, it cost a bomb compared to actual pigs in blankets.

Pickled onions, have to be haywards, both big ones and silverskin
M&S coleslaw
Fancy cheese
Random crackers
Choc log
Home made cheese straws
Twiglets and those disgusting cheese footballs that go stale as everyone remembers they are foul.

Chocolate covered marzipan and Bendicts bitter mints. And my own home made sage and onion stuffing. I’d even forgo the Bendicts and marzipan for that.

Frozen mixed pastries that we can bung in the oven for Christmas day breakfast. They are available all year round but only seem to get them at Christmas.

Also hot orange and amaretto. That drink IS Christmas and such a warm hug in a mug. Also a snowball. YUM

So much cheese and bread!
Homemade fudge
Homemade peppermint creams
Homemade chicken thighs on skewers with a teriyaki sauce
Trifle
Gateaux

Bread sauce
Creamed parsnips
Maple syrup glazed cocktail sausages
Cheeseboard
Terry's chocolate orange

Other than the classic roast....
we have to have ..
pistachio nuts
doritos
dips
quality street
roses
nuts
buffet food on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
shloer
appletizer
j20s
Coca Cola
I make homemade sausage rolls every year without fail...

great thread and gets me so nostalgic

Fully cooked brekkie
pigs in blankets
viennetta (if it’s mint even better)
Turkish delight
elizabeth Shaw mints
after eights
a tub of heroes
terrys chocolate orange - always. Am genuinely gutted if I don’t get one
trifle
proper Christmas Day buffet with picky bits
cheese board
potato salad
Bombay mix
pistachio nuts

basically it’s the buffet, the nibbles / picky bits and the sweets

There must be goats cheese and Asda onion chutney somewhere on the menu. And, thanks to an evil poster, I'm now quite partial to chili ja as well. Grr, diet starts in January.