Christmas Eve food

[MariahsBaubles]

What do you do for dinner on Christmas Eve? We don't normally make it a thing, but this year will have family arriving on Christmas Eve to stay for the festive season, so I need to feed the tired hungry people and start the celebrations but without upending the kitchen as we are hosting on Christmas Day.

What would you do?

We are having pizza and ice cream.

I normally do lasagna and garlic bread. You can make ahead and freeze.

We normally have something light like salmon but I think for a big crowd a curry is hard to beat

or why about pizza ? Lots of nice sides
salad and garlic bread

Fancy macaroni cheese, can prep in the morning then just bung in oven later

We have nice buffet bits, baked Camembert, prawns, Olives, nice bread etc

Although it's just me and dh as we have once dc are in bed, they have a dinner of choice. May get pricey if there's a lot of you- I think a big curry with some Poppadoms, naans etc is a good idea and make ahead so no mess in kitchen or slow cooker if you have one

In France Christmas Eve ( Réveillon ) is a big number. It is often seafood centred but also includes big puddings, often chocolate (🥰). They don’t make much of a deal about Boxing Day though, it’s not even a bank holiday.
Since living there we have adopted the seafood centred ( prawns , smoked salmon champagne) tradition. We have not given up Boxing Day, though 🫣

My lot - including one vegetarian- are arriving on Xmas Eve. I have already made Delia’s yummy parsnip, sage and cheese roulade and frozen it in readiness, ditto my chocolate chestnut log, which I will just thaw and coat in melted Nutella on the day.
I bought thick juicy smoked salmon steaks from the farmers’ market for the carnivores, and will serve them with fresh dill weed, asparagus spears and mayonnaise.
It means v little prep on the day.

Sausage rolls, crisps, nuts, dips and honey sausages yum !

We normally have a lasagne (that I've precooked before and shove in the oven) with garlic bread and salad, Or chicken fajitas with all the bits like sour cream and guacamole etc.
This year we're even busier than usual on Xmas Eve so we're getting a McDonald's drive through on the way home 🤣

Ham, bread, piccalilli, coleslaw, picked onions, a ploughman's of sort.

We often have a buffet with slow cooked ham, salads, cheeses, fruit, coleslaw. So apart from the slow cooker the kitchen is fairly unused and it doesn't have timings to worry about.

Oh that sounds lovely. Even my picky little ones would love smoked salmon and chocolate. Perhaps we will swap for this!

Lasagne and jacket spuds

Chilli, wraps, nacho's with cheese & tomatoes in oven, sour cream, guacamole.

Or small bites, dips, nice bread etc

Have you got a slow cooker. Curry or a chillie or pulled pork. Bang some pizzas in the oven do a buffet. I usually get a takeaway.

Cheese and charcuterie boards with lots of bread

Brilliant ideas keep them coming! I'm very into the delia roulade idea and posh buffet.

Our tradition is spag bol. I used to make it as an easy dinner DC would eat when they were small and over excited becuase it was Christmas next day. Then one year I asked whta people wanted and they said it had to be spag bol, it's tradition. One of them is now veggie so we do a chestnut and black bean spaghetti instead.

We have a buffet tea.

Shepherd's Pie and vienetta. Pie made and frozen in advance with petits pois and vienetta straight from the freezer. Comfort food before the big day!

We have roast pork and apple sauce/stuffing rolls. A train from my DHs childhood. Then the pork left overs pack out the other meat I roast fresh in class day. This year it Wii be lamb and roast pork. Then gaming on Boxing Day

Beef stroganoff, rice and crusty fresh bread. Bunged into the slow cooker first thing

Baked ham, fried egg, chips and cauliflower cheese

Delias venison sausage casserole - already made and in the freezer.