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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

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Original poster

Christmas eve dinner inspo please

59 replies

onthenightfeed · 13/12/2025 22:29

We’ve moved into a new house this year and so are hosting Christmas for the first time - family live a few hours away so will be staying for a few days. Looking for some inspo for the christmas eve dinner! Don’t want to spend ages cooking as I will be the following day, don’t want anything that’s going to leave leftovers, but also don’t want to fork out for an expensive takeaway for everyone when the Xmas food shop is already costing enough!

Anyone got a go to meal they always do on xmas eve?

OP posts:

Papyrophile · 14/12/2025 16:35

My family have always cooked the ham on Christmas Eve to eat hot with mash and veg and parsley sauce. Leaving plenty for a slice with the turkey on Christmas Day (or for breakfast, with eggs) and the remains are for the Boxing Day buffet. Anything left over is served up with pasta or put into sandwiches for the first week back. Ham keeps well for a good 10 days covered and refrigerated.

canuckup · 14/12/2025 17:31

Ham, jacket potatoes, homemade coleslaw.

Apple crumble for pud.

BarryKentPoet · 14/12/2025 17:32

Not helpful but we get a load of starters from the Chinese takeaway and have a ready-made sort of buffet.

PistachioTiramisu · 14/12/2025 18:01

At home we always had roast pheasant on Christmas Eve with all the trimmings - game chips, chipolatas, bread sauce, gravy. Lovely!

PortSalutPlease · 14/12/2025 18:56

stomachamelon · 14/12/2025 15:04

@PortSalutPlease thats such a lovely idea :)

we started doing it to make sure there was freezer space for Christmas leftovers and then realised we all loved getting to have our favourite meal and it stuck!

Original poster

onthenightfeed · 14/12/2025 18:59

Mintyhotchocolate · 14/12/2025 08:29

We make a giant Christmas tree shaped pizza - the kids get involved so it’s fun. We have a few things on the side like salad, halloumi fries etc. but it’s easy to keep it light and you can add or takeaway things to suit people’s tastes. My 13 year old still checks we’re going to make it every year 🙂

love the sound of this!!

OP posts:

sashh · 15/12/2025 05:40

DallasMajor · 14/12/2025 16:32

Lol, I was thinking the same- I can only make one amount, and that is a fucking massive amount, thought it was just me. 😂

Show quote history

Back in the 1980s there was a US tv show called 'Soap' it basically took the piss out of US soap operas.

There was a character who was a really good cook, but he had learned to cook in prison so he always had to make something for 400 people.

I'm always slightly surprised that people are having meat on the 24th. I was brought up sort of lapsed RC and Xmas eve is a day of abstinence so only fish and or vegetables.

I'm an atheist, there is no reason people can't eat meat, it just must be the last vestige of my upbringing.

Fernsrus · 15/12/2025 05:55

Keep Christmas Eve food simple. We usually have a casserole.

Run30 · 15/12/2025 05:57

Fish pie and fine green beans

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