Christmas Eve- nice restaurant followed by a drive to see Christmas lights
Christmas Day- monkey bread in the morning while we open gifts and dinner is a compilation of everyone's favorite dishes. It ends up being a little random- last year we had crabcakes and steak with sautéed mushrooms, homemade fries, brussels salad, and another side I can't remember. We vote on 2 desserts which vary year to year between something homemade and favorites from local bakeries.

We eat Chinese food for Christmas.

Latkes on Christmas Eve!

Christmas Day - getting the hell out of my in-laws house so we can have our real Christmas at home.

Christmas Eve — seafood
Christmas lunch — shepherd’s pie (I can just pull this out of the fridge and put it in the oven, easy)
Christmas dinner — tenderloin roast and sides

Anonymous wrote:Growing up my parents had standing rib roast and Yorkshire pudding on Christmas Eve, and Thanksgiving 2 Electric Bugaloo for Christmas Day.

Now we have lobster risotto on Christmas Eve and standing rib roast on Christmas Day.

I love that movie, PP!

Anonymous wrote:Christmas Eve Italian Feast of Seven Fishes
Christmas AM- egg and hash brown and French toast casseroles (made the day before)
Christmas Day - crown roast if smaller group, if larger group (every other year) then we have turkey and ham.

I once stopped by a new college friends house on Christmas Eve and they did the feast of the seven fishes. They always set an extra plate and that year I was the guest. Decades later I remember what an awesome Christmas Eve I had.

My family did hor d’oeurves with egg nog on Christmas Eve. That’s what I like but we have no real traditions. For Christmas morning, my MIL bakes these amazing maple cookies and we have a brunch of eggs Benedict and mimosas. For dinner we have stuffed shells because they are my kids favorite.

Anonymous wrote:Christmas Eve Chinese food. Christmas morning egg and potatoes casserole, pancakes, and fruit. Christmas dinner Honey Baked Ham.

You might be my sister. This is exactly our family's tradition.

We typically go out for Chinese food on Christmas Day. Maybe we will order in this year.

Growing up my parents had standing rib roast and Yorkshire pudding on Christmas Eve, and Thanksgiving 2 Electric Bugaloo for Christmas Day.

Now we have lobster risotto on Christmas Eve and standing rib roast on Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve Chinese food. Christmas morning egg and potatoes casserole, pancakes, and fruit. Christmas dinner Honey Baked Ham.

Christmas Eve: Sausage bread (French bread dough stuffed with sage sausage and mozzerella) (my in-laws tradition)

Christmas: Linzertorte with raspberry jam (from family’s tradition)

Christmas Eve is always homemade but low-key — soup and sandwiches, mac and cheese, etc. A holdover from when I was growing up and my single-parent mom was just d-o-n-e by the 24th. Between church and wrapping and just getting stuff organized, I take a page from her book and keep it simple. It’s so nice not to have a zillion dishes to wash.

Christmas morning, the French toast casserole goes from the fridge to the oven when we start opening presents. It’s hot by the time we’re done.

Christmas dinner can be anything. We’re usually not in the mood for more turkey, but we’ve done duck, goose and various cuts of beef. Plus sides and pie for dessert.

In years past I tried for a fancy “special” meal but we really aren’t those people. Christmas Eve we do whatever - some Keats we go out, we’re gonna do a big Chinese takeout and dessert feast this year. Christmas Day I have done a prime rib and popovers but my kids just love a good ham dinner with my homemade Mac and cheese and those sister shubert frozen Parker house rolls. I do wish I was Italian so I could have the whole big 7 fishes dinner but alas.

Christmas Eve Italian Feast of Seven Fishes
Christmas AM- egg and hash brown and French toast casseroles (made the day before)
Christmas Day - crown roast if smaller group, if larger group (every other year) then we have turkey and ham.