Things you did

[ronandannette]

Yeah, I'm definitely not doing turkey again on Christmas because it's just so much work. We always have Xmas Eve dinner at my sister's house, so we always get home kind of late from that. And I brine my turkey the night before, which means about an hour of prep before I can go to bed on Xmas Eve. Then all of the turkey stuff to deal with on Christmas Day itself....and we often go to the movies on Xmas Day, also, which is tricky with the timing because I don't want to leave the oven on while we're out at the movies.

So from here on out, Xmas Day is going to be much more casual in terms of meals.

A big, big hit here two years ago was a stuffed pork tenderloin (I just shoved StoveTop in it), wrapped in bacon and glazed with maple syrup. It took about 15 minutes to prep and 30'ish minutes in the oven. Voile! So quick and easy but it presented beautifully on a platter for carving and gave a very festive vibe. This year's steak and lobster was much more of a pain in my rump so it's off any future list but there's tons of other neat things to try in the coming years.

 

[VandVsmama]

I’ve been playing around with this idea myself. I host Christmas dinner for both sides of our extended family and have for almost 20 years. Historically, my family always had turkey (my mother’s favorite meal) and my husband’s had ham. In the early years I would do the turkey and MIL would bring the ham already sliced, glazed and ready to go. I’ve done both for about the last 10 years. MIL, FIL and my mom have all passed in the last few years, several of DH’s nephews have either moved away or go elsewhere for Christmas dinner so what used to be around 25 people was 18 this year. I could just do ham or add something else. The turkey is time consuming in an otherwise very busy day and I feel like I miss out on a lot of interaction with family. I wish I would have paid attention to what my dad ate. If turkey is important to him I would definitely keep it up although I did hear my 9 year old niece ask my sister if they could “take all the turkey home” because she likes it so much. LOL. Tradition is difficult to change.

I hear ya! In my case, I've made turkey on both Thanksgiving and Christmas because my sister doesn't care for ham (even Honeybaked Ham, which is what I'd get if we do a ham). However, my sister also has a track record of doing "I'm cooking what I want to prepare and if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it but I'm not making other extra stuff just to make you happy."

So I'm going to do the same. Literally everybody else who comes at Christmas likes ham. I will probably add some other sort of main dish which can be cooked in a crock pot.

 

[VandVsmama]

A big, big hit here two years ago was a stuffed pork tenderloin (I just shoved StoveTop in it), wrapped in bacon and glazed with maple syrup. It took about 15 minutes to prep and 30'ish minutes in the oven. Voile! So quick and easy but it presented beautifully on a platter for carving and gave a very festive vibe. This year's steak and lobster was much more of a pain in my rump so it's off any future list but there's tons of other neat things to try in the coming years.

Oh, I like your pork tenderloin idea!

 

[tvguy]

After Christmas 2021, we’re finally going to retire the tradition of sending Christmas cards.

We retired Christmas Cards for Christmas 2020, but we got so many sent to us in 2020 that we brought them back for Christmas 2021. An amazing number we received this year had handwritten personal notes in them, not just some Shutterfly pre-printed car.

 

[leebee]

What would I NOT do for Christmas 2022 that I did for Christmas 2021? Hmmm, I guess I'd skip getting Covid. Tested positive on Christmas Day. Fortunately we were supposed to be having a low-key Christmas supper with my sister and 2 nieces, so no big plans to cancel, but still, it was pretty disappointing. Being sick didn't help, and now I still have a tree load of presents for DD, dSIL, DGS that haven't been opened or shared. It's not going to be the same, doing it when I get out of isolation (Jan 3 or 4).

I am NOT roasting a turkey again on Christmas Day. It’s a lot of work. We will have a Christmas dinner that’s easier to prepare.

I SO totally agree! We have duck at Thanksgiving but I couldn't resist buying turkey at 47cents a pound so cooked one the Sunday before the holiday. It was just the turkey and homemade stuffing, but what a freaking mess it made of the kitchen! I swear... never again (except I love a good "leftovers" sandwich, and turkey soup)!

 

[VandVsmama]

I second everyone's ideas of ditching the sending of Christmas cards. I stopped doing that a few years ago and it's been great. As a replacement instead, I now (at some point in the month of December) post a "Dysfunctional Family Christmas Newsletter" to my FB page. It's very silly, very tongue-in-cheek humor, and it pokes fun (in a good natured way) at the 4 of us in my immediate family. Really dumb or amusingly dysfunctional things that we've done or said throughout the year are all potential fodder to be included. I've been doing this enough years in a row now that friends start to ask mid-December, "How come you haven't posted your dysfunctional family newsletter yet?"

 

[mumto3girls]

A big, big hit here two years ago was a stuffed pork tenderloin (I just shoved StoveTop in it), wrapped in bacon and glazed with maple syrup. It took about 15 minutes to prep and 30'ish minutes in the oven. Voile! So quick and easy but it presented beautifully on a platter for carving and gave a very festive vibe. This year's steak and lobster was much more of a pain in my rump so it's off any future list but there's tons of other neat things to try in the coming years.

I love the lobster idea, although cooking lobster for a big crowd probably isn’t easy either and definitely would be expensive. I love salmon, but not sure about the rest of the crowd. Ham should be sufficient really (I need to keep telling myself that).

 

[Meriweather]

We did everything we usually do.....but it is too much work for me now.
Luckily next year DS's family will only be here for a dinner a few days before they go to DIL's family's for Christmas, so it should be quieter.
When it is our turn to host again, I will scale back on all the baking and cooking.

 

[ronandannette]

I love the lobster idea, although cooking lobster for a big crowd probably isn’t easy either and definitely would be expensive. I love salmon, but not sure about the rest of the crowd. Ham should be sufficient really (I need to keep telling myself that).

I just did tails, purchased frozen. They were a little spendy - $7.00 for each 4oz. tail. Not hard to cook (1 minute per oz. in boiling, salted water) but I'm not the most skillful at getting them out of the shell; they stick when they've been frozen.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Next year, I will start decorating earlier so I can be done faster.

 

[RedAngie]

Next year, I will start decorating earlier so I can be done faster.

But hopefully not before Thanksgiving.

 

[sk!mom]

The only thing I’ll change is the timing on the Prime Rib (standing rib roast.) I made a note in my phone to take it out to rest at a lower temp as we could have done with more rare portions. I, also, think that I will cook it whole so that we have a larger middle and thus more rare portions.

Last year we had a very small immediate family only Christmas so I cooked maybe only 3 ribs. This year we were back to needing the full 7 and I took Pioneer Woman’s suggestion to half it.

That being said, it’s an easy yet special and delicious meal.

 

[lifesavacation]

My son didn't like the texture of the french toast casserole I made on Christmas morning so won't make it next year. I thought it was yummy.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I skipped doing the Xmas Eve pajama gift...now, I may not do pajamas next year, but the "family opens a gift on Christmas Eve present" will be kept from under the tree, so I know where it is and we can open them together the night before. That tradition was purposely skipped this year, and won't be next year b/c I hadn't realized how much all my kids liked it...

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

But hopefully not before Thanksgiving.

Nothing is ever turned on before Thanksgiving.

 

[Kittyblue]

This was the first year I went out to eat for Christmas. I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t want to do it every year but it was nice to have a relaxing Christmas Day with no cooking or clean up.

 

[disneychrista]

This was the first year I went out to eat for Christmas. I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t want to do it every year but it was nice to have a relaxing Christmas Day with no cooking or clean up.

We might have to do that next year. It is becoming too much for my mom to cook and I don't have a dining table so we can't really do it at my house. I'll have to figure out what in my small town would be open for the holiday.

 

[ronandannette]

We might have to do that next year. It is becoming too much for my mom to cook and I don't have a dining table so we can't really do it at my house. I'll have to figure out what in my small town would be open for the holiday.

I've cooked many a holiday feast over the years at both my Mother's house and my sister's. They still had the happiness of "hosting" without all the work. You could maybe try that with your family.

 

[mumto3girls]

I've cooked many a holiday feast over the years at both my Mother's house and my sister's. They still had the happiness of "hosting" without all the work. You could maybe try that with your family.

Yes. My sisters and I did that this year for Christmas Eve at my dad’s house. We supplied and prepared all the food and did all of the set up and clean up.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I've cooked many a holiday feast over the years at both my Mother's house and my sister's. They still had the happiness of "hosting" without all the work. You could maybe try that with your family.

My sis-in-law (b/c she's close to her parents house) actually cooked the whole feast in her kitchen, then brought it to her mom's house for her family and her parents to have...

Heck, I've run a dinner party for friends doing the same thing, just using my friend's oven for one "ala minute" dish, but prepping and cooking everything else here...she has a 12 person dining table...I don't...so we "co-host" with me cooking and her cleaning and decorating...