What do you do for Christmas dinner?

[Disneychick75]

Christmas lunch is at our house. My Dad is 85 and we tease that he'd have lunch at 9am. The menu is my late Mom's turkey recipe which my brother roasts. We make baked macaroni, fresh cranberry sauce, ham, crawfish cornbread, dirty rice (rice dressing), and numerous desserts. This year I'm also making Magnolia Milk Punch. DELICIOUS - here's the recipe ( I leave out the nutmeg and vanilla.):
2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1 pinch nutmeg

 

[easyas123]

Everything and it’s a drag. I don’t even enjoy it anymore.

Do you WANT to enjoy it? If so change things up this year! Order in, or designate different cooking chores to others. Or make a reservation. Or change the menu to make it easier on yourself...others can always cook if they prefer the full nine yards.

 

[disney-inspired]

We've never done turkey for Christmas.
Christmas Eve dinner is at my grandma's and it's usually just tamales.

Christmas Day dinner is usually leftover tamales or maybe tacos.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Do you WANT to enjoy it? If so change things up this year! Order in, or designate different cooking chores to others. Or make a reservation. Or change the menu to make it easier on yourself...others can always cook if they prefer the full nine yards.

She won't. She really enjoys complaining about her lot in life instead of taking any steps to make it better.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I celebrate Christmas Eve, and make the nice meal I want - I allow my spouse to have his Christmas Day celebration, which involves me getting the afternoon off as we recreate the Christmas Story Peking Duck order mentioned with that pic above (although ours is takeout, and I usually have a homemade fresh fruit tray that I add to the duck and other Chinese takeout order).

 

[NYCgrrl]

Normally, we celebrate Réveillon on the Eve and as well, Christmas Day. This year I’ve no idea what the heck is going on. DGD and youngest son are overseas in two different locales and still trying to get their travel plans together to come here. I suggest they work on meeting up, spend time with their French aunt’s family and leave me to my own devices. Their Australian cousins will be here until Jan or Feb so I’ll spend time with that part of the family no matter what happens. Elder sister hasn’t seen her grands in years so she’s gone deep into GrandmaLand. I’ve frozen batches of cookies to take to their house this T-Day and she can bake them from then to Christmas. Sis asked me to make a charcuterie board for T-Day and I suspect it’s a trial run to see what I can make for December, LOL.

 

[easyas123]

She won't. She really enjoys complaining about her lot in life instead of taking any steps to make it better.

Yeah, you're right

 

[tcufrog]

For Christmas Eve I make a very inauthentic pasta carbonara. I made it one year and now my family demands it every Christmas Eve. We do a different theme each year for Christmas Day meal. I started that in 2018 when I had knee surgery and wasn't up to cooking an elaborate meal. Some of the themes we've done are Mexican complete with a pinata, British with crackers, German with the dogs in lederhosen, and brunch with hot chocolate and waffle bars. We're leaving town this year the day after Christmas so we're going to have a Christmas Day brunch. DS12 will be in charge of the hot chocolate bar and DS16 will be in charge of making the waffles. I will make a casserole the day before. I'm not sure what else we'll eat though.

 

[disneydreamer781]

This year, for the first time, Flying Fish!

 

[Disneychick75]

For Christmas Eve I make a very inauthentic pasta carbonara. I made it one year and now my family demands it every Christmas Eve. We do a different theme each year for Christmas Day meal. I started that in 2018 when I had knee surgery and wasn't up to cooking an elaborate meal. Some of the themes we've done are Mexican complete with a pinata, British with crackers, German with the dogs in lederhosen, and brunch with hot chocolate and waffle bars. We're leaving town this year the day after Christmas so we're going to have a Christmas Day brunch. DS12 will be in charge of the hot chocolate bar and DS16 will be in charge of making the waffles. I will make a casserole the day before. I'm not sure what else we'll eat though.

This sounds like s much fun! My elderly Dad loves tradition. Maybe next year I can talk him into a themed meal. Hate to upset him. Can definitely do a non-alcohol hot chocolate bar for the kids while the adults indulge in Milk Punch.
Editing to add that several yrs. ago, my daughter and I threw a Pinterest party for her friends and their moms who are my friends. It was close to Christmas so we had peppermint, marshmallow, and cranberry vodkas with peppermint stick stirrers for the hot chocolate bar. It was a hit!

 

[disykat]

We don't have set in stone traditions but Christmas Day we tend to do a brunch meal in the late morning and an appetizer/dessert spread in the evening. We usually have a lasagna dinner the night before on Christmas Eve.

 

[Bellhop97]

Go out to a restaurant, no cleanup..!

 

[DVCjj]

I have everyone at my house for every holiday. The menu is always the same…
Ham
Baked Potato
Corn
Sweet Cheese Pierogies
Hawaiian Rolls
Desserts

One day I’d like to get away from this menu, but it’s what all the parents like so we stick with it.

I laughed when you said Sweet Cheese Pierogis. I'm Polish and have eaten both homemade (mother, mother in law, grandma) all my life. I now to go the numerous Polish delis we have in a a 10 mile area and buy several varieties.... along with sweet cheese. My husband LOVES sweet cheese and the first question out of his mouth each & every time I walk in the door is "Did you get Sweet Cheese?" He literally asked me this yesterday even though he very recently had Sweet Cheese. My favorite is Kraut & Mushroom, cheese & potato (and even fruit pierogis fried in cinnamon/sugar) so I usually eat them while hubby eats SWEET CHEESE. Your menu would be right up his alley as Ham is his other favorite meal. The last few years we are in FL now for snowbirding and boy, they sure don't have Polish food where we are. We miss it a lot. We also desperately miss the great many wonderful soups our delis have for $1.99. I'm so darn sick of Panera frozen soups at the Publix's down there.

Sorry this became so long.