DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Christmas Dinner/Traditions?

First off: What's on your menu for Christmas/Christmas Eve?

We kinda started a new tradition last year. For Christmas Eve, My wife, daughter, Mother in Law and i will chow down on Steak, shrimp, pasta, pierogi, pie, and all sorts of other good stuff. The new tradition: My wife and I were both too tired last year to cook the lasagna, so my mother in law made the brilliant suggestion that we get Chinese. - Didn't hold back and even though there's only 4 of us, we went with the dinner for 8, comes with all the bonuses - soup, beef skewers, ribs, egg rolls. Oh yeah. Gonna keep that one going this year. -- Sorry Grandma.

Hard to believe it's that time of year again. My 15 year old asked me on the way home from school the other day about what Christmas was like when I was a kid. I thought about my grandparents, my grandmother especially. Right there in downtown Cleveland, Ohio City area. She mad Christmas feel like Christmas. Every Christmas Eve was spent at her house. House was dim lit, red decorations and garland on the walls. And I'll never forget her buffet - she'd put peanuts, chocolate covered pretzels, home-made cookies, kolachki, out for my 4 siblings and I and our 8 cousins to munch on while her and my aunts finished dinner. Forgive my spelling here... My grandparents were both born and raised in Poland. Before dinner, we would start with a blessing, my grandfather and later my grandmother would break off a piece of Holy Yost, walk around the table, and put in our mouths before the feast began. Dinner would start with borscht soup, then we'd pass around the pierogi - kids always went for the cheese and potato ones while the adults always went for the kraut filled or beef filled. After pierogis, we'd have fish. Catfish or perch depending on what my uncle Andy felt like cooking. - Man could he cook. You can imagine, we all filled up. Afterwards was grandma's cheesecake. Then the adults would force us to sing Christmas tunes followed up by gift opening.
The adults would then go to midnight mass. We'd all go home and get ready to spend Christmas Day together. Tradition. My grandmother wouldn't have it any other way.

I am going to my sister's (I have one older, one younger) house for Christmas. I won't know what's on the menu until I get there. lol

Not trying to de-rail this, our biggest meal get together is usually on Christmas with extended family. Wife makes cheese dip, we have many desserts, candy, brother barbecues/smokes prime rib, steaks, brats, and gets these fabulous spicy Christmas sausages from an Italian deli. Shrimp. Great horseradish with the steaks. Specialty that Mom made before she and Dad passed that he loved and asked for was a special yeasty sticky cinnamon roll with some walnuts. They are still "Christmas" to us kids and family.
But a tradition that really made us ready for Christmas as kids was when we gathered around the TV and on one of its three channels we had (!) we would watch every night for Mister Jingaling from a major store in Cleveland's downtown. We loved it, sang their little song. Can't quite remember the store name, who he was, but we were absolutely devoted and watched it with our other kids in the family. The keys were huge, I think. Anybody else remember this better than this old man? Merry Christmas, dawgs!

Just a great family gathering and a wonderful dinner. We do what has always been traditional with my family. Turkey for Thanksgiving and ham for Christmas. The family is now scattered all across the country. Grandbabies in California, Colorado, Texas, here in Tennessee and Ohio. Great Gandbabies both here in Tennessee and Ohio. What used to be a small family group centrally located are now a big group scattered everywhere. So the idea of having "everyone all together" is virtually impossible.

But for me Christmas is all about the children. I make sure they all get a wonderful Christmas from Papa and Grandma. We make sure and video chat with all of them who can not make the family gathering. This year, as of now I think there will be a total of 15 people here for Christmas and that's not nearly everyone. Our families usual meal with all the trimmings and desserts along with good times and great memories made by all.

This year is a bit crazier because we got the great idea to Reno our kitchen and first floor flooring right before Christmas.... so hoping to finish up most of it by Saturday (we'll be about 95% there... then I'm working the Texans game Sunday, so our traditions are off a bit...

Christmas Eve we do dinner withe the wife's mom and then watch Christmas movies. We bake cookies for Santa... Christmas morning my wife makes 'Reindeer' pancakes... she cooks pancakes in the shape of Reindeers and uses bacon and strawberries for the face. Christmas dinner we typically keep simple, because the day after Christmas we'll fly to Tenn and spend some time with my folks... my mom is a bit more traditionalist with dinner... so she'll make a cherry pork loin, horse radish pork loin, corn pudding, custard, snow candy, red and white jello salad, rolls, and a few other sides I'm forgetting... my side of the family all gets together and we'll eat dinner then open presents...

love this time of year... looking forward to next year when we can put all our decorations up again...t his year we just did the tree and stockings because of the construction

I am running out of family as I get (got) old.

I am down to my mom and my brother. There isn't one among us who can cook a Christmas dinner. So ..... it's off to Bob Evans on Christmas Eve to pick up dinners.

Glad we live in a time of such convenience.

2 of my kids and their families are coming tomorrow for lunch, dinner and Christmas games and exchanges.

Our food varies year to year from full meal traditional ham, prime roasts beef or turkey to finger foods, pizza, lasagna etc.

Tomorrow I am going easy for me. I have creamed chicken, shredded beef N gravy and ham slider sandwiches with mac & cheese. Kids are bringing sides, desserts, meat and cheese tray, fruit & veggies.

Not fancy but less stressful for me.

We started playing Christmas games/contests to compete for prizes because of the arguing over politics. My wife and I decided to occupy the time with "casino games", pretend horse race gambling, minute to win it games etc/ Definitely more fun than arguing.

" Halle's " seventh floor , will be waiting for Mr. Jingling keeper of the keys .

It's always been Prime Rib in my house.

With just my wife I will go out in about an hour to look for a 3-4 rib roast. I'll let it air dry in the hydrator section of the fridge. Then mashed potato's. Just get a tub of Bob Evans plain mashed. I will roast 6 cloves of garlic to season the taters and rub on the roast, then eat the rest, I grow herbs to add to the seasoning. Veggie? May get something, may not. Maybe steam up some broccoli or brussels. Maybe just roast some carrots and parsnips with the rib roast. May just go taters and meat this year.

It will be good. I know how to roast up a prime rib. Drippings and a little water and bullion for the au jus.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

We're doing prime rib and king crab legs. My brother, who was born on Christmas day, passed suddenly in August this year, and this was our tradition at his place. His wife and son bought a 10lb bone in prime rib and 10lbs of king crab legs..... and they want me to do the cooking. I'm leaning toward smoking the prime rib in my offset smoker with a simple salt-pepper-garlic rub, as the weather looks good for that.
XL shrimp and a veggie tray for appetizers, and my wife's corn casserole and scalloped potatoes for sides. We had a birthday cake made in my brother's honor for dessert. It will be a solemn celebration, given it's my brother's birthday and my father passed away on Chrismas in 2009.

Today, we had my wife's family over for an early ham dinner, half their side had another gathering this evening. Just a few stragglers left here, lol. Tomorrow, we're having a breakfast/brunch at my son's with the grandbaby and we'll open gifts and catch the Browns game there. Busy weekend, no doubt.

One may observe the 30m animated version of DR. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and compete over who knows more of the words from memory.
But won't go near the Jim Carey version

This will be our first Christmas since Jim, my husband of 26 years, passed away. I'm going to do a very simple dinner with a ham, mashed potatoes mixed with corn, some veggies and some holiday cookies. Everyone have a wonderful holiday and fantastic 2024.

Condolences to you and mom.