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Christmas dinner dilemma | pad patter 12.18.17

keepscrappin

keepscrappin

ScrapWithTheWind
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Apr 2, 2010
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I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend Christmas day in the kitchen cooking a bunch of food. I want to enjoy the day with my family. A few years back I had the brilliant idea of getting a Chick-fil-a nugget platter on Christmas Eve and just warming that up with some tator tots or french fries on Christmas. My kids loved the idea and it has become our Christmas Day tradition, so I can be able to enjoy the celebrations too.

The problem this year is that we can't do the Chick-fil-a nugget platter because Chick-fil-a is closed on Christmas Eve. I would get it on Saturday, but let's be realistic there's no way my family will let a nugget platter sit in the fridge untouched for 2 days. Plus, I'm not sure how good the nuggets would really taste after that much time in the fridge. I don't want to do the traditional foods of ham, turkey and potatoes, because we are having Christmas dinner parties with extended family on Saturday and Sunday and will already be tired of eating that. I've toyed with the idea of doing a soup in the crock pot or even getting deli meat and sandwich fixins for hoagies, but I'm not sure. I want it to be easy but also something that we'll all like.

So once again, I'm turning to my scrappin friends for help. What do you do for Christmas Dinner? Do you slave in the kitchen or do you have some easy foods that work great for getting you outta the kitchen on Christmas Day? Do you do the traditional foods on Christmas Day or do you go with easier cooking like me? Give me what ya got. My family will thank you! :agree
 
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We have our big family dinner on Christmas Eve, so on Christmas Day, we have a big brunch after the kids open their gifts from Santa and break out the leftovers from Christmas Eve later in the day. We love our leftover Honey Baked Ham on sandwiches. I also make a big pot of bean soup with the bone and any leftover meat from the same ham later in the week sometime. I look forward to that soup all year!
 
Well, I don't *cook* ever, let alone on Christmas lol, but I can tell you that if my family liked the CFA nugget platter for Christmas (which I think is a fantastic idea, btw!), then maybe I'd just pick up some chicken tenders or nuggets from the frozen aisle and heat those up in the oven along with some mozzarella sticks or fries (or both). If you do mozza sticks, then you could have pasta sauce to dip--something else that's easy to heat up. Or do cheesy fries, so it feels more "homemade" but it's still easy. (You could get waffle fries and do bleu cheese fries with a nice dip, if your family likes moldy cheeses. I do!)

I also think a crockpot soup is a good idea, esp if you are going to have big meals on Sat and a Christmas eve. Give yourself and your family a break from the heavy food. :) Or make chili for a comfort food--have it over baked potatoes, which you can microwave so it's fast/easy. Cuz I agree: you should be able to spend time with your family, not working in the kitchen (unless that's something you like to do). Or do pizza: order it Sunday and tell everyone it's for dinner tmw. Warm pieces in the microwave on 50% power for about 40 seconds and then put it in the oven directly on the rack to keep the crust crisp. It usually heats up in about 5 min at 350. (Can you tell I like pizza???)
 
I think a CFA tray would be good, especially if you picked it up late Saturday night. I don't know what to tell you about keeping everyone out of it on Christmas Eve, though lol.

This Christmas Day, it is just going to be my husband, my daughter, and myself. We've managed to schedule all other family stuff the day before or day after, so we have that one day at home for just us. My daughter is a vegetarian, so there is no way I'll be cooking a big meal. I like to do pigs in a blanket (plain croissants for my daughter) in the morning. Last year, we actually did Chinese food for lunch and that was really fun. We've also gone out to look at lights at night and wound up at Waffle House. I haven't decided what we're doing this year yet, but I was leaning towards a nugget tray or towards doing Chinese food again.
 
Sub sandwiches? Premade? from Subway/Quiznos?
We do a big huge breakfast: Biscuits and Gravy, eggs and bacon in the morning. Everyone helps, and it is a joy really.
I am a twitcher at mess in my living room, so some help cook, some clean up and we all enjoy a day in jammies.

Our tradition for dinner is Sonic...on Christmas day..bhahhaha it is the only fast food open and it is packed! lol
 
If you have a Boston Markets, see if they have something you can get. Christmas Eve I always make my hubby Shrimp Scampi .. it is basically a shrimp day. I have my bendryl on hand in case I get a reaction, but I do eat a bit of shrimp at least a few pieces :) Christmas day is like normal, snacks and a light meal. Our big tradition for us is Christmas Eve with the Shrimp and watching It's a WOnderful Life :) What ever you do Kayla, enjoy with your family :)
 
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oh Kayla if you have a walmart there near you, they have chicken nuggets that are yum (at least here they are) cooked in the deli section or even an already cooked chicken and pick up sides.. it is reasonable and tastes yummy. Walmart is open until 10pm on Christmas Eve.
 
In England the tradition is roast turkey with roast potatoes and vegetables. It's normal to prepare it the night before, then bake in the oven whist at church or opening presents. The Christmas Pudding is always made in advance - anything upto 3 months in advance depending on how alcoholic it's going to get - to keep it long enough it's dosed with brandy every few weeks. It's steam cooked on the back of the stove for 4 hours Christmas day.
 
I get together with extended family (cousins) on Christmas Day. As we are getting older, we sometime have to change our plans at last minute because of health issues. The cousin that always has it has had health issues as had her husband. She had every intention of having us this year. Just found out today that her husband's issues have flared up again. Her brother usually comes in for 7 days from Missouri but he is cutting his trip short this year and only staying 4 days.

So we are doing our backup plan... eating at Bob Evans on Christmas Eve. She lives 45 minutes away from us and I have suggested that the 2 of us go to her this year so she can be closer to her husband in case he needs her. We'll see if she goes along with it. We are also going for brunch instead of dinner. Figure we'll eat while everyone is in church. I'm planning on going to the evening service instead of morning on Christmas Eve so that works for me.

So the cousin here in town and I are now on our own for the day. She just lost her mother November 10th and like me she has never married and has no children or siblings. So we are going to order the "Farmhouse Feast" from Bob Evans and heat it up on Christmas Day at whichever house we choose to go to! And, we'll likely have leftovers... we ate there on Thanksgiving and the food was very good so I know we'll have a good meal!
 
Get a bunch of appetizers from Trader Joe's (or somewhere else). No cooking, but lots of choices. It could be the time to try some new goodies!

The reason I'm saying this is because this is what we're doing. We usually spend it with my in-laws, but this year they have other plans (we'll be with them for Christmas Eve). I've been in no mood to be cooking lately, and this is what my sister suggested, for it's what they do every year.
 
Christmas eve is the one we care about, and if we are alone I cook breaded scampi for my hubby and duck breast for my self. Starter and sweets vary,but it is always 3 courses. If we have guests (a friend who is alone for whatever reason that year , or my hubbys sister from the UK ) then it is roast of some kind with all the trimmings. Christmas day is either leftovers or soup made a day or two before,served with hot bread. If I had a family to feed that day I would make something in the slow cooker, that I can start in rtf he morning,so I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the day.
I would never go out to eat in a restaurant, you get food that has been prepared for weeks, frozen and defrosted. Trust me it is the worst day you can eat in a restaurant.
 
Christmas is also my dd's birthday, so birthday girl gets to pick the meal. Last year and this year, we are having a spiral cut ham from Costco (just need to heat it). Last year we had the wonderful Mac & Cheese that someone posted on TLP. I think this year it is green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. My kids want the green bean casserole so my mom is bringing it when they come over.

We still have a lot of birthday cake leftover from her Sweet 16 party with friends that we had yesterday. Of course, we will probably make a few more other sweets too. And maybe another veggie.
 
I make a huge feast for Thanksgiving and do something less complicated for Christmas. I don't think it's ever been the same. I can't even remember what we had for dinner last Xmas. So I just spent some time looking through my photo archives for clues.

The only foods I photographed last year were Ruby Tuesday on Christmas Eve and a pie and an apple cranberry crisp on Christmas Day.

In 2015, we had ham, rice, eggs, waffles, blueberries and pumpkin pie for Christmas brunch.

In 2014 I made enchiladas for Christmas Eve, for brunch Christmas morning we had scrambled eggs and cranberry crumble made with leftover homemade cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving, and for dinner we had finger foods including ham, pizza, egg rolls, and chicken strips.

In 2013 the only food I photographed was Apple Breakfast Bake.

In 2012 we had mahi mahi and rice, but the star of the meal was spinach salad with hot bacon dressing.

In 2011 I only photographed some store-bought cinnamon rolls and bacon we had for Christmas brunch.

I took no food photos in 2010.

Our 2009 Christmas feast -- the first I made (because before that we spent Christmas with extended family) -- included strawberry jam surprise muffins, pineapple glazed ham, homemade cranberry sauce, potatoes, broccoli and bell pepper (to have red and green for Christmas), and pumpkin pies.

:tree Merry eating everyone! :P
 
I honestly don't know. We've done the gambit over the years: eating with family. Then when we lived across the country - eating with friends, or more likely, pizza at the hotel my husband worked at while he was working. Then family. Last year we ended up with Del Taco. My brother, his family, me and my son drove from Utah to Vegas, and luckily since Vegas is a tourist town (nothing was open on the way that we saw!), Del Taco was open. My brother ate at McDonalds.
This year? Haven't decided. I was thinking chili in the crockpot. It can sit there for a few hours, and requires very little work to start.
 
I have done different things every year. I never know for sure when my big kids will be coming by because of their commitments other places, so it's a revolving door on Christmas Day and sometimes the day after. This year I'm making breakfast casserole for the morning and then I'm going to have a couple of big meat and cheese trays, shrimp, cheese ball, crackers, and some other finger foods... with cheesecake for dessert.
 
I'm really struggling with my attention span today , so I'm sorry if this has already been brought up.

If you have an Instant Pot and your family likes cabbage, Unstuffed Cabbage Soup is really good and quick to make.
I'm ALL for dump and forget it meals, whether it be in the crock pot or the IP.

You can make a batch of one pot spaghetti in the IP or mac and cheese in there as well.

Stuffed bell peppers in the crock are yummy.

Chili...b/c comfort food and cornbread!
 
Sounds like you've gotten some good ideas. I make a hamburger/noodle/cheesy casserole for Xmas Eve and appies (store bought). I can make up the casserole a day or two ahead of time and just pop it into the oven on Xmas Eve. I don't eat pasta but will reserve some of the mixture to put overtop of cauliflower rice for me.

Christmas Day I always do turkey dinner but if I didn't do that, I would love to have cabbage rolls and ham which you can make ahead and just keep in the fridge for a day or two. Any crockpot dump recipe is good.
https://www.pinterest.ca/search/pin...m_meta[]=dump|typed&term_meta[]=recipes|typed

Or any casserole or frittata. Also, make your own subs or wraps are good too. Put out an assortment of meats, veggies, cheese and sauces for everyone to make their own.
 
We do the traditional feast with my big extended family - turkey, ham, and all the fixings...but secretly? I would LOVE to stay in pajamas and have enchiladas or lasagna or something make-ahead like that. By the time Christmas rolls around, I'm kind of done with all the rich holiday food and ready for something new! And as much as I love my big old family (and I really do), I sometimes hate dragging the kids away from their fun and forcing everyone to get dressed up.
 
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