Christmas eve meal

I do not cook on Christmas Eve it will be just a fish from the chippy with a little curry sauce. I always make a large tray baked mince pie which I slice like school dinners (I come from a large family old habits don’t die). I serve it with brandy cream and gorgeous rose Cava later.

We will be having fish, perhaps with the scallops we bought extra with our fishbox. As long as I can make my portion without fat, all will be well with the gallbladder.
My Christmas food is sadly very plain this year.

Homemade pizzas to please all tastes and garlic bread.

Roast Gammon from the local supplier, Cumberland sauce [of course ] dauphinoise potatoes and red cabbage. Mince pies or Ginger cake with toffee sauce to follow.
When the children were at home one dear dd made the mince pies and collected greenery from the then garden the other helped make a fish pie. When they were really young we went to pick up the goose had lunch out then came home to the fish pie I had made. They watched "Wind in the willows" and the "Snowman" on DVD.
This year on our own we have reverted to our childhood meals with all the spices and booze used in our county.

It's become a tradition for us to have a leek and ham bake every Christmas Eve, using some of the freshly cooked Gammon joint, topped with a cheese sauce and served with a jacket potato. Quick and easy, prepared in advance and so tasty.

I have always done a ham on Xmas eve, we eat it with cheesy leeks and jacket potatoes.
This year we are away in a holiday house in N.York’s with our two sons and DIL, our daughter and family are at their home in Cheshire.
So I have broken with tradition as the fridge/ freezer capacity isn’t as good as at home!
I cooked a ham before we came away and froze some, it’s being turned into a ham and leek pie for Christmas Eve..
The turkey is being collected today from a local butcher for the big day.
I feel so blessed to be in such a fabulous location with a wonderful family, thankfully we all seem to be healthy?.

Usually prawn curry, quickly made thanks to a Homepride tin! One year I dropped the casserole it was in, (totally sober in case you were wondering). It went all over the kitchen, leaving a stain on the stereo speakers and a blister on my foot the size of an egg. It was years ago but I think about it every year.

Usually fish, but we always have fish on a Friday. It might be fish pie, or salmon. When Christmas Eve is a Thursday or Saturday, it might be a meat loaf or lasagne or whatever is in the freezer.

I have written out a very detailed plan for all the days up to Tuesday, so I don't have to think of anything on the day (and because the shops don't open in Germany on holidays). We never have the same meal every Christmas Eve, but this year I have planned bangers and mash, just for DH and me.

The traditional meal around here would be potato salad and frankfurters, but I'm not to keen on that - rather have the hot version!

We normally have a light snacks type of meal but this year we are having ham because we are not seeing DD and family on the day. She/they want to have Christmas Day on their own??‍♀️.
DGS has complained so much that this is a compromise and we are having a mini festive evening.

Our Christmas eve routine is to go out for a late lunch (main meal) so the evening is just nibbles, sandwiches depending on how full we are feeling.

Another one here who has the Christmas ham. We have it with chips and cranberry sauce.

Back in the past, when we had lots of children, and 24th December was a busy food preparation day, we had our once-a-year takeaway meal that evening. Hubbie would save up ALL his LV's for the year (taking sandwiches each day frim home), and the local Chinese takeaway would take these as payment. Such excitement for this special meal. Two oldest children would accompany Dad to collect it, Rest of children would help to clear the large dining table and lay it all out for us to sit and eat this.

One of my adult children (whose own elder children are at Uni), still continues this 'tradition; and has a chinese takeaway on Christmas Eve, and although nice is not such an excitement for a generation of children who are far more used to takeways.

Oh roll mop herring. Haven’t had one in years.

Love them!

Fish and chips for us this year. We might even get to eat them at the table if I can clear enough of the debris from my Christmas dinner prep by then.

I cook the Christmas ham. We eat some with a jacket spud and hot red cabbage

Our family has taken on my Swedish DD-out-law's tradition of a smorgasbord. We have a hot and cold buffet, and of course glasses of glogg. Looking forward to smoked salmon, sausages, Swedish meatballs, ham, hard-boiled eggs, jacket potatoes or Jansens Delight and lingonberry jam. DD-out-law will also have roll mop herrings and mustard, (she's on her own there!).

Crispy whole duck with pancakes etc, the duck fat will be used for roasties and parsnips on the day.

Lasagne and salad this year. To follow fruit for me and mince pies for Mr C. Always fish of some sort if family were/are here. Never anything complicated!

Spatchcock chicken, fresh green veg and mashed potatoes. We’re having beef for Christmas dinner, as we’re not keen on Turkey.
When the DCs were living at home and we were all often out on Christmas Eve, I’d make a huge beef casserole that could be eaten when the various family members returned home.

Fish pie
Apple dumpling puddle pudding and ice cream.

An Italian inspired meal here, meatballs al forno and tagliatelle.
Meatballs will be cooked in their sauce beforehand, so very little washing up on Christmas Eve night.

I roast the ham on Christmas Eve so we have that. Together with pineapple AND fried egg. I try to do something exotic with potatoes but it may be wedges or even chips! Plenty to eat cold over the next few days. There was one year when my greedy dog found a way to leap up as high as the work top and bite chunks out of it! Fortunately it was only at one edge so I just cut it off and kept schtum.

Indian Takeaway - and my eldest daughter will join us. When I asked yesterday if she was coming down she said "Yes, it is a tradition to have takeaway on Christmas Eve!"

We always had fish and chips when the children were young. Then we upgraded to a Chinese meal. Very different to what we would be eating over the next few days.