What do you traditionally serve for holiday meal and why?

[catbug]

When people ask about our plans for Christmas, we always say that we keep it simple. We get up, start eating, then when we have finished eating, we go to bed. What that means is we graze all day.

Christmas morning we all get up, usually woken by mum as she gets so excited at the presents, and then we eat the chocolate Christmas decorations. My brother always tries to get a bowl of cereal before mum notices, but she insists he eat his chocolate with everyone else. I remember about 10 years ago my brother trying to argue with mum that he didn't want chocolate, he wanted Weet-bix, but mum said he would sit down and eat his chocolate decorations like everyone else since it was Christmas. Yes, weird family.

Next we usually have some sort of fancy cooked breakfast. Maybe scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, followed by some fresh fruit like watermelon or mangoes.

Then the nibbles are put out. Chips, crackers, dips, nuts, kabana, cheese, olives, pretzels, etc. That's for snacking on throughout the day.

Next we, well mostly me now, we start making the Christmas lunch/dinner. I usually make the baked ham on Christmas Eve (full leg with a maple syrup, orange marmalade and mustard glaze), and that is served cold. We then either roast a buffet turkey or chicken, and have potatoes roasted in garlic butter, and whatever other vegies we feel like. Mum has wanted a seafood Christmas dinner for years, but my brother isn't fussed on seafood, plus I looooovvvveee my ham, so she misses out. Sort of.

We usually have a starter of prawn cocktails, or last year we had smoked salmon and prawn on ciabatta with crispy pancetta. Was delicious.

Desert is always a tinned plum pudding, though again mum wants to change it. Sorry, if we have to put up with her chocolate for breakfast (trust me it gets real old real fast), then she has to put up with the ham and plum pudding.

After lunch / dinner (usually start about 2 or 3 pm, and ends about 5 or 6, we spread it out), we continue to eat the nibbles or make sandwiches with the leftover meat, or fruitmince pies. Then it's bedtime.

I love Christmas.

[Valentines Mommy]

We're getting the duck! BIL and future SIL have never had one.

This year's Christmas breakfast: Eggs and bacon, mimosas and bloody Mary's and Monkey Bread.
Christmas dinner: Standing Rib Roast, roasted green beans with Parmesan, mustard mashed potatoes (yeah for the crock pot!), salad, marzipan cake and a Black Forest trifle. And lots of famy to help eat all of it!

[mbbored]

Growing up in North Carolina, with deep coastal roots, we always had shrimp and grits for Christmas dinner.

This year, since I'm on my own in Northern California, I'm keeping the cheese grits and subbing out local dungeness crab for the shrimp.

[Thipu1]

Years ago, we were in a sushi place for Christmas Eve lunch and heard a conversation from the next table.  The diners were two young women and one felt bad that she couldn't be with her big Italian family for Christmas.  The other was sympathetic but pointed out that the chirashi lunch was at least providing her with her 7 fish meal.  Both women laughed.

Since then, sushi has been our choice for Christmas Eve lunch. 

[MizA]

It's our first year as marrieds, and my first year not working Christmas since I became a nurse. Our new tradition is to have chicken and waffles and breakfast poutine in our pyjamas, with a coffee and whiskey and eggnog float. Followed by a nap. And then maybe some candy.

It's going to be a GOOD day.

[gmatoy]

My tradition with DH is that I make homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning.  We have that and coffee while we open stockings and presents.

Because we always had the big meal at my mother's, I insisted that we have a special breakfast at home. I make my mother's chocolate cinnamon rolls. I am currently baking the last of them now.
And now that we have the meal here with our children and their families, we have lasagna because it is made the day before and just thrown into the oven while we  do the presents. And we still have chocolate cinnamon rolls.

[ladyknight1]

We had steak pizzaiola with pasta for dinner last night. It was amazing.

A new favorite.

[Library Dragon]

I made a beef wellington for the second time. I blind baked the bottom crust and it was better. Less soggy. 

[cwm]

I learned some traditions at boyfriend's family last night, and I love them.

Boyfriend makes a hash brown casserole type thing, it's hash browns, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheese, and cornflakes. It's really good, actually, when it cooks right.

His aunt's family always does what they call "Carol's Birthday cake" for dessert. It's...well, I'm not exactly sure, but it's got yellow pudding-type stuff (it's supposed to be white, it's got eggs in it and they were commenting that maybe it's supposed to be egg white only, and the yolk is why it's yellow), whipped cream, something else white and fluffy, and Oreos sprinkled all over the top. It's delicious. I can't wait until the next holiday get together.

[betty]

For Thanksgiving, we skip breakfast and start mid-morning with light appetizers (carrots and celery, olives, maybe some cheese and crackers). Then around 1 or 2 we have the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a green veggie (usually green beans). If we have more than just the three in my family, we add more side dishes. A walk or hike in the afternoon, apple pie when we return. Hungry later? Have some leftovers.

For Christmas, we have a baked good for breakfast: cinnamon rolls, or this year I made banana bread. Then we follow my husband's family tradition* and have "make your own" sub sandwiches for lunch and dinner, along with raw veggies, cheese and crackers. We give and get so many food treats (chocolate!) for gifts that a big dessert isn't necessary!

*Between my husband's family and his cousins, they would have had 6 hungry teenagers for Christmas some years. That may be how this tradition started LOL.

(Growing up, my mother would cook a more traditional Christmas meal, usually a roast of beef. And someone always picked up pastries at the Italian bakery: cannoli, sfogliatelle, and more.)

[siamesecat2965]

i think my mom and i have found a new Christmas brunch/breakfast tradition. i bring bagles from NJ (can't get decent ones in VA) so we had that with cream cheese and lox, and mimosas. and coffee. and some christmas chocolate to round it off!  easy, and yummy.  i told her we'll be doing this from now on.

[kckgirl]

I found and tried a new recipe for my pull-apart cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast this year. Everybody (except one person) thought they were much better than the older recipe that I always used. In the excepted person's defense, he is now a young adult and we have made the other recipe his whole life. He usually says, and did say yesterday, that the old recipe is good (true) and he didn't see any need to change it; however, everybody else thought the new recipe was much better, so it is now our recipe for Christmas sweet rolls.

[cwm]

I don't think I'll be following through this year with the traditional NYE meal. For years it's been crab legs and shrimp, but I can't afford that this year. Even if it is only me and BF, it's too expensive. Which makes me sad, I love crab legs and shrimp.

[blarg314]

Christmas I do turkey and stuffing and gravy, etc.

My family's tradition for Christmas Eve is tourtiere, which I would probably do if it weren't for the fact that cooking the turkey, etc, takes two full days of work in my kitchen (two burners, toaster oven, microwave, no full sized oven).

New Years my husband takes over and cooks his traditional foods - soy braised vegetables, noodle soup with seaweed, sweet dumplings, pickles, sweet black soybeans, etc.

Canadian Thanksgiving I don't really do anything for, anymore.

Easter, as I can't find a decent ham here, I've taken to doing an Italy Italian multi-course meal.

[Roe]

We have to have tamales for Christmas breakfast. Why?  Because both DH and I grew up with that tradition and now our kiddo's expect it too. It's definitely a family tradition.

Now that we live in an area where tamales aren't easy to come by, DH and I have to make some every year.  We are still working on finding the right combination.  But we *have* to make them.  It's a tradition!