Christmas Eve Dinner Plan & Recipes
We're a few weeks away from Christmas! I was contemplating ideas to share in December when I remembered my Christmas food pics from last year. Here's my interpretation of a festive Christmas Dinner.
I've planned and prepped for my family's Christmas Eve dinner for over 5 years, which at least provides some credibility to share my experience and secrets on handling it all! Hosting small gatherings and dinners has been a dream of mine since I was a child, and to be able to fully manage the menu as an adult is a dream come true. Just know that my first-ever Christmas Eve Dinner menu started off mediocre and chaotic, but with years of practice, I've gradually improved and designed a better menu.
If you're attempting to host a small-scale festive dinner with friends or family, here are some of my suggestions (do take it with a grain of salt).
Here's a simple rundown of my process:
- Research on recipes
- List down menu
- Prep & buy ingredients
- Decide on theme & plating
- Read the instructions & cook away (I always love to take my own spin on recipes depending on the available ingredients locally)
- Take as many pictures for memories/timelines to see how far you've come
I break down the plans and recipes into 6 sections for easy navigation!
SNACK PLATTER
I did a mini platter with fresh blueberries, baguette loaf, and homemade mulberry jam. You can add on cheese, hams, biscuits or other fruits based on your tastebuds. You can go as wild and creative as you want here!
Simple Mulberry Jam:
Ingredients:
Frozen/fresh mulberries
Lots of sugar
A little drop of lemon (optional)
Steps:
Blend the berries. Add the blended berries into a pot and add in the sugar. Cook at medium-low heat. Stir until it thickens.
ENTREÉ
A warm bowl of mushroom soup as a starter is great with the bread from the platter. Other soup options you can try are pumpkin/squash soups!
SALAD
A light salad or greens is a must to balance out all the heaviness of the dishes. My favourite vegetable dishes are raw salad veggies with balsamic vinegar, red wine eggplant and guacamole (avocado, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cumin powder & diced tomatoes).
MAINS
A few of my top main dishes for the festive season are roasted lemon chicken, creamy mashed potatoes, herbs pizza, and lasagna. Even though some of these dishes are not found in the original Christmas dinner menu, they are a few of my favourites to have on the table. Other dishes I've tried, such as lemon meatballs, quiche and classic aglio olio are just as good!
DESSERT/CAKE
Christmas dinner is unofficial without some kind of warm pies and moist-themed cake. Homemade apple pies are one of my top choices for Christmas. To join in the festive fun, the gorgeous log cake from Flourfy completes the joy.
DRINKS
Sparkling juice (sizzling red/green grape juice) is a great way to end the meal. Keeping this family-friendly, any kind of mocktail or fruit juice (good quality grape juice) will also work! Just remember to prepare fancy glasses to cling to! Also, you can add fresh mint leaves to your juices for a refreshing treat.
What will you add or subtract if you're in the position to plan a festive dinner? Let me know in the comments below. As always, speak soon & wish you a blessed, joyous Christmas! 🌟
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