Create Your Own Traditions for Christmas Eve: Menu Planning Advice

Christmas can be a difficult holiday to cook for, because it often requires making not just one meal, but two, with Christmas Eve being an occasion all its own. While Christmas dinner is a fairly traditional meal for most people, featuring a whole chicken or turkey or ham, Christmas Eve allows for experimentation and the opportunity to create your own holiday traditions. If you don't want to be daunted by the possibility of creating two meals, Christmas Eve is a great opportunity to great an hors d'oeuvres buffet, that can save you work, provide great snacking for potentially unruly company and create a casual, festive atmosphere while you, depending on your family traditions, wrap or unwrap presents.

For Christmas Eve consider putting out plates of cold cuts and cheese, deviled eggs and cut vegetables. Add crackers or rolls, possibly a pasta salad, and, if you're in a cold climate, consider keeping a pot of soup on the stove. Your family members and Christmas Eve guests will be able to serve themselves and, hopefully, clean up after themselves as well! Christmas Even desserts can also be handled in this manner and cookies baked in advance can be enjoyed throughout the holiday period (as well as left out for Santa if you have children in the house)!

When thinking about meals for Christmas Eve, also consider celebrating your family's unique heritage. My late Sicilian grandfather's birthday was on Christmas Eve, so in my house we always have Italian sausage and peppers to remember his part in our holiday traditions. I have also visited other people on Christmas Eve who have served ethnic foods from their own traditions, including Puerto Rican and German.

Whatever you do for Christmas Eve dinner, try to remember the special dietary needs of your guests: find out if anyone is vegetarian or vegan or requires a gluten-free diet. With so much holiday food focused on both meat and wheat, Christmas can be an especially trying time for people with food restrictions of this ilk. Sometimes the greatest gift you can give them for the holidays is making them feel including with delicious choices they can enjoy without worry. Many recipes are available online, and increasingly it is easy to find prepared packaged food items and mixes that make it easy to accommodate these food differences.

Including festive drink is another great way to enliven your Christmas Eve meal. Alcohol isn't necessary, and sparkling cider and egg nog provide a way for everyone to partake in the celebration!