Family Christmas Eve Dinner and Tradition

I believe Christmas Eve dinner is more important then Christmas Day dinner. Normally Christmas Eve is when you have family and when the kids are all talking about the excitement of Santa coming that night and the atmosphere of the home is general bright and uplifting. That is why you want to make sure you have a nice filling dinner that you can all enjoy around a table that is bound to be full of talk.

I normally love to go all out with Christmas Eve dinner. I think it adds to the excitement the kids are already feeling. So this is what I normally have.

1st Course: Salad

I use a variety of green leaf, red leaf and romaine, that I rip and then dry in my salad spinner. I keep the lettuce in a bowl and then all the toppings in smaller separate bowls so everyone can choose what they want on it. Toppings that I always have include

Onions

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Green Peppers

Olives

Cheese

Cubed Ham

Bacon bits

Mushrooms

Sprouts

Shredded Carrots

Croutons

And any others you might enjoy

Then we have a variety of salad dressings including our families favorite; Ranch.

After everyone is done with their salads we normally clear the table and spend 10-15 minutes talking to one another and bringing out the plates for the 2nd course.

2nd Course: Ham, Potatoes, and more

For this 2 course we usually have a honey spiraled-sliced ham that we cut up and serve on a platter with the glaze drizzled over the ham. We also serve mashed potatoes that we add sour cream, garlic powder, pepper, salt, and parsley to before we mash together. For vegetables we normally include asparagus, peas, and/or corn. After everyone has had there fill we clean up and head to the family room, in preparation of the final course of our Christmas Eve dinner.

Once everyone has made there way in we settle down and let each child open one present. The present is already pre-selected and always contains pajamas. Once they have all opened the present they go and change and grandpa pulls out "The Christmas Orange."

3rd Course: Desert

For desert grandpa always hands out an orange to everyone and we eat it while he reads "The Christmas Orange" to us. The children always love it and I think it helps the children understand that Christmas isn't always about want and take but about truly giving. After the book is over the kids normally head off to bed and the evening winds down while people close by head home and other's staying with us head upstairs for some last minute talk before heading to bed.