OK, I'll weigh in here, I've had Christmas Eve dinner for 40 for about 25 years in a row now, LOL. I agree with Chase, you'll need more lasagna. And, unless your family is much different than mine, you won't need two green salads, I always have salad left over no matter what kind I make, plus it's messy to try to eat leafy greens while standing. I'd go with the caesar, a fruit salad, cut out the pasta salad and have more lasagna. It's easier to make a lot of one thing, instead of a bunch of smaller things. The cookies can be made ahead and frozen, so can most cakes, just don't frost them. Breads can also be made and frozen, I've even frozen bread dough for up to 3 months and then thawed it and baked it, ditto cookie dough. The kids will go for the mac and cheese, the lasagna and those "pigs in a blanket" or chicken fingers type of dish. You could do an assortment of chicken wings or strips if you want to add chicken. The best advice I can give you is to make everything ahead that you can, even lasagna can be made ahead and frozen. Good luck, relax and have fun. And make sure everyone knows about that peanut allergy if they are providing food and that includes the catered portion. Annie

I agree with debrak...on not getting hung up on the date. Your kids are young and if it works to celebrate on another date then do it. I realize that its likely your kitchen will not be finished during the Christmas season but when you see your parents in January - CELEBRATE! Have the Christmas feast. Maybe leave a few decorations out. My dh works all different times, shifts, holidays, last minute. He literally was given his work schedule yesterday for the 2 weeks starting THIS SUNDAY through the holidays! Talk about throwing any plans out the window, I actually just don't bother to try to make any. I'd love to say I've gotten used to it after 14 years and that it doesn't get under my skin but I'd be a big fat liar. Some years are better than others and I do not take it out on my dh but I do need to vent here and there. It was very hard when the kids were young and I had this vision of what I thought Christmas morning would be like - vision not reality. Sometimes I think our expectations set us up for failure. When the kids were younger we celebrated whenever my husband wasn't working. Santa came any day that worked for us during Christmas break and it was usually NEVER on the 25th. They are older now so they'd realize the date but then the 'gig' is up anyhow. So I guess my point is - after all of this schedule business and the added stress it causes I have come to cherish the simple togetherness with my immediate family and do not get hung up on the days or what we couldn't do or had to miss. We fit in everything else with extended family when we can. Sometimes it is January. It's just the way it is. That way we space out the big meals and food coma's so I guess that would be a perk! Sending you best wishes for a memorable holiday with your family and with your parents.

Annie I'm not done either!!! We still have approximately 10 more bushells of apples to work with!! Oh and we still have a lot of kale and sage to dry. We haven't dug up the potatoes yet. Husband is planting the garlic today. At the suggestion of my daughter, I started a blog about all this if you're interested, www.alifewellplanted.com. I'm running out of room and I still need to put up several more jars of applesauce, apple rings, apple butter, dried kale and sage. This has been the most bountiful season that I can remember! DEHYDRATED: 10 quarts of anaheim chili peppers 2 more quarts of sage 10 quarts of cayenne peppers 10 quarts of apple rings 1 quart of kale 1 quart of green pepper squares CANNED BWB: 7 more pints of raspberry jam 8 more pints of pickled beets 9 pints of raspberry-apple sauce 8 pints of plain apple sauce 8 pints of spiced apples sauce 9 more pints of Annie's Salsa 20 more quarts of tomato puree FROZE: 6 half pints of baba ganoush 5 packages of sliced, blanched eggplant for parmesan 4 more quarts of steamed eggplant for thai dishes 8 pints of roasted red peppers 6 pints of chili 2 pints of minestrone 2 quarts of okra stew 20 bags of apples for pies Lost count of how many bags of raspberries we froze STORED: 1 gallon chestnuts 1/2 gallon black walnuts This freezer was a gift from our neighbor - we use it for the fruits, berries and veggies only. We have another freezer for my husband's chicken, venison, guinnea hens, etc.

Lavenderlace: I tested the below research: https://stumptuous.com/fat-sugar-metabolic-derangement "High-fat (HF) and high-fat/high-sugar (HFHS) diets both raised blood lipids. However: only rats on HFHS (fat plus sugar) diet developed hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance and a diminished insulin response to a glucose load. " When I'm busy, I gulped one glass of juice for energy (100% juice with natural sugar) .. that kept my blood-sugar stabilized to finish a task for 1 hour longer. And a glass of soy milk (7 g. protein) & brewer's yeast & honey lasts me 4 hours without eating. Recently I did something different: finish the last bar of Klondite ice-cream (230 calories, 14 g of fat, 20 g white sugar) & sweet & greasy. Right after that, my blood sugar crashed, I was unbearably hungry and had to eat a meal immediately. I checked the ingredients: it has sugar & corn syrup (high fructose corn syrup). A little of fat plus protein is useful to keep one full. But fat plus sugar induce more hunger. I tested blueberry-smoothie made with 0% fat Greek yogurt versus 2% fat yogurt, and the 2% fat yogurt is more filling & last longer. CONCLUSION: Fat & protein & veggies is a good combo. Fat is needed to absorb the nutrients in veggies better. We have a friend who's a vegetarian and he ALWAYS USE full-fat salad-dressing, plus full-fat cheese on his salads, and he's just as skinny as husband in their late 50's. I used coconut oil to make banana muffin, and olive oil in my cooking. Here's what the Dean of Nutrition, Harvard Medical School said about coconut oil: http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/coconut-oil "Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat, which is a higher percentage than butter (about 64% saturated fat), beef fat (40%), or even lard (also 40%). Too much saturated fat in the diet is unhealthy because it raises "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of heart disease. So it would seem that coconut oil would be bad news for our hearts. But what's interesting about coconut oil is that it also gives "good" HDL cholesterol a boost. But, for now, I'd use coconut oil sparingly. Most of the research so far has consisted of short-term studies to examine its effect on cholesterol levels. We don't really know how coconut oil affects heart disease. And I don't think coconut oil is as healthful as vegetable oils like olive oil and soybean oil, which are mainly unsaturated fat and therefore both lower LDL and increase HDL. Coconut oil's special HDL-boosting effect may make it "less bad" than the high saturated fat content would indicate, but it's still probably not the best choice among the many available oils to reduce the risk of heart disease. — Walter C. Willett, M.D. Harvard School of Public Health Department of Nutrition Harvard Health Letter Editorial Board" *** From Straw: Just tested Solgar Brewer's yeast (made from beets). It's less tasty than NOW brand (sold out at local health food store). Solgar BY has a "plastic" & artificial taste to it, and less acidic than NOW. So I'll use Solgar BY for my roses, and still need to buy NOW brewer's yeast when they stock up.