TJMaxx almost always sell Walkers shortbread cookies year round. I love them with a cup of hot tea.

I buy the chocolate covered soft gingerbread cookies from Germany. They are called Oblaten-Lebkuchen. I find them at T.J. Maxx or Marshalls. I also love peppermint ice cream. The brand I like is Brigham's Peppermint Stick Ice Cream.

Egg nog. Traditional Christmas sugar cookies.

ETA: I got my big tin of Walkers around Thanksgiving. One year I missed it. I just didn't realize it was seasonal!~

If you have an Aldi nearby they sell tons of goodies all imported from Germany.

Lobster stew for Xmas Eve dinner, oysters on the half shell first, and two bottles of Veuve Cliquot champagne. That's about a $300 meal and it's ONLY once a year!

Pierogi, traditional Polish dish that my Mom made for Christmas Eve dinner called Wilega (vil-ee-ya). I still make them only for that dinner. This might be the last year. It's a big, complicated, time consuming project and kills my back. I'll see how I'm doing next year.

I have a bunch of cookie recipes I only make once a year at Christmas, and two different fruit cakes and mince pies for DH. I think if you do stuff all the time, they're not really a special treat any more.

Fresh cranberry salad...yum!

We've been packing up pfeffernusse cookies, which we make only for Christmas. My grandson said yesterday that it's too bad we don't make them all year long, and I told him the same thing, colleenoz.

I also make savory party mix, almond toffee, and cooked caramels. Once in a while I'll make MW caramels at other times of the year, but almond toffee has been a Christmas tradition since we lived in Grand Junction, CO, 25 years ago, and first tasted Enstrom's Almond Toffee. Enstrom's family story.

mare_wbpa can you explain what this wilega is and how you make it?

I get fruit cake bars. Each bar is about 1/2 pound. A local bakery make them at this time of the year. Ignoring the jokes and snide remarks about fruitcakes, I enjoy this particular brand. Those are fruity and chewy.

I have to have shortbread at this time of year, used to bake them but now just buy them.

I started one year buying can of cashews.

And of course mandarin oranges, those are my food treats at this time of year.

Tourtiere........a Quebec meat pie that is eaten on Christmas Eve. My ex-husband originated from Quebec City and he made this every year. He and I were the only ones who really loved it, but I've got the urge to have some this year. I'm making it this week. Eat with ketchup.

Bengarding - Wigilia is not a food. It's the what the traditional Polish traditional Xmas Eve dinner is called. Mare makes perogi for this dinner.

Ferrero Rocher's candy.

I seem to make everyone else their stuff. My nephew and niece like sausage gravy with biscuits. I've never eaten it. My BIL likes chess pie. Sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving, the turkey roulade for Christmas... I do like fudge this time of year. Maybe that's the one I make for me :)

I did buy myself a Holiday pie from McDonald's today.

Sue

watchmelol is exactly right about Wilega

Candy Cane JoJos from Trader Joe's. They're Oreo-type with good peppermint flavored filling. I buy a couple of boxes every year and treat myself for the month of January.

I just saw another one on my FB page. Divinity candy. Oh, my! I haven't seen it, or thought about it, in years!

Pumpkin eggnog around. . Costco sells Sanders Dark Chocolate covered caramels with Sea Salt. A giant jar for $8.99. I love them so much that I stalked them after the holidays and when they mark them down I buy enough to last until they have them again around Thanksgiving, Its my after dinner treat-one square when the kitchen is all cleaned up.

Those Trader Joe's star cookies come into the store just about the first week in November, and unless you buy them then, they're never seen again. My DD and DIL call into TJ'S at the end of October and request 2 cases be held for them. My grandkids give them out to their teachers and bus drivers as Christmas gifts...they've always been well-received. I manage to steal a box or two for myself.

FlamingO in AR, your post makes me remember something! My friend and I found Indian Red peaches one year (she knew what they were, I didn't) and we spiced them and served at Christmas! They were beautiful, a deep jewel red and very delicious. We hid them from our families til holiday time, we were so determined to see them on our festive tables. After that, neither of us could ever find that variety of peach again. As you are in AR and I am in West Tennessee, can you tell me if you have ever seen Indian Red and if so, how/where I might find them? It's been about 40 years ago but it's nice to remember those days. Thank you!

We are making homemade vegetarian sushi, and homemade egg rolls for our Christmas dinner. We are also making rum cake and carrot cake. I bought some sparkling apple cider too. We don't drink liquor( I do make cakes and ice cream with liquor for flavor) we usually only drink water or tea so the apple cider is a treat for us :). Our meal is a little unconventional. Some years we have turkey, but this year we decided to all spend the day making sushi ( it takes a long time) together. We make sushi usually only once every year or so, it's a treat for us. We only make rum cake every few years as well, I am looking forward to both.

"Those Trader Joe's star cookies come into the store just about the first week in November, and unless you buy them then, they're never seen again."

I guess that depends on your Trader Joe's. Yes, they are only available for the holidays, but Hubs went into a local Trader Joe's on Monday of this week (today being Friday) and bought four boxes of the chocolate star cookies. He could have gotten a lot more, but I had told him to only buy two, so he was being extravagant. :-)

Collins Street pecan fruitcake, and my husband actually carries on the tradition of baking fruitcake from his Mom's recipe. It was the only thing that ever came out of her kitchen that I could eat.

Prime rib! I am such a carnivore.

I have Prime Rib every New Year's Day. My family always wanted the traditional Turkey, Ham and Roast Pork for their holiday meals. I am not that fond of any of them but I will eat them. So I decided New Year's Day was my treat day. I have Prime Rib, Loaded Baked Potato and Roasted Brussel sprouts. I get so excited every year during Christmas time just knowing my Prime Rib is around the corner lol.

I make Buckeye candy, Rum balls (which I don't eat) every year at Christmas time. If I didn't make them I think my family would revolt.

First year in oh so many that I found ribbon candy and bought some. Looking forward to serving tomorrow.

sabbath, I am assuming that by "vegetarian sushi", you mean the rolls. Am I correct? I make them pretty frequently, though never a vegetarian version. I've never considered them very time consuming, so I am interested in your recipes.

Hi Rhizo- I make them with carrots sliced long and thin cooked in soy sauce and brown sugar, egg cooked with sugar sliced thin, asparagus cooked in water and soy sauce, inari rinsed and sliced thin (soak inari in hot water mixed with soy sauce and brown sugar, keep it soaked until ready to roll) cucumber sliced thin, avacado, and Shibazuki (purplish- pink pickled cucumber) try to roll them all different ways. My husband purchased a special cube that makes them look interesting too. They take about 4 hours total. I also roll them in a more Korean way with sesame oil on my hands rather than Japanese vinegar. I don't use a roll mat, as I find doing it by hand works better for me.

We make amazing egg rolls too. I get lots of compliments on them. I take diced onion, finely shredded carrots, frozen peas and cooked crumbled up morning star vegetarian sausage, salt and pepper and sautée it all in olive oil until the onions are clear. I wrap them in egg roll skins and cook them until crispy in about 1/2 inch of canola oil. Everyone including meat eaters has loved the egg rolls. I use to make them with cabbage but streamlined the recipe, and it's just as good.

We don't make sushi often as it takes up a lot of time and disappears so fast in our house!

Nothing fancy but I mix a box of raisins, Craisins, plain Christmas M & M's with Planter's cocktail peanuts. We enjoy snacking on that.

Here are my Kahlua spiced peaches. I found the recipe online.

Eggnog!!

My DD usually buys Halvah or gets it for gifts from his siblings. The only thing I wish I could still get is some of my DF redeye or hochzeit schnapps that he made. He made it the best and there was never a recipe written down for it. My brother makes it but it is not quite as good as Dads. It is made with sugar and Everclear and grenadine syrup. Some people use cherry flavoring or caramel but I like the grenadine the best. Moni have you ever had this or the Halvah.

Bengardening- love Halvah!! I had some this summer in a restaurant in New Orleans, it reminded me of my childhood.

Sabbath I don't like it. I have never heard of it in a restaurant. I remember my grandparents having it for Christmas too.

Starbucks Christmas Blend coffee. That's all I've got. I do my best to keep the sweets out of the house. My BIL will give me a box of See's chocolate truffles. Fortunately, I don't like them so I try to find someone who does!

Stolen and eggnog. Could have it anytime I want it because I make my own, but what makes it so special is that you only have it once a year.

Every Christmas Eve as a child, we went to my grandmother's house and we had Mexican food for dinner and homemade eggnog and candy for dessert.

There was always toffee, bon-bons, fudge, winter strawberries, fruitcake, dipped pretzels, Chex mix, haystacks, peanut brittle, and a few other candies I don't recall. Christmas cookies have never been in a thing in my family, it was always tins with various hemade candies.

But that eggnog, I looked forward to it every year. My grandmother passed away when I was pregnant with my first. When my mom and dad started caring for my grandad, my mother found all the Christmas recipes, including the recipe for the homemade eggnog which I had never had the foresight to ask my grandmother for the recipe.

I started making it a few years ago and now my 7 year old in particular looks forward to it. I made it last night for our big family get-together and I only got a taste as everyone wanted a cup!

I've never had eggnog with alcohol, didn't even know that was a thing until I was an adult, and I can't stand the stuff in a carton. Grandmother's recipe is so rich, thick and decadent that it is usually eaten with a spoon.

I look forward to it every year on Christmas Eve.

My rendition of the traditional sausage and egg casserole, and it was perfect, this morning.

Perfect

l lb jimmy dean maple sausage browned and drained

6 slices bread cubed and dried

5 eggs

2 cups shredded cheese

2 cups half and half

1 tsp mustard, dry or prepared, either works

salt and pepper

beat eggs, mix in cheese, sausage, milk, mustard, salt and
pepper

gently fold in bread cubes

pour into square pyrex dish that has been sprayed

bake 30 minutes 350

cover and put in warmer until serving

perfect with sliced oranges

Salami (kosher, not Italian) and real pastrami-- stollen-- gingerbread cake (I really miss Trader Joe's Deep Dark Gingerbread cake, it was the best!) -- a cranberry tart -- Constant Comment tea -- gorgonzola cheese -- I overindulge from November through new year's, and there are many other things that I might get from year to year (like Walker's shortbread), but these are the things that I would really miss having.

A box of Mrs. See's Nuts and Chews chocolates.

Glenda, is that powdered mustard?

My special Christmas treats? Once a year one local grocery sells fresh eel, and I buy one to cook. The other sells salmon roe once a year, and I splurge on a jar or two.

This all becomes part of the Feast of the 7 Fishes, a tradition dad discovered and grew to love back in the 90's. In my own way, I carry it on.

A local coffee shop makes eggnog lattes with optional cinnamon, from regular coffee and eggnog mix. I've stopped in twice for my fix.

Back in the day, mom used to make eggnog from scratch, and with the bourbon. I miss that, but not enough to do it myself.

My mother makes pies for all the holiday dinners, so my special day-after-Christmas treat is leftover pie for breakfast. Everyone else is gone or sleeping in, so I'm having pie and coffee in the blessed quiet.

peanut butter fudge and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that my neighbor makes...But NONE for me this year since they don't talk to me anymore LOL

Barney's Santa white Christmas coffee, my dh recipe of hot buttered rum, breakfast casserole as above, decent egg nog, any home made cookies. I rarely bake as it's warm much of year. Bean soup from the ham bone of a honey baked ham (and the ham, too!)