In our family, Thanksgiving is the traditional turkey. Christmas dinner is Beef Wellington.

Turkey/ and a vegetarian option for Thanksgiving, spiral ham/vegetarian option for Christmas.

I'll do whipped potatoes instead of yams and green beans someone instead if the green bean casserole.

Very. We grill steaks for Christmas. We might have a turkey--smoked and then the cranberries have to return,one of the meals everyone is here for but not on Christmas. We will for sure have a ham--In Laws send one each year--for a meal too. Everyone speaks of Christmas as one day but I will have a houseful for five days so there will be A LOT of cooking going on!!!

Our meals will be similar, but no two are the same. We gather at my in-laws' house, usually 18 people. Every household brings dishes, Mom cooks the protein. Thanksgiving is pretty traditional. Christmas will be turkey and ham, mostly because my DH asks for ham. His mother's turkey isn't very good. We try to plan a bit of a menu, but it tends to change without notice.

There is always way too much food, we could feed another 10 people and not notice.

I make a roast pork for xmas and ham for Easter while cousin does tgiving and has the turkey.

We have prime rib for Christmas. Turkey for Thanksgiving, of course, but New Year's can be anything. Sometimes seafood.

Christmas growing up was either a whole baked ham, if other relatives were coming. If it was just Mom Dad and my 4 sisters and me, it would be a standing rib roast, prime rib or sometimes steaks. The food star at Christmas was all the pies, stollen, strudels, cookies, and tarts.

My family gathers on Christmas Eve. We're hosting this year and expect 22. Sometime in the 90's when us kids took over hosting from my parents, we switched to Italian. My SIL and I normally make different types of lasagna. I'll add spaghetti and meatballs, salad and garlic bread. Everyone else brings apps, dessert and wine.

That's quite a list, Amy. Obviously you like to cook. A gal after my own heart. We have a default meal for Christmas. When my oldest daughter was young, she loved turkey and wanted it for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, after the relatives stopped traveling to our house for Christmas (4 hour drive) because the kids started getting bigger and wanted to stay home, we started making Christmas an all day affair. We would open one present (maybe a second one) Christmas eve.......that would be the new pajamas for Christmas morning pics.:-))) Christmas morning was spent in family room. We opened stocking stuffers and it wouldn't just be rip off the paper and toss, but one person one gift, pausing for a dish of fresh fruit salad and cookies..... kids were a little older. Then we would clean up the mess and break for breakfast which would be a strata made the night before. Clean up kitchen, and on to Santa gifts, then gifts from Mom and Dad. Every man for themselves for lunch. Dinner was always beef tenderloin because it was easy, and all side dishes were made the day before. Just had to shove everything in the oven. After dinner we went to living room and opened gifts from kids to each other and us. The tenderloin was the easiest thing I could think of that would allow me to enjoy the day and spend it with family, not be in the kitchen all day. Ham wasn't an alternative because my younger daughter and I were the only ones that liked it.

Mom loved doing turkey and sides for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We all expected it, and it was tradition.

I pretty much did the some thing until a couple of years ago. I did a turkey breast one year, yeah, I know similar, but a wee bit different! LOL

I've been doing Prime Rib or other good beef roast the past few years for Christmas for hubby and I. New Year's was Osso Bucco or other braised meal like that.

There is no tradition in my family :-) It is large and extended and hosting for Christmas is a very flexible affair. Depends on who is in town (not traveling or visiting others) and with the wherewithall to host a big crowd. So what we may have for dinner is up to the hosts......could be anything!!

I have my own personal tradition and that is prime rib and Yorkshire pudding at some point during the holidays........maybe Christmas eve, maybe Boxing day, maybe New Years. Just as long as I get my Yorkshire pudding fix for the year!!

We just had a conversation about this very subject.

On my in-laws side, we eat the exact same meal at both Thanksgiving and Christmas (usually my MIL already has their tree set up before Thanksgiving, so we essentially have two Christmases, but that is a topic for another day), right down to the overly microwaved green beans. They like what they like and look at “new” food with suspicion.

On my side of the family, we are much more flexible and have fun changing it up. We also love to try new things, which helps. Turkey for Thanksgiving with a varied assortment of sides that are not the same year to year. Christmas dinner could be any number of things....ham, beef, lasagna, etc. One year we did fondue.

Our big dinner for 20 is Christmas Eve, and it's usually a Danish pork called flaeskesteg med svaer, or some other pork roast, with red cabbage, mashed or roasted potatoes, vegetables, salad. We've also done a beef tenderloin, and one year only: sliders (no one like that!). Thanksgiving is always turkey etc.

Christmas Day varies, it's usually much calmer. My aunt used to host for 10-12 and she'd have a boeuf bourgignon, or tetrazzini. Now we have just my family of 8, and we have a festive brunch with croissants, eggs, fruit medley, coffee cake, coffee and mimosas. By evening we are very happy to have soup or leftovers!

Last year we had a funny Christmas because of my parents' health situations. I bought Christmas Eve from Costco (YUM!). Then, we were visiting them Christmas morning and a couple of cousins dropped by, too. We hadn't been planning anything, but suddenly we started inviting them and my brothers over, to our house, and we threw together the brunch. It was kind of fun to set the festive table so quickly, and fortunately I'd gotten a box of croissants from Costco. I think it turned into one of our favorite Christmas days, because it was so unexpected.

When my husband was living here Thanksgiving was turkey but he wanted ham and au rotten potatoes. Yes that was what he called them. Easter was a repeat except normally the green veggie was asparagus.

We do a fresh turkey at Thanksgiving, and try something else for Christmas dinner. This year it will be a ham. But I have served standing prime rib roast and Yorkshire pudding, pork loin roast, or a lamb or pork crown roast with all the trimmings.

This year my DD has requested ham (something that she usually would NEVER want) I suspect because her latest flame is joining us and perhaps that is his preference.... I had been thinking of having goose for a change. So I found a great deal on ham and got a small one, but also a duck for me! (Don't get me wrong, I like ham, but I eat it enough throughout the year that it isn't "special") . I've not settled on sides, perhaps a sweet potato dish, and the red cabbage like my grandmother's best friend would always bring if I can find the recipe -- kind of sweet & sour? maybe a German recipe (my hometown had a large population of German heritage). Suggestions welcome!

The years that I had to work Christmas, we would have an afternoon of decorating the tree, playing all of my Christmas records, and nibbling a variety of appetizer type noshes. I like that as well as any dinner to be honest!

In the old days when my mother had both t=gving and Xmas, we had almost the identical meal of turkey and the works. When I took over, it was the same. For years now my daughter has done both, and we contribute. For thanksgiving she had the turkey, stuffing, cranberry my roasted veggies, and three kinds of desserts. Xmas is very informal and we are deciding whether it will be at her house or her brothers. Both kids live nearby...one a mile away, the other four miles. I roast a big chicken and we have fresh chicken sandwiches, dips and crackers and many cheeses , raw veggies , shrimp, Xmas cookies and other vegan/vegetarian stuff and we don't have a formal dinner. Grab a plate and sit wherever. Less pressure and we like the informality after already done the formal thing four weeks earlier.

Thanksgiving is turkey and all the traditional sides.

I do ham f or Christmas. I started doing Xmas dinner Xmas eve when the boys were young..it made things less hectic here on Xmas day. Than Xmas day I'd heat up leftovers, ham sandwiches along with a veggie tray. The kids have no interest in food Xmas day and the adults are usually tired and lazy (me included).

This year is gonna be easy! Shrimp and grits casserole with spinach salad, and specialty muffins from local eatery.

I asked my kids if they wanted turkey or our usual seafood crepes this year and they chose the crepes. Growing up my parents did turkey for both Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years was always whole Dungeness crab (wish I could find them here). I did both turkey and ham when I had my family. Then one of my friends gave me a cook book for my birthday one year when my kids were small and I started making the seafood crepes for Christmas.

We used to have ham when I was a child for Christmas and chicken for Thanksgiving. Now we have turkey at each time. My sister still does ham and a turkey at Christmas. I don't eat ham or any other red meat and DH doesn't eat much red meat either so turkey works best for us. Since we don't eat much meat and we eat a lot of fish at least the meat is a bit more of a special occasion thing. So that's why we don't choose seafood except for on New year's Day.

We lost my Mom two days before Thanksgiving this year, so no Thanksgiving dinner for us. I had been thinking about a standing rib roast, twice baked potatos, etc. for Christmas this year even though I knew it might be met with family objections. Maybe next year, but with missing Thanksgiving we'll do the traditional Turkey, dressing and all the trimmings for Christmas. Probably for the best because DGS at 20 months old had enough teeth and chews well enough to enjoy a tender turkey, but needs another year before trying to chew roast.

Condolences, mojomom.

This year is gonna be easy! Shrimp and grits casserole with spinach salad, and specialty muffins from local eatery.

Sounds delicious! Would you mind sharing your shrimp & grits recipe? As many times as I've eaten it, I've never made it.

Dh is scheduled to go back to work on Christmas day. We'll have grilled filet mignon the weekend before with caramelized shallots, Spinach Madeleine, and rosemary roasted potatoes. I made reservations at a neighborhood Italian restaurant for Christmas eve.

Thanksgiving is turkey and ham...and all the trimmings. Christmas is more rushed so sometimes chicken & noodles or something less time consuming. This year it will be brisket and whatever I come up with. Ham is always served on Easter.

Anyone want to offer suggestions to go with brisket?

Never the same meal for both holidays, either when I was growing up or now. Turkey for Thanksgiving, usually beef tenderloin for Christmas.

My first MIL did do turkey for both meals as their dinner was Christmas Eve and everyone could just drop by anytime Christmas Day or evening and all the leftovers were set out on the DR table so one could help oneself.

Second MIL - always prime rib, cooked and served by their cook! Sure was nice - no having to be helpful - we were all "guests" at this feast - same at Thanksgiving. Ruth was a fabulous cook and I'd take a Ruth in my kitchen any old day! I'm a very good cook and at one time, loved cooking but health and lack of stamina take a toll on my ability these days.

For many years, we did lobster stew at my house on Christmas Eve and then Beef Tenderloin and cheese grits at DD's on Christmas night. A couple of years ago when DS started coming out to join us, we moved everything back a night. He leaves sometime Christmas AM as he gets his children (he's divorced) that afternoon. He didn't want to miss out on any of these wonderful foods, so now lobster stew on the 23rd and the beef on the 24th. DD then makes a pot of soup and puts out the leftovers and I go over Christmas night - no set table, just get some food and eat. She wants to relax on Christmas as she works so very hard the rest of the year.

The lobster knuckles and claw meat arrived frozen on Thurs. I will make the lobster stew either on Thurs or Fri before 23rd - it's far better if the flavors have time to come together. Easy to just heat it up and serve it! There will by oysters on the half shell with champagne, before dinner. Then at the table, a salad of Bibb lettuce, ruby red grapefruit and avocado with poppyseed dressing, followed by the lobster stew and popovers. Dessert is always red raspberry sorbet with fresh red raspberries, mini cream puffs (yes, I buy them frozen - real cream, delicious!) dusted with powdered sugar, hot chocolate sauce passed.

We then all collapse into a food coma!

That sounds divine, Anglophilia!

When I was a kid and into my young adulthood, we had either turkey or ham for Christmas along with all of the same sides served for Thanksgiving.

As the years went by, we started mixing things up. One year it was tacos and traditional Mexican sides. Another year we had a seafood medley of steamed clams, shrimp, lobster and crab along with corn on the cob and roasted potatoes. My parents hosted a year before they passed and served dungeness crab and sour dough bread. Then there was the year of beef. MIL traditionally served lasagna on Christmas Eve, but that year she made steak for Christmas Eve, FIL took us out for prime rib Christmas Day and my parents served bbq steak for dinner on Christmas night. It was several months before I could face beef again! The last four years, we've spent Christmas Day either in an airport lounge or on an airplane so dinner has been whatever was available. Last year, the first class lounge at SF Airport served an Asian feast along with traditional Christmas foods.

Not sure what we will be having this year. We aren't going anywhere this year because we are doing some home improvement projects.

Phoggie, I've served Sweet Onion Pudding with poultry, beef, and ham. It's a great compliment to all. (It's a Southern Living recipe.)

https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-onion-pudding

Everything Christmas is special for Christmas. I don't do the lobster bisque for Christmas eve anymore as we are getting old and all the fancy food puts us out of commission but for Breakfast I make fancy Brioche rolls in molds-very pretty-that you dip in orange juice and drizzle with a heated syrup and almond paste mixture then rebake to crisp served with strawberry conserve and other breakfast oddments. Dinner is courses with Avocado with balsamic vinegar and strawberries, Cream of Artichoke soup(fabulous stuff) Prime Rib roasted with a coating of crushed peppercorns and an herb and salt mixture, pan roasted red potatoes with chopped leeks, asparagus as a side (I own asparagus plates after all) with hollandaise, and maybe an additional vegetable or two and dessert. You might notice the red and green theme.

The Husband changes up Christmas Day dinner every year - BUT every single Christmas Eve we have some sort of seafood dish. This was the tradition he had growing up and one we continue.

Our Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas are always the same: turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing a vegetable. Only the dessert may change, but not much. We don't get as turkey'd out as you may in the US because our Thanksgiving is in October.

We have always had standing lamb ribs cut in sections/mint jelly. mashed sweet potatoes, green beans. For dessert we have vanilla bean cream boulee'. Red wine with meal. That is all.