Working Christmas eve and Christmas day, dayshift. Having Christmas dinner on the day after. We're having:

A small ham (daughter doesn't like turkey)

turkey

stuffing

mashed potatoes

gravy

cranberry sauce (canned, finally found some today in Kroger) only kind I like and will probably be the only one eating it

mac n cheese (for daughter's boyfriend)

green bean almondine

yeast rolls

butternut squash with pecans, brown sugar and butter

black olives and maybe carrot sticks

pumpkin pie

I'm probably going to bake the turkey on Christmas day so I only have to warm it up the next day and will have the entire day on Sunday to make everything else. It will be hard to make anything else as my breaks are only 15 minutes long and lunch 30.

A small gathering, but:

Shrimp

Turkey - a found a small one! and gravy

Cornbread stuffing

Brandied cranberries

Roasted garlic mashed potatoes

Roasted Brussels sprouts

Guest is bringing apple pie

Keeping it easy. On Christmas day my daughter, her husband and their son will come for lunch. I am having ox roast sandwiches, pasta salad and pie. The Monday after Christmas my son who lives 200 miles away will come with his family . Will have a dinner with all of my children. My son is bringing some meat that he smoked, I'm making potato salad and my DIL is making a couple other sides

Just found out it will be just 4 of us GF and her DH, my DH and me. (My traditional family get together of around 17 is off due to covid and too many unvaxxed family members.) I'll do up a boneless pork loin roast in the crockpot with cranberries and orange, I'll probably make the bourbon pecan smashed sweet potatoes as I find them so tasty, and the broccoli casserole with muenster cheese as everyone seems to like that too, and I need a batch of my whole wheat biscuits anyway, so I'll make them. Probably have a green salad with balsamic vinaigrette. I'll ask her to bring dessert. And we'll have an assortment of cheese and crackers for appetizers before hand. Maybe add the cucumber and salami appetizer too.

I was going to do lasagna for Christmas Eve (mixed group). It was going to be simple. Mostly classic meat lasagna (mine has veg as well in it) and green salad. I was going to try making a fancy seasonal dessert. We used to have a Christmas Eve cousin, but she retired from the hosting lists, and the younger Chistmasy cousin-in-law attends midnight mass. This year, we have some missing cousins coming to town and the cousin in the middle of it all was missing the traditional Christmas Eve cousin's dinner, so decided to take up the reins, but fairly late on Christmas day, given the Midnight Mass before. So I'm making apple pie. :) Just apple pie. :)

I cannot believe this, but I have little planned so far.

We celebrate on Christmas Eve. Normally we go to the early Mass and then have our feast. No Mass this year.

One present is opened at midnight, the rest in the morning.

We'll probably have goose for a main, though I have not ordered that and we need two, so fingers crossed I am not too late.

Appetizers will be shrimp cocktail and smoked salmon on toast points.

Brussels sprouts with chestnuts, roasted beets with walnuts, wild rice, and a potato gratin for sides.

Endive and watercress salad.

Cheese plate and finish with a chestnut cream and chocolate Yule log.

In the morning we have panettone as we open presents.

It will be the six of us. Plus a few close friends. All will be boosted, plus tested. Omicron is poised to make a splash this winter. I would not be surprised to have one of my sons test positive at this rate, in which case, no guests.

Under normal circumstances we have an open house on Boxing Day inviting all our Canadian and British friends. I love that get together, incredibly festive, and relaxed. Obviously, that is not happening either.

I am so ready for a return to normality.

PS I make a red current sauce to go with the goose.

IT's just four of us this year. My son and his wife and my DH and me. My other son and his fiance can't make it. I've ordered a bone-in whole turkey breast, and we'll have mashed potatoes, roasted brussels and a couple of salads with fruit salad for dessert. Really simple but we're not big eaters and we don't do fancy.

As with Thanksgiving, we have invited our friend who lives alone to have Christmas Eve dinner with us. We are making a tourtiere (French Canadian meat pie) and serving it with homemade pickled beets. While the pie cooks, we will have wine, shrimp cocktails, and celery stuffed with a cream cheese, gorgonzola and toasted walnut spread. Dessert will be sliced fruitcake, filled/spiked European chocolates and Port wine.. We might all fall asleep afterwards...no plans for breakfast. There will be leftovers for Christmas Day.

Amylou, I just knew you'd make a pink dip, and you did not let me down. (grin)

We are having two Christmas meals. Elery's oldest son and his family are coming from California, we haven't seen them in nearly 5 years. We haven't told Elery, but we are rolling his 70th birthday party in there, since this is one of the few times all three of his boys and their kids are together in one place. Unfortunately, his daughter and SIL can't make it. There will be 16, all vaxxed and boosted other than the two smallest girls, who aren't old enough to be eligible yet. The tentative menu is:

Ham

Tenderloin

Scalloped potatoes

Macaroni and cheese

Homemade rolls

Pink Half Runner Beans

Fruit salad or skewers

Apple stack cake (Elery's Mother's Recipe and their family tradition)

Cheesecake

Cookies and Fudge

After that my family will be here, with approximately the same menu except I have to add a cheeseball for one SIL and I can't stand the thought of one more cheesecake, so I'm going to try a gluten free tiramisu, the obligatory cookies and fudge and one more dessert to be determined.

Elery and I will be here alone on Christmas and Seagrass reminded me that I still haven't tried my hand at Tourtiere, although Elery would prefer to have seafood or lasagna. We'll see...

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Annie

With this new virus raging the way it is currently up here, I cannot see any family get togethers for us this year...or at lease nothing is planned to my knowledge.

We will do our usual Christmas Eve with some appetizers.

Christmas morning is always a fruit selection and yogurt breakfast.

Christmas dinner-I might do a turkey and all that goes with it.....I suppose it all depends on the day this year.

IT will be my husband and me with our son DIL and grandson.

Xmas lunch will be canapés and various nibbles along with some mince pies.

Dinner is Smoked salmon and/or oysters. I'll have both :)

Main course is roast leg of lamb - a request from my boy with roast potatoes and other veg. Followed by cheese and salad, then a 3 chocolate log. It's for the little one, really. It's shaped like a village complete with christmas tree. Very jolly! So not traditional, but what people will enjoy.

Just DH and I, for sure there will be a couple slices of ham on our plates and Glenda's recipe of pineapple casserole....can't have one without the other. And I bought some of those 'baby' potatoes yesterday so I will likely do something with them and add something green to the mix. Then there will be all those Christmas cookies that daughter will be blessing us with!

Sounds like there are a variety of plans here. Im spending Christmas eve in Va with daughter and her family. We will go to mass and then back to their home for dinner which will be pasta, crab cakes, calamari, something green and not sure what else. Will spend the night so I will be there to watch the kids open gifts and we'll have a light breakfast. Back to Maryland in the afternoon and then dinner with another daughter and her family. Prime rib, shrimp, crab cakes, ChrisRuth potatoes, asparagus and creme brulee for dessert.

Amy, you are a good daughter. You do a lot for your family with what little time you have. I hope you find some time to relax and enjoy some time with s/o.

I have stopped making plans. With the new Covid surge every plan made so far by our family has fallen through and there’s a high probability our remaining hope to get to DDand DSIL in Italy will be dashed. DS has already decided it’s too risky to go. France has closed its borders and there are rumours Italy will follow. Bah humbug.

I haven't finalized my plans. Half of my extended family will be travelling out of town.....the other half would like me to join them for the day but that requires taking ferries and a 4 hour round trip. A big chunk out of the day sitting in a car! And my 14 y.o. pup - also invited - no longer tolerates long car rides well and now gets a bit stressed in unfamiliar surroundings. Like me, he no longer appreciates much fuss and bother :-) What to do, what to do??

I am perfectly happy staying at home and would actually prefer it. As would the dog. With no immediate family of my own anymore, Christmas is just not a big deal to me any longer. And no small kids around to liven things up. All are in their teens now. But the pressure is still on for me to attend.

At some point, I will roast a small prime rib so I can make Yorkshire pudding. And enjoy leftover French dip sammies. I do like to indulge myself for the holidays with good food I don't often enjoy at other times of the year.

I am strongly thinking of staying put..........is that too Grinch-like?

It will only be the 2 of us plus my son and his fiancee on Christmas morning. We are going to have a modest brunch late morning. So far just ham, au gratin potatoes, corn, and rolls on the menu.

On Saturday, January 8th a group of friends plan to get together for a holiday gathering and white elephant gift exchange. I am in charge of cooking the 10.5 lb. standing rib roast that I have left from last year's steer. Cooking a $150+ piece of meat is a little intimidating.

Our plans have changed. We normally host friends and family Christmas Eve but with the spike in COVID cases, everyone has cancelled so it will just be the 6 of us i.e. the immediate family.

Christmas Eve we will have prime rib and whatever else I conjure up. I usually do a 7-9 course wine dinner but that is out the window. I had a wonderful menu planned but...

Christmas Day is just the 6 of us. We will have a brunch of baked French Toast, bacon, and fruit and probably hot appetizers or leftovers in the evening.

The 5 adults are all on call so our employees can have time with their families so we will be adapting depending on what happens work wise.

Christmas Eve Supper: always Tamales with Red Chile (sauce); Caesar Salad; Green Chile Rollups; Wine. And for dessert, coffee and my homemade Biscochitos (New Mexico’s official cookie).
Our Christmas Morning Breakfast: the Christmas coffee cake that my clan/family has been making for over 60 years now; OJ, coffee, eggnog, scrambled eggs, (faux) bacon, and grapefruit.
Christmas Dinner: so far I’ve only planned Chateaubriand, wine, and for dessert my (individual) Winter Spiced Molten Lava Cakes topped with Vanilla-Ginger Ice Cream. And, coffee.

Christmas Eve will be baked ziti, salad, not sure the appetizer

Christmas will be spiral ham, whipped raisin sauce, salad, a green veggie, again not sure the appetizer.

I'll make a cheesecake, Christmas cookies and an apple cake.

I hadn't even thought about it. So...reading ALL your ideas and plans....I came up with this simple menu:

Ground turkey motzarella stuffed meatballs.

Real mashed potatoes

Peas

Pumpkin cheesecake w/ whipped cream(made w/ stevia)

We're temporarily on a no sugar, no beef or pork diet. No sodas. No white flour pasta, rolls or biscuits.

We're having beef bourguignon, either Christmas Eve or day, we haven't quite decided. I used Ina Garten's recipe last year and it was a huge hit with DH - he's not a real fan of turkey and we'll have a prime rib New Years Day. I have all I need for it other than fresh mushrooms and the carrots. Some kind of crusty bread and a salad - It will just be the two of us. We're watching the weather and deciding which of those days we will drive to see my mom (trying to guess too which day freeway traffic will be lighter), just spend the day with her...her assisted facility is still not letting us go about freely inside (the restaurants, dining rooms included) so no big celebration there but I want her to have family company.

I'm going to my brother's for Christmas. I believe they're getting a pre-cooked Christmas dinner with sides from a major grocery store. I'm going to make a corn casserole that I've made for a number of years and have taken it to gatherings. It's originally from Jude, from the Cooking forum who lived in Tennessee. So it's a southern dish :-)

For the last 10 or so years beef bourg. has been our christmas entree. I’m veg’n but will bend the rule to eat the carrots, mushrooms, onions onions, and sauce. I’ll bring makings for a salad with butter lettuce + radicchio + pomegranate & some sort of vinaigrette. My family was gifted lots of H&D pears so I’ll prep a tart shell & frangipane filling to bake a pear frangipane tart when i get there. probably just 4 or 6 of us but more festive than last year.

Hubs and I will have our traditional Beef Wellington for Christmas dinner. Mashed potatoes with gravy, rolls, etc. Pecan pie with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.

A couple of months ago, it looked like we could have a normal Christmas, which is our daughters and one BF here for finger food and games on Christmas Eve and breakfast and gift opening Christmas morning, then my sisters and their families on the 27th for our big turkey dinner, which is usually 12-15 people; (we are all double vaxxed and most are boosted.) Then the floods hit BC and closed the highways between one sisters family and the rest of us. Still pretty much closed to non-essential travel. My daughter who is a nurse is working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so she will come at 8 on Christmas and we'll pretend it's Christmas Eve and have our Christmas Day on the 26th. It's still up in the air whether my out of town sis and family will make it down for the 28th, but we'll make a group decision on that this Sunday. One of the highways will be open on the 21st for non-essential travel, but I imagine it will be packed and it's a much longer route than normal. Speaking of normal, wouldn't it be nice to get back to somewhere near that?

We had plans to go to my daughter's and her wife's home to celebrate with the 15 month old twins, but some stubborn cop where my daughter is a sergeant wouldn't get vaccinated!

She now has a mild case, and we don't know the status of the rest of the family!

Thankfully, the twins stop young to know what day Xmas is!

We'll get there eventually!

Since it's just me I'm getting deep dish pizza and I have ice cream.

Menu has always been simple so we can enjoy the day with family. Ham, scalloped potatoes, etc. I'm still debating if i want to make a cheesecake or buy one. One more large kids and adult Christmas party at the shrine on Sunday then our traditional Chinese buffet restaurant with friends after and a little more shopping to do before the big day.

On Xmas Eve day I will be riding. I will most likely stay and help out with the kids if they need me. Weather permitting I would like to wear my Santa Suit give out candy canes. If the weather doesn't allow it I may dress as an Elf instead.

I have been baking and candy making this year. Last year I didn't feel it safe to hand out home made things but we now know that food is relatively safe. I will take some treats to the office at the ranch and hand out a few to my closest neighbors on Xmas Eve.

Meals are for just the two of us so will be low key. The ham thread got me thinking about old fashioned boiled ham and I might do that for Christmas Day. The bone and leftovers will go into soups and other cold weather dishes.

Our family skipped visits last year but this year we have been getting together in small groups. We always do family Xmas on Jan. 7th. Most likely we will visit the grandkids and do it at their home this year.

I would like to go visit my brother who lives in a more open county for a few days between Xmases but don't know I I will be able to fit it in. Depends on appointments for dental work etc.

NancyJane so sorry and hope your family recovers quickly and without incident!

We will have a fairly small gathering for us of seven but lots of food to send home with DD and her DH.

We will have the usual turkey dinner as that's what my family loves. I will sneak in some shrimp and oysters for myself.

We do not eat pork or beef but our parents all served pork or a roast beef for their Christmas Eve dinner.

I am really seriously thinking of a cheese scalloped sweet potato dish. So I will have to experiment :-).

Otherwise the traditional for us brussel sprouts and the Danish accompaniments of pickled red cabbage and pickled herring and other assorted pickles.

We also always have the Ukrainian family favourite of my husband's side of the family cabbage rolls. DD makes them with spicy sausage for her DH and family. We make them very plain without too much spice. That is the way we've always made them.

I'm debating whether to make the pierogies that we did not have at Thanksgiving which we usually have for my husband's Irish side of the family.

We always have garlic mashed potatoes as well.

Dessert will be pies usually pumpkin and apple.

Update on covid. Daughter is feeling much better, no one else has shown any symptoms. A few days left to see if all is well!

I see that there are a lot of ham lovers out there (including us) and you may not be aware of this - VgQn was watching tv the other day when she noticed the scroller at the bottom of the screen warning about an extensive ham and related pork products (2,320,774 pounds) being recalled due to listeria contamination. We saw no other news about this warning so she googled it up to find this USDA report below...

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/alexander-hornung-recalls-fully-cooked-pork-products-due-possible-listeria

It will just be the two of us, so I'm not sure yet. The last several years I have made lasagna since that was my elderly neighbor's favorite and her family was out of town. She passed away this year. We may smoke a brisket.

amylou: you come up with the BEST topics--thanks!

It will be a very quiet Christmas for hubby and I, as we just moved to a new area, and really don't know a soul here, and this will be my first Christmas without my Mom, so I expect to feel a bit melancholoy. We'll definitely do some facetime calls--our son and my brother in Alaska. I'll keep with my long standing traditon and have an hour long (at least!) phone call with by best friend of over 40 years--always the day after Christmas.

We'll probably start our day with a nice walk on the Bosque (a long greenbelt that runs along the Rio Grande), then come home and cook our Christmas dinner.

Our Christmas Day menu: We rarely eat meat, especially red meat, but we are spluring for our Christmas dinner: Lamb shanks braised in red wine, smashed new potatoes with garlic, and a green salad. Dessert: Goat cheese panna cotta with raspberry coulis.

@tvq1 If you are in New Mexico, welcome to the beautiful state!

I'll be enjoying a truly peaceful holiday by doing nothing. It will be a silent night, indeed.

^^^ Nyuk, yeah, New Years is a good way to end it all.

@cooper8828: Thanks for the nice welcome! Yes we are in beautiful New Mexico, and so far we are really enjoying it. We bought a home in an "Over 55 Active Adult Community_--north of ABQ in Bernalillo. Our home is about a block from the Bosque, so we have been loving our daily walks.

I'm with Judi! I need a pre-hug because I am SOOO dreading the whole thing. Hubs is going out east to spend the holiday with his kid and grandkids. I am totally FINE with that, there's not really room for me in the house, and I don't want to take the risk of covid exposure for me and my 90 year old Dad. I don't usually enjoy long visits there anyway, it's a chaotic household so really best if we keep visits short and sweet. Hubs wants to spend a lot of time there, so he'll be happy and I'll be happy. I really can't be away from my Dad for a long, long time anyway, particularly far away.

So I would really love and enjoy a quiet holiday ALONE. But on the downside, I will have to be around my Dad, who takes every opportunity to be miserable and remind everyone why they should be miserable, and make issues about things that aren't issues. He'll spend the whole time lamenting that we are "alone" on the holiday, because I guess I am just chopped liver. He'll revisit every death and estrangement and person who ever spent the holidays with us and isn't there. He'll claim he has no appetite and doesn't feel like eating whatever I make, complain that I made too much, and the only thing worse would be if I didn't do anything. He's clinically depressed and refuses any treatment for it. Which is fine, but he needs to make everyone around him miserable too. Oh, and he has a lovely invitation to spend Christmas with his godson, but insists that I have to come too. I don't want to go due to covid exposure and besides I don't even want to go, it's a long drive. They are lovely people but I would prefer seeing them at a time that is less pandemic complicated. But if my Dad wanted the whole Hallmark Christmas scene he could have it there. But he insists on me going, even though I really really don't want to. Frankly having him gone would give me some much needed rest, but he refuses to take that easy route. So now he's off in search of some public party and gathering at Christmas, Lord knows why he feels like he has to do that. I guess a little covid or flu risk is the way to go. We live in a very high transmission area. So I'm just dreading the whole affair because no matter what I do, it will be wrong/bad,/problematic.

Hubs and I are having vegetarian lasagna for our Christmas dinner before he leaves. Not sure what else I will make. Probably just a salad and maybe some cranberry pistachio biscotti and tea if I can get the darn things made in time . . .

Dad and I will be having cornish hens, sweet potatoes and wild rice pilaf, with an apple bundt cake for dessert. If I don't feel like fussing I might just make a small apple coffee cake in a square pan instead. I love my apple bundt cake but it takes five thinly sliced apples in layers so it's a lot of work. Or I might make cranberry cherry cobbler, that's always easy peasy but also impressive.

So many of these menus sound just lovely. Such great cooks here! Y'all's relatives are LUCKY!

There will just be the five of us For the season, I will have ready and available: spiced tea, ham, smoked salmon, tea cakes, bacon wrapped stuffed figs, brie bites, and sausage and cheese apps. Christmas Eve we will have boiled shrimp, ,guacamole and chips, and fondue with apples and good bread.

Early morning Christmas when DGD enjoys his Santa Claus we will have coffee, OJ and some type of sweet rolls or coffee cake. The guys then will go skiing for a couple of hours and when they return around 11 a.m. we will have a brunch of Eggs Benedict, garlic cheese grits, some typle of fruit dish and milk punch. Christmas dinner will be ambrosia, good bread, prime rib, twice baked potatoes, asparagus with bernaise sauce and maybe bananas foster for dessert (I’ll have the makings available, but if family history holds, everyone will be too full for dessert).

Just 5 of us this year. It will be a sit down dinner, no buffet. We will have uncured baked ham ( less salty), green rice casserole, Jiffy mix corn casserole, apple salad, and fresh green beans or asparagus. Dessert will be various Christmas treats and candy. No pies or cake this year. Last year was red velvet cake with the old fashioned boiled frosting, Wonderful, but decadent.

Christimas Eve is our big night. We are not doing the 7 Fishes for a small group of people--3 of us--so we will do 3 fishes--two in the form of appetizers and one main course. We love fresh cannolis for dessert and will have good wine. We will not be attending Midnight Mass due to Covid. However, we will stay up till midnight--maybe catch the Pope on TV and open one gift each. Christmas Day is ham for us.

Small-ish family get-together Christmas Eve, breakfast with sister Christmas morning, then just DH and I for Christmas dinner, which is mainly seafood. Christmas hasn't been a big deal in our family for a long time, there are no little ones anymore and there's been problems with the traditional family get-together that go way back before the pandemic so we're pretty much a bah-humbug group.