Christmas Dinner this year

Ah, one of the favorite times of this year for our family and friends is our annual Christmas dinner. Every year, I change things around on the menu, to which they all love and enjoy every year. I always make sure each person has at least one thing on the menu that they enjoy, along with new things that I add to keep it interesting.

This year, my oldest daughter, who is 15 years old, told me "Mom, I think the appetizers should be the Main Course this year! You make the best appetizers, and I'd rather have those than the turkey dinner with mashed potatoes!"

So, I decided to compromise with her, her siblings and the other kids who come for Christmas dinner, whom all agree with her. I will still keep my traditional appetizer time at 12:30 PM, dinner at 3:30 or 4:00 PM and desserts around 6:30 or 7:00 PM. However, I decided, listening to the kids and their wants this year, that I would mainly focus on the appetizers and keep the dinner to just turkey and the trimmings instead of several meats and a variety of vegetable sides. Needless to say, they're all excited- hopefully, our adult guests will be, too- although, I have no doubt they will be thrilled, as they always love the appetizers that I make every year and stuff themselves into oblivion and barely get their appetites back three hours later for dinner.

So, here is our Christmas Dinner list for this year:

Appetizers-

Sweet and Sour Kielbasa

Cocktail meatballs

Cheese, Pepperoni, Cheese spread and Crackers

Spinach pastry puffs

Shrimp cocktail

Fruit and dip (grapes- red and green, watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe and honeydew melon)

Stuffed olives (with cream cheese, a family favorite my Mom used to make!) as well as Stuffed Celery

Antipasto salad

Crab Rangoon

Shrimp toast

Juices- Eggnog, CranGrape and others

Our Dinner, which is much less than the variety that I usually have, usually with several meats and veggie side dishes:

Turkey

Mashed potatoes

Sweet potatoes

Gravy

Green bean bake

Cranberry sauce

Stuffing

Homemade bread and butter

Juices, Hawaiian Punch- red, orange

And, get this- the children all decided less pies, and more of their favorite desserts that they don't get all year long! I MUST make French Silk pie for my friend Robin and Pecan Pie for my best friend Jamie as well as myself and my husband, as well as Pumpkin Pie- one of Robin's sons loves this, so I have to make it for him:

Desserts:

French Silk pie- Robin's pie, I call this one!

Raspberry cake- for my son, who wanted this instead of his usual Blueberry pie that he loves so much!

Apple Crisp- both of my daughters wanted this AND an apple pie- I told them they had to choose between one, as there are too many damn apples to peel for both desserts. They chose the Crisp for this year. :)

Pecan Pie- a favorite of Jamie's, my husband and I- not giving this up on Christmas day!

Pumpkin Pie- a favorite of my friend Robin's son- must have this one!

Boston Cream Pie- my youngest daughter wants to have this as well, I figured why not

Cookie assortment- chocolate chip, oatmeal, Mormor’s Syltkakors and others- got to have those cookies!

Sodas- Coke, Diet Coke, Ginger Ale, coffee, tea, hot chocolate- the only time of the meal that I allow soda- I figure we all don't need to get dehydrated on Christmas day, heh heh.

Making this list out tonight, along with the grocery list, is making me hungry. :)

Hoping everyone is enjoying their Christmas season so far!