Christmas Dinner
December 20th, 2006
What is your Christmas tradition?
Lately, we have been having a somewhat fancy dinner on Christmas Eve, then nothing but leftovers and snacks on Christmas. This takes the pressure off of me on Christmas, since I am usually assembling things, testing out new toys and games, saying “Oooh” and “Aaaah,” and hunting for assorted batteries.
One of these years, I think we will have Prime Rib for Christmas Eve Dinner, but it is not in our budget right now, so we will be having turkey. Turkey makes for great leftovers, too, so that’s pretty convenient.
I’m trying to find the fine line between having a nice dinner and overindulging my appetite. It’s difficult. There are certain side dishes that seem to be obligatory when serving turkey. Mashed potatoes (which require gravy), dressing, some kind of green vegetable, sweet potatoes. Then what about cranberries - you have to include those, too. And anyone who knows me at all or reads my blog regularly will understand that there has to be pie at anything that even resembles a special occasion.
So I find it rather challenging. I want to please everyone and serve all the traditional favorites, but then when it’s all laid out, it seems like I have gone overboard and we don’t even eat half of it. I have worked in the kitchen for two days and for what? So we can all overeat, beat ourselves up over it, and spend January and February dieting. As Charlie Brown would say, “Aaaagh!”
Instead of making all of these decisions myself, I am asking my family’s input. I have sent everyone an email asking what they hope for or expect to have. If at least two people don’t request something, it’s not being served. Period. Why hang on to useless traditions? Tomorrow I’ll let you know what the popular vote included….
Entry Filed under: Holidays, Philosophy, Supper
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