As a family, we love to eat. Eating is right up there with one of our greatest pleasures in life. Eating at this time of year comes into its own, and it all starts on Christmas Eve. Family tradition states that we go out for a special lunch on Christmas Eve, just the four of us. This tradition comes from the NLM’s side of the family and it’s one we started ourselves when Frog was two. In fact, I was just looking back at some old photos from December 2012 and I found these photos of that first family Christmas Eve pub lunch…
I love how both Frog and her dad had eaten so much they crashed out snoring for most of the afternoon!
Three years on and we now live in Devon, but our traditions around Christmas Eve eating haven’t changed too much. We still go to our local village pub for food, and then spend the afternoon making reindeer food and baking sausage rolls and mince pies. After some carols around the village Christmas tree (not just us – that would be weird!) we come back home and the girls have a “snack tea”.
This year’s snack tea will be inspired by the festive fun food plate from Organix which is exciting, because this is the first year that Baby Girl will be having more than just milk at Christmas, meaning she can join in too.
How to make the festive fun food plate
3 Organix finger foods carrot sticks
1/3 cucumber
½ a cooked carrot
Slice of cooked red pepper
A few cooked sweetcorn kernels
A large spoonful of hummus
(Makes 1 Christmas Tree Not suitable for freezing Suitable from 7 months)
1. Place the 3 carrot puffs in the centre of a large plate to create a Christmas tree trunk. Slice the cucumber into thin batons and lay on the plate like Christmas tree branches.
2. Cut the cooked pepper and most of the cooked carrot into very thin strips and layer onto the tree like tinsel, then add cooked sweetcorn baubles.
3. Cut a little extra cooked carrot into square presents. Cut tiny strips of cucumber and cooked pepper to add ribbon to your presents, then place at the bottom of the tree.
4. Finish off by spreading the hummus into a star shape at the top of the tree.
Here’s how it will take shape…
What are your Christmas Eve eating traditions?
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Thanks to Organix for working with me on this post. Check out the Organix recipe archive for more fun food plate ideas.
haha the ‘not just us’ comment really made me laugh, funny mental image! I don’t think we have an traditions for eating on Xmas eve but now I think we really should! x
LOVE the idea of having a family lunch on Christmas Eve – when you spend so much time with extended family at this time of year, it’s nice to do something as just the core team!
Such cute pictures and that tree snack is ingenious!
That Christmas tree is great, I really should try to get more creative with Bea’s food as she’s turning out to be the pickiest of all 3 of them! Love your xmas snaps xx
Mine go through phases and I always find presenting them with a plate like this never fails!
I love the whole food aspect of Christmas, one time of year when I just let go of worrying about what I eat! That snack plate looks so cute, unfortunately my kids wouldn’t eat a single bit of it though even if it did look like that! x
Definitely with you on the letting go and eating anything at Christmas thing! I’m exactly the same *stuffs face with mince pies*.
Ahh that festive fun plate is so great! I definitely need to try more food art with my two, I reckon they’d eat better then 😉
I wouldn’t do it every day but every now and again makes it that little bit more special and can turn a tricky mealtime into an enjoyable one!
This is such a cute way to present food. I’m just relieved that this is the first Christmas where both my girls will probably eat most of what they’re presented with!
I’m SO excited about Christmas food this year for this very reason. Just as much because Baby Girl is going to be joining in too this year!
that tree is really cute! this post has made me hungry now…
Me too actually – craving hummus!
Aw I loved seeing old photos of you all Molly, I love all the little traditions that make Christmas so special for each different family. I love the Christmas tree plate, what an amazing idea for little ones. It is my big girls birthday on Christmas Eve so we normally go over to my Mum’s and have a Christmas/Birthday party where we have Chinese takeaway- couldn’t be less Christmassy but I love it almost as much as the Turkey on Christmas Day! x
That sounds like a perfect meal to me – nice to have a change from all that turkey! xx
That’s a lovely tradition, I tend to lock myself away on Christmas Eve with a large box of chocolates!
Sounds ideal!
We have “World Cup Tea” on Christmas eve (so named by the biggest one as we 1st had it during a football world cup……) – it’s basically a hot party food buffet, made from the sort of party platters that all the big supermarkets sell at this time of year!
Everyone can have much or as little as they like and it’s usually washed down with mulled wine for Grown ups!!
Ah that’s so sweet! Definitely with you on the mulled wine!