Christmas dinner, whether enjoyed on Christmas Eve or on Christmas day, is a time to gather together as family and friends to put aside all of the distractions of the holidays and concentrate on what is truly important. Good food happens to be an excellent way to do just that.
I have my menus set and am starting to make the preparation, (I wanted to get a small harvest table for the kitchen to do my prep work on, I tell myself that every year, but I forget to every year). Oh well, I’ll just have to muddle through.
Christmas Menu’s
Christmas Eve Party
~ beverages ~
Pop – Water – Tea (24 cans Coke)
~ soup ~
Potato Soup
~ main ~
Turkey & Cheese Sandwiches
~ sides ~
Chips
Pasta Salad
Cheese Ball with Crackers
Cranberry Sauce
Deviled Eggs
Relish Tray
~ desserts ~
Cheesecake
Chocolate Mousse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christmas Dinner
~ beverages ~
Pop – Water – Tea (24 cans Coke)
~ soup ~
Beef Barley Soup
~ main ~
Ham
~ sides ~
Sweet Potato Casserole or Candied Yams
Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Baked Beans – (1 can)
Deviled Eggs
Pull Apart Bread
~ desserts ~
Reese’s Peanut Butter Dessert
Cherry Pie
Chocolate Cake
I’m going to bake strawberry and lemon cookies for Santa. I have it on good authority that Santa loves them. I know I sure do. Anthony will put on the coffee and I’ll be set.
I was going to quote my own daughter this morning, her status on Facebook was, “Good thing robbing peter to pay paul isn’t a felony :O”, but I’ve been dwelling on Florence all week, so I’d quoted her. I’m not sure why, it must have something to do with the Holiday’s.
I also wanted to share a small Christmas fact, a lot of my friends and family have stressed this Holiday as to the origins of the “X” in Xmas, The abbreviation Xmas for Christmas dates from the mid 16th century. The X is the Greek letter chi, the initial in the word Χριστός ( Christos ) “Christ.” In spite of a long and respectable history, today Xmas is offensive to many, perhaps because of its associations with advertising. It is not used in formal writing. I don’t use it myself only because it would cause strife and that’s not what Christmas is all about. I want to make Merry in my soul, my life and my family. I love my Life!
Merry Christmas Everybody!
I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse. ~ Florence Nightingale
Metcalf Family Mews 
December 21, 2011 at 11:35 am
You always sound so organized. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and your family. Anita
December 21, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Dear Anita,
I found a system that works for me, it took me many years to prefect it and I do encourage everyone to the same. It just makes life so much easier. No system is without flaws, but the recurrence option in Outlook is amazing. It reminds me of just about everything. I’ve tried a lot over the years, but this one works for me. I just have to remember to never sync it with MSN. If I do, the occurrence filter doesn’t work. Then once the “Task” is done, it stops. And that’s not good.
I keep each Holiday and party recorded in the Outlook Calendar with notes and menus then I choose from them. Its easy to get caught up in the stresses of the Holidays, but the key is to stay ahead of it. Not always possible, but being organized helps (me anyway). I’m sure that you’ve found one that works for you as well.
When I find something I like or that works for me, I make sure that I make a note of it. I record any new ideas, tips or trends for next year, so that I don’t make the same mistakes twice. (sh… my biggest secret is having the blog, it helps, people share their ideas and things that works for them, with me, as I hope that in times you will as well).
I only wish that I had paid more attention to my mom when she cooked, she always shared her ideas with me, my mistake. She shared many secrets that if I had only known, I would have written down. She worked a full time job and took care of a house. She too loved to cook. I guess, the holidays remind me of her and different ones in the family. That’s what I want to leave for my children and grandchildren.
MEMORIES!
As Always,
Sheila Jean Adkins Metcalf
December 21, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Could you share your Reese Peanut Butter Dessert?
Thank Sharon Bulice
December 21, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Dear Sharon,
You’re going to laugh. Its from the box (insert light chuckle here). Its a Betty Crocker Reese’s Dessert Bar Mix. I love it. I still have to make it though, so its semi-homemade, my grand-kids love it as well. I alternate between this dessert, my “punch bowl cake” (that I made this week for the Adkins Family Christmas party & my Cookie exchange party) and my Chip’s Ahoy dessert (trifle). The recipe for that is https://adkinsmetcalffamily.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/chips-ahoy-dessert/. I made two chips ahoy trifles last year, my daughter Mandy took them home and her kids ate them until they were almost sick. So this year its just one box of Reese’s Peanut-butter Dessert. Peanut-butter is one of my favorite desserts.
As always,
Sheila Jean Adkins Metcalf
December 22, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Thank you Sheila!