Thanksgiving & Christmas Dinner Ideas

If you go to Martha Stewart's website, it has MENU ideas and all kinds of food ideas for every occasion and the shopping list.
Its great.
I have made things per her website and it was great and a big hit.

I so love traditional Thanksgiving dinner so I always do that for Thanksgiving. But for the Christmas Holidays I started making Lasagna with a dinner salad and a dessert. Now I can't do that because my daughter has Celiacs and my granddaughter can not have any dairy. But my family loves lasagna and loved it for a holiday dinner. You can make the sauce and build the lasagna a few days early, cover and toss them in refrig. The flavors blend better this way and in mid afternoon toss it in the oven make a salad and maybe garlic bread, done.

I do traditional meals for both. Tgiving we do turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, corn dish, jello fruit salad, cranberries and rolls. However, I have SEVEN crockpots so all of these are done in them.... so easy and everything stays HOT (except for the jello and cranberry dishes. lol).

Xmas eve we do tacos. Xmas day we do ham, scalloped potatoes, steamed broc, caul and carrots with cheese sauce, corn dish and rolls. I'm going to see if I can do crockpots for these also. =)

I help my wife with the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I smoke a turkey for both meals and depending how many are coming over, I may smoke a ham also.

I also help my wife and do the things she asks me to do so she can be in the livingroom playing with everyone else. My adult kids usually come over with their kids and all of them help, by either bringing a side dish or making something in my home.

My wife and I do the work together. If you want help, ask. If you don't ask, they will figure you have things under control and DON'T want help. That was the way it was in the early years of our marriage. My wife finally asked for help and all of the kids old enough to help and I helped.

Good luck to you and yours.

Hi! Why not let the kids plan? One takes Thanksgiving, one takes Christmas, and the little one gets to choose something for each meal. While it may not be traditional it will be fun and different. I've let my the kids take control of many things over the years and I can assure you they can step up and do an awesome job. It is great for their planning and reading skills, shopping and spending skills, and awe your guests. But mostly it is the fun of watching them! Oh, they have to help cook and decorate too. Have fun!!!

My Thanksgiving sides :

Sweet potatoe casserole
Broccoli casserole
Mashed potatoes
cranberry freeze
green bean casserole
rolls
Turkey
Cornbread dressing

Apple pie
pumpkin pie
pumpkin cheesecake

Christmas Foods
Ham/Roast( if at my house)
Sweet potatoe casserole( people get mad at me if they don't have it twice for the holidays)
green beans/ or collard greens

At my MIL's house for Christmas
Stuffed shells
lasagna
chicken parm
veg pizza
Italian salad
Garlic bread

Pecan pie
Turtle pie
assortment of cookies

Added: I do an egg casserole for Christmas morning breakfast. I make it on Christmas eve, and then bake it on christmas morning

Thanksgiving = Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Mac & Cheese (sometimes), Green Beans, Rolls, and maybe a pie (I don't care for them but I will back a Pumpkin Pie for those that do).

Christmas = Ham, Stuffing (I just love it), Augratin Pototoes and/or Potatoe Salad, Lima Beans, Rolls, and Apple Pie...if requested, I also fix some mashed potatoes too.

For Thanksgiving here is what is on the table. Turkey and ham, mashed potatoes, scalloped corn, veggies of all sorts, g.bean cass, pickle wraps, buns, gravey.. for dessert mt dew jellow, pie, carrot cake

Christmas- this is a mix of what family. Prime rib at MIL. Steak at FIL- Turkey at others and then what ever anyone wants to make. This one is very just thrown together.

Do a breakfast strata for Christmas morning - you put it together the night before and just pop into the oven in the morning - leaving you free to hang out under the tree with your family.

I usually do a turkey for both Thanksgiving and Christmas - we love turkey LOL Sides are baked sweet potatoes, fresh mashed red potatoes, cauliflower, both plain and with a cheese sauce, sauteed green beans. This is a fairly standard holiday meal in my home.

Christmas I usually add in a pan of lasagna, a broccoli casserole, and drop the sweet potatoes. Also, since I from New Orleans originally, seafood is a big menu item for Christmas Eve that I carry over into Christmas - oyster patties, gumbo, etc.

You could do a prime rib, a rack of lamb, or a ham for Christmas. Over the years my family has done them all.

I do quiche Christmas morning (I prepare and freeze then just throw it in the oven) and cinnamon rolls. Prime rib for Christmas dinner or ham and scalloped potatoes.

Our favorite sides for T-day are mashed potatoes and gravy, 7 layer salad, home-made bread and steamed veggies and green bean casserole for my husband.

In MY family, we usually do a standing rib roast for Thanksgiving and then Ham for Christmas. At my in laws, we do a combination of Turkey, Chicken and Duck for both holidays. It's nice because we go to both sets on the same day for Thanksgiving and 1 day apart on Christmas but never eat the same thing! Sides are mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, devilled eggs, lots of appetizers (think chips/dip, meat tray, cucumber/cream cheese on rye bread, smoked weiners wrapped in bacon and dipped in bbq sauce and pigs in a blanket).

Our sides for Thanksgiving are very traditional: mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, corn, rolls, maybe a salad. Then a fabulous pumpkin dessert my Grandma always made.

Christmas dinner ideas: Prime rib, Turkey done a different way than Thanksgiving ( i.e. deep fried instead of roasted), Ham

Christmas morning is a great time to do an egg casserole, you can make it the night before and pop it in the oven while you enjoy opening presents with the family. There are tons of good recipes out there, try allrecipes.com, they have a good selection.

A 3rd vote for prime rib on Christmas. So easy and soooo good.

My favorite sides for Thanksgiving are
stuffing
mashed potatoes with gravy
green beans almondine
pumpkin pie for desert

For Christmas I like to keep it easy. We usually have a roast (beef or pork) with baked potatoes, salad, and a veggie.

Thanksgiving is turkey day. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, boiled onions, mashed tunip, squash, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans and cranberry sauce. And pies, pies, pies: apple, blueberry, pecan, pumpkin and mince.

Christmas dinner changes each year, but I always bring a super chocolate raspberry cheesecake. And Christmas cookies, of course. Decadent!

For Thanksgiving we go like gangbusters! ;)
Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, asparagus, salad, cranberry salad (ours is different - made with whipping cream, walnuts & marshmallows) plus pumpkin & chocolate pecan pie. Don't forget the rolls! I swear we're pigs!
For Christmas I think we're even worse. My dad makes a prime rib every year plus everything from T-day except the turkey. And of course there are cookies & candy special for that time of year.
Thankfully, most things can be made in advance. And, of course, the more people that are invited the more things that end up at the table (every family has their personal favorite). Last year my cousin hosted and her step grandpa in law (sheesh!) brought something persimmon? It was a weird scene (they were very strange people) and I wasn't able to taste it so I have NO IDEA if it was good or not! :D
No matter what, delegation is a good idea. Have your sis (or whoever) be in charge of one item that has to be made that day. Spread it around so that you aren't a slave on such an important family day. And check out Pioneer Woman for awesome ideas/recipes!

Great ideas already, I'll just focus on the breakfast. As someone else mentioned, do something you make the night before and just throw in the oven in the morning! I've done an egg casserole or a french toast casserole. Both easy, both yummy. I think I've decided it's better to do the egg one more often since we all eat so many sweets the rest of the day!

I, too, LOVE this time of year, I'm already shopping!

I love to make tamales for christmas dinner with sides such as beans, rice, & chile rellenos. My favorite sides for thanksgiving dinner are baked macaroni and cheese, rolls, fruit salad, and candied yams. I actually love to make christmas breakfast so I'm not sure what to suggest.

Our Thanksgiving isn't as close to Christmas as yours, so I don't mind having turkey for both. We go to my brothers for turkey dinner on Thanksgiving and on Boxing Day. Sides are usually mashed turnip, mashed yams, red cabbage, sausage stuffing and sometime perogies, cabbage rolls and meatballs. I make a prime rib roast with yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes and creamed peas and carrots and we just have assorted Christmas baking (butter tarts, shortbread, confetti squares, fudge) for dessert on Christmas day. My husband makes french toast and bacon for breakfast.

I make gumbo for Christmas dinner.

We do turkey for Thanksgiving. Some sides - depending on who's hosting: wild rice and sausage stuffing (crockpot version, can prep then just put into crock pot day of), mashed potatoes (made the day before so just need to warm up), candied carrots, corn, gravy, lefse,green salad and dinner rolls.

Christmas varies every year. We've had surf and turf with steak and crab, crown lamb roast, fondue when I was young, smoked turkey, ham, oyster stew and prime rib.

For Christmas morning, we have an egg bake (put together night before) that cooks while the kids go through their stockings and Santa gifts. Everyone just grabs a plate and sits in the living room watching the kids.