Hosting a Christmas dinner is really challenging and could haunt you, especially if you are hosting one for the very first time. There could be many reasons associated with it, whether it’s about the lack of oven space or a limited budget, either way, everyone deserves to have a special evening with their families. That is why today we have gathered a list of exciting dishes which are really easy to make and bake and can be made if you are having a tight budget as well.

5 TIPS TO FOLLOW BEFORE HOSTING YOUR FIRST CHRISTMAS DINNER

PLANNING

Before considering putting your plans into action, I would suggest you plan everything in advance as you could face many complications later on. For example, measure the size of your oven to check if it has the capacity to bake large turkeys and chicken breasts. I assure you would be surprised by the space an average-sized turkey occupies.

DON’T ROAST EVERYTHING

That’s right! Don’t plan on roasting everything on Christmas eve due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, putting too many foods for cooking could take a toll on your oven, and secondly, your guests might lose excitement after looking at too much oven-made food. Hence, I would recommend you cook your turkey inside the oven while serving potato chips separately, speaking of which, I know that your chips might lose that crispiness but don’t worry about it as partially cooked potato chips can absolutely rock with roasted turkey.

PREPARE A CHRISTMAS-TIME PLAN

Regardless of how much time you have invested in planning a dish for Christmas eve, it could fall short when it comes to cooking major recipes for the main course. Therefore, write the recipes and read all the complex ingredients over and over again so that there is a minimal margin of error.

PRE-COOK WHATEVER YOU CAN!

Cooking right before Christmas eve could be frustrating and tiring for you and if you are putting tons of load on your oven it would definitely take a lot of time. Thus, consider cooking side dishes before the arrival of Christmas day, in fact, if you could get your main course ready in advance that would be a plus point too. This way you would be able to spend some time enjoying and decorating your home on Christmas eve.

COOK THE FOOD YOU LIKE

Yes! You have read that correctly, there is no need to pressurize yourself for cooking something that you are not comfortable making or a meal that you just don’t like. Make dishes which you are good at as there is no time to carry out experiments with a dish on this huge occasion.

DISHES ON THE MENU

PEPPER MINT MELTAWAYS

As the name suggests, yes! They do melt in your mouth after you eat them. Pepper mint cookies are really easy to make, besides this, they are very pretty and mouthwatering. I would recommend you put them on a cookie platter and cover them up with colorful, attractive-looking plastic wraps.

HOME-MADE LASAGNA

Christmas or not I bet you must have tried or even heard of lasagna just once in your life. Not only is this dish popular but it`s popular due to a reason. Equipped with cheese, chicken, and pasta lasagna is definitely a mouth-watering dish that could be used as a main course for your Christmas eve. And as we both know that lasagna is a dish that never disappoints.

BUTTER PECAN FUDGE

This dish is ideal for serving after everyone has their stomachs full and is craving a sweet dessert. Pecan fudge is really easy to make and is a great option to serve as a dessert. The combination of creamy nuts and caramel is definitely something to get excited about.

APPETIZER WREATH

Now, before having your main course it’s really important to fill a space for an appetizer. However, most of the dishes served as appetizers are either not up to the mark or are extremely heavy which leaves little or no space for your main course. Whereas, if we talk about appetizer wreaths it’s really light, aesthetic looking, and extremely delicious.

PRETZEL-TOPPED SWEET POTATOES

Now to be honest I haven’t shared this dish with anyone before as this dish is really near to my heart and is my absolute favorite if we talk about having brunch on a Christmas day. This dish is quite colorful and has a salty and sugary taste which is quite unusual and that’s what makes this dish really special.

HERB-CRUSTED PRIME RIB

A dish without meat is like a Christmas without Santa Claus. Herb-crusted prime rib is a dish that is a necessity for a dinner table. Besides, this dish is recommended for someone who is looking to make an impression on his guests. While this dish is very easy to prepare, you can serve it with potato chips and various sauces as well.