Christmas dinner
December family feast
Christmas dinner is the main meal eaten on Christmas Day, typically the most elaborate and traditional meal of the year for families that celebrate the holiday.
In Britain, it centers on roast turkey or goose with stuffing and gravy; in America, ham often appears alongside or instead of turkey.
The meal usually includes multiple side dishes and desserts specific to family tradition: We're hosting Christmas dinner this year.
Extended families often gather for the occasion, making it as much about reunion as about food.
Wattled North American fowl
- hamCured pig thigh
- roastDry-heat cooking method
- stuffingSeasoned mixture for cavities
- gravyThickened meat drippings
cranberry sauce · parsnips · yams · mince pies · pudding · trifle · courses · appetizers
Spiny-leaved winter shrub
- mistletoeParasitic festive greenery
- crackersCrispy flat biscuits
- paper crownsDisposable celebratory headbands
- carolsFestive religious songs
candlelight · poinsettia · centrepiece · decorations · tinsel · fairy lights · napkin rings · silverware
Collection of people meeting
- togethernessState of close connection
- reunionGathering after separation
- grandparentsAncestors once removed
- siblingsFellow offspring
generations · kinship · homecoming · laughter · conversation · tablecloth · candles · heirlooms
turkey
Wattled North American fowl
gravy · cranberry sauce · parsnips · yams · mince pies · pudding · trifle · courses · appetizers · dessert
holly
Spiny-leaved winter shrub
- mistletoeParasitic festive greenery
- crackersCrispy flat biscuits
- paper crownsDisposable celebratory headbands
carols · candlelight · poinsettia · centrepiece · decorations · tinsel · fairy lights · napkin rings · silverware · china
gathering
Collection of people meeting
- togethernessState of close connection
- reunionGathering after separation
- grandparentsAncestors once removed
siblings · generations · kinship · homecoming · laughter · conversation · tablecloth · candles · heirlooms · carving
overeating
Consuming beyond bodily needs
- secondsTime units, or extras
- leftoversUneaten food kept afterward
- decadenceMoral decline through excess
luxury · extravagance · butter · cream · gluttony · satiety · fullness · nap · unbuttoning · treats
- food memoriesholiday meals, birthday cake, home cooking, family recipes, comfort foods
- partiesbirthday party, party, costume party, house party, pool party
- family dinnersupper, Sunday supper, holiday meals, dining table, kitchen table
- feastsbanquet, wedding feast, thanksgiving feast, Easter feast, wedding banquet
- holiday gatheringsfamily reunion, potluck, feast, party, Thanksgiving
- mealssupper, brunch, lunch, luncheon, breakfast
Christmas dinnerweeknight dinner
Meal on working evenings
TV dinner · microwave meal · fast food · eating alone · working lunch
Christmas dinnerfasting
Deliberate food avoidance
bread and water · hunger · gruel · scraps · Lenten fast
Christmas dinnerPassover Seder
Jewish Exodus commemoration dinner
Eid feast · Diwali feast · Hanukkah dinner · Passover seder · Easter dinner
dinner, dinners, Christmas, Christmastide, Christmastime, Christmassy