Getting down to the wire, and you should have an idea by now of your meal plans for the next couple days. There are so many options out there, many personal choices, or driven by ethnicity or area of the country. What are some of your favorites??

I spent a lot of my youth up in New England. Clam Chowder and Oyster Stew were required for the 24th, and then either Beef or spiral-cut Ham for the 25th. That still works for me most times. A friend doesn't care what food is served, but has to have Carrot Cake that night. For one of our friends, they have so much company and younger kids that it has become a Mac&Cheese with glazed Ham tradition.

All I know is you have to have blackeyes on New Years day or It's bad luck.

And cabbage.....

Nothing particularly special for Christmas

really none now that the kids are grown with their own kids ... they usually come in the week before or the week after so their kids can have Christmas at their own home.

growing up it was some kind of meat and potatoes (but that was every meal), but I don't recall a special set aside meal for Christmas eve.

Usually on Christmas day was ham or turkey with all the normal sides and normally at my grandmother's house with all my mom's brothers families.

after starting to date my wife, Christmas eve was always at her mother's side of the family that had the traditional spread of everything imaginable under the sun ... and then we would repeat at her parents on Christmas day mid afternoon meal ... Christmas breakfast with my parents & my brother with his family, again, meat and potatoes along with some type of eggs.

Growing up, we always went to my grandmother's for Christmas Eve. She was a great cook, usually, but for the 24th, she would always buy a leg of lamb and then incinerate it beyond all recognition. It was awful. One year, she actually took the remains back to the local grocer and told the manager that they sold her an old goat. Regardless, we all took a few obligatory slices and filled up on the excellent sides and shrimp cocktail. I was probably in my mid 20s before I tried medium rare lamb chops and realized it can actually be really good. Now, for Christmas Eve, we keep the tradition alive, but I grill several racks of lamb to medium rare instead of cremating a leg.

Christmas Day, we always do a ham with a rum and Mexican Coke glaze. We serve a sauce with it from my other grandmother. It seems to be a riff on a Carolina mustard barbeque sauce, though she never called it that. My best guess is it traces back to her family's time in West Virginia. Anyway, its really good stuff.

Doing a Prime Rib roast on the Traeger, loaded baked potato salad (served warm), green bean casserole and smoked Mac and Cheese.
Assorted cheese tray, boiled shrimp, crab claws and smoked oysters and BBQ little smokies for appetizers
Desserts include banana pudding and Collins Street Bakery fruit cake.

Not a tradition but something different....Cornish hens first time. IDK look like big pigeons. Was asked to smoke/grill them but I think these need to go in the oven so they don’t get too dry.

Smoke for 30 minutes and move to the oven.

Tamales.

Ham.

Tamales and gumbo.

Gumbo tonight for me.

Had the family supper last weekend with the kids and its always Tex Mex And Bbq. Just the wife and I so an Axis roast in the slow cooker one the eve.