Christmas dinner never looked or tasted so good with this succulent ham recipe and all the fixings. Try some of these new recipes with treasured classics this season!
Christmas Dinner Ideas
Ah Christmas, the season of family, tradition, gifts and good food. Your holidays may look or feel different this year, but you can still create a beautiful, memorable and delicious Christmas dinner for your loved ones. Whether you celebrate with a special meal on Christmas Eve or after a day of presents and fun, give your family the gift of an extra special dinner this season. From sparkling family friendly drinks, to festive appetizers, to hearty and beautiful main dishes, to decadent holiday desserts, we have gathered all of our favorite Christmas recipes for you right here. Scroll through to get some ideas for your holiday meal, and at the end of this post we’ve included the most fragrant, luscious ham recipe ever! We know you will love it. Happy holiday cooking!
Christmas Drinks
No matter the size of our family gatherings, we always include a couple of beautiful and flavorful holiday drinks. I love to have a simmering pot of fragrant wassail prepared for Christmas Eve, something extra special for our family to sip while we wrap last minute gifts and prep things for the next morning. And nothing beats a cozy evening around the Christmas tree, a fire crackling in the fireplace, sipping on a mug of our rich and decadent peppermint hot chocolate. Check out all of our drink recipes here or read on for links to our very favorite holiday drinks.
Christmas Appetizers
Appetizers are just as important as the main dish when it comes to an extra special holiday meal. Plump shrimp cocktail, a savory cheese ball or a warm bowl of cheesy dip with sourdough bread adds an element of elegance to your Christmas dinner. ‘Tis the season to indulge!
- Cream Cheese Shrimp Dip
- Shrimp Cocktail
- Cranberry Cheese Ball
- Warm Bacon Dip in a Sourdough Bowl
- Pineapple Cheese Ball
Christmas Salads
Looking to add some gorgeous color to your Christmas table? These salads are bright, flavorful and full of crunch and texture. Beautiful greens topped with creamy cheeses, juicy fruit, and crunchy nuts. Or try a gelatin salad with cream cheese and layers of sweet fruit. The options are endless! Try a new salad or two for your Christmas dinner.
- Christmas Salad
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
- Waldorf Salad
- Blueberry Jello Salad
- Nuts about Berries Salad
Christmas Dinner – Main Dish
And now, the star of the show, the main dish of your Christmas dinner! Our favorite Christmas dinners usually include succulent ham, juicy turkey, rich roast or savory cranberry chicken. Some years we’ve hosted dozens of people and had some of everything on a large buffet. This year lends itself to smaller tables with fewer mouths to feed, so we will plan accordingly. You can adjust any of these main dish recipes for any number of people. Try one of these gorgeous main dishes for your holiday dinner:
- Christmas Ham (recipe below)
- Crock Pot Spiral Ham
- Best Oven Roast Beef
- Roasted Turkey
- Cranberry Chicken
Christmas Dinner – Side Dishes
And now, for the fabulous side dishes! We have dozens of side dish recipes for you to choose from, but we’ve included a few of our very favorites below. Perfectly baked potatoes, cheesy potato casserole, roasted asparagus, creamed corn and fluffy dinner rolls; these side dishes will pair beautifully with any main dish that you choose.
- Perfect Baked Potatoes
- Cheesy Potato Casserole
- Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Asparagus
- Slow Cooker Creamed Corn
- Green Bean Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Homemade Dinner Rolls
- Cranberry Orange Sauce
Christmas Desserts
Christmas Eve and Christmas day should always end with something sweet. We have dessert recipes to satisfy any sweet tooth. Rich, crumbly apple pie with ice cream, creamy, luscious raspberry cheesecake or chocolatey peppermint parfaits are some of our family’s very favorite treats for the holiday. Indulge a little and enjoy every single bite of the sweetness of the season.
Merry Christmas!
Your family and loved ones will be so grateful to you for making Christmas dinner special this year. A little effort in the kitchen will no doubt bring smiles and comfort to those you love most. From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank YOU for making this year a little brighter, friendlier and happier for us. We enjoy sharing our love through treasured recipes and good food and hope that you have felt our appreciation for you through this difficult year. Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays and a peaceful and prosperous new year.
Christmas Ham Recipe
This Christmas ham recipe is tender, juicy and the perfect centerpiece for a beautiful Christmas dinner. The cider reduction will make your house smell incredible! All those cinnamon sticks, spices and apple cider boil down and make your house smell just like Christmas. Better than any candle you can buy, I promise! You can reduce the glaze even further until it forms a syrup, which is mouthwateringly delicious when brushed onto the ham. Or serve warm ham slices with our homemade raspberry cranberry sauce, orange cranberry sauce, low-sugar cranberry sauce or store-bought cranberry sauce. Enjoy every sweet and savory bite!
How to Make Christmas Ham
Ingredients
- 64 ounces apple cider
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4-5 pounds fully cooked ham (we used a tavern ham for this recipe but a spiral ham works great too)
- 1/3 cup dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- cranberry sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Place cider and cinnamon sticks in a large sauce pan and simmer over medium-low heat for 2 hours or until reduced to about 2-3 cups of liquid. Stir occassionaly. Remove reduction from heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Place ham in a greased roasting pan. Set aside 1 cup of the cider and pour the remaining cider reduction over the ham. Combine reserved 1 cup of cider reduction, dijon mustard, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a bowl and mix well. Brush over ham 3-4 times throughout the baking process. Cover and place ham in the oven for 15 minutes per pound of ham (if 5 pounds, cook 75 minutes). Uncover ham last 30 minutes of baking.
- Remove ham from the oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with cranberry sauce (optional).
