Last Minute Christmas Recipe Ideas

With Christmas just a few days away, I’d thought I’d share this round-up of last minute Christmas recipe ideas. Just in case you’re still looking for ideas.

Our usual Christmas Menu involves cold chicken and ham, with salads. Followed by plum pudding and other desserts. There are of course also lots of other Christmas snacks and goodies as well.

Our Menu with a few other Christmas ideas:

Breakfast:

I can always remember having bacon and eggs for breakfast on Christmas Day. Somewhere along the line when my kids were little we also added birthday cake for Jesus. So we light candles & sing “Happy Birthday to Jesus” before enjoying our bacon and eggs, followed by cake (usually chocolate). This year I’m planning on making a chocolate brownie cake.

Lunch:

Our planned lunch menu this year, with about 17-20 here for lunch on Christmas Day includes:

• Nibbles (my contribution will be chips, apricot cheese, yumi’s dips and crackers).
• Ham
• Chicken (probably the Coles BBQ chickens)
• Carrot Salad (one of my mother’s specialties)
• Potato Salad or here’s another version
• Noodle Salad (my sister-in-laws specialty)
• Some sort of salad with mango in it (sounds yum!)
• Coleslaw (I just by the dry coleslaw mix and stir in whole egg mayonnaise to keep it dairy & soy free)
• Sweet Potato Salad – (to make the dressing I use almond milk with a little vinegar, whole egg mayonnaise, chives and mustard powder.)
• Hard boiled eggs
• Tinned Beetroot
• Tinned Pineapple

Dessert:

Followed by dessert a few hours later:

• Plum Pudding (homemade by my mother-in-law). (Sometimes I’ve made this Gluten, dairy and sulphite free plum pudding.)
• Custard (bought but we like this cashew custard if you need dairy free).
• Caramel Tarts (I’ll be making gluten free tart shells as well, probably using by gluten and dairy free shortbread recipe).
• Choc Hazelnut Christmas Tree

A couple of other dessert ideas that you might like:

• Gluten free Trifle (options to make it dairy and sulphite free as well).
• Flummery or Jelly Whip (This is GF and there are options to make it dairy and sulphite free as well).

Christmas Baking and Goodies:

I’m sure there’ll also be ample other baked Christmas treats and goodies. I’ve already made a few Christmas goodies which have mostly gone but I plan on making some more. These might include:

• Gluten Free Little Fruit and Nut Cakes (recipe from an old Coles magazine & I just subbed the flour for gluten free flour).
• Gluten Free Lemon Crunch Slice (adapted from a recipe that was always made at Christmas time, when I was growing up).
• Gluten Free & Dairy Free Shortbread (a few batches have already been gobbled up, so it’s time to make some more).
• Melting Moments
• Christmas Tree Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate Brownies
• GF reindeer cupcakes
• Some of these ideas from a few years ago.

Homemade Gift Ideas:

If you’re looking for a last minute homemade gift, here’s a few ideas:

• Bliss Balls (my version but there are many other options online)
• Choc Fruit & Nut Log
• Date free bliss balls – I made these into a log as well and cut it into 4 to wrap & gift.
• A jar of nuts to hide a gift card in, with a cute little tag.

If you’re still looking for last minute Christmas Recipe ideas, I hope some of my listed thoughts help.

Christmas Activity and Reflection Ideas:

Here’s a few Christmas Activity & Reflection Ideas that you can use with your family. Did you know that the Christmas season actually runs from 25 December to 5 January, so you’ve still got time to fit some of these activities in.

Using up some of the leftovers:

And here’s a recipe for using up that leftover chicken and ham:

Creamy Chicken Pasta (Dairy Free and can be made gluten free with GF pasta)

If you’re making a new Christmas recipe or have a favourite that you’d like to share, please comment with the details or a link to the recipe.

Wishing You and Your’s a Merry Christmas!