Looking for the best Christmas dinner recipe ideas? Make sure to check out our family favorites! Amazing recipes from my own mom and approved by my kids too!

Oh…and they are the son-in-law’s favorites too!

You clicked over to this blog post to look for Christmas dinner recipe ideas.  Right?  Well, I have to be brutally honest.

When people ask me for ideas about recipes, I text my mom.  Then, if I need a baking idea, well, I ask my almost-15-year-old daughter.  It’s true.  Setting the table was my childhood chore and many, MANY years later, it’s still what my family expects me to do!  (The great thing is that I love setting a pretty table, so we are all happy!)

I also have to be honest that I grew up in the beautiful midwest, in the middle of fields and real farmhouses, and our family favorites very much reflect where we were born and raised.  (Long story short, almost all of our favorites require bacon!)  All in all, we are very traditional when it comes to our Christmas dinner recipe ideas and we love it that way!  In fact, it’s entirely possible that there would be an uprising from some members (including my husband) if our Christmas dinner menu were changed up.

Do you have any special menu items like that?  Or family members who would have a similar reaction?  You will have to let me know in the comments!

Today, you are in a for a real treat.  My mom was gracious to share our special Christmas dinner recipes with all of you.  I 100% guarantee that you’re going to love these delicious, mouth-watering dishes.  Why?  Because we look forward to this meal all year long!

As I said, I have to text my mom for the recipes though.  Give her a big thanks in the comments and let me know which dish you plan to try first!  Hint: they actually all pair perfectly together so I recommend making all three!

Here are my three must-have dishes for our Traditional Christmas Dinner:

The Best Family Christmas Dinner Recipe Ideas

The Best Beef Tenderloin Christmas Dinner Recipe Ideas

What should be the menu for Christmas dinner?

“And he, he himself…the Grinch…carved the roast-beast!”  ― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

This recipe is so good that it literally could be the real, the one, the only beef recipe for all of Whoville!  At least, it’s the only Christmas dinner recipe idea for the main course that our family wants now!  I will be so bold as to say that I know you’d love it on your Christmas menu too!

As I said, I grew up in the Midwest and we always had a lot of beef.  However, the way my mom makes this beef tenderloin recipe truly makes it the most tender and flavorful way I’ve ever had beef.  She will be the first to say that it is a recipe that takes some effort but we are all thankful that she does!  For our family, it is a favorite, from youngest to oldest!

Even if you have a main course dish that is already the tradition for your family, make sure to pin this recipe and save it for later.  I promise you it will become a new favorite for you too!

The Best Vegetable Christmas Dinner Recipe Idea

What to serve with Christmas dinner?

Admittedly, our favorite Christmas dinner recipe ideas aren’t the lowest in calorie count or the most heart-healthy.  However, we eat pretty healthy for the rest of the year so our Christmas dinner is a delicious time to indulge!

While we all love vegetables and enjoy many different kinds of vegetable recipes, this Christmas dinner recipe idea is one that I always really look forward to.  I definitely eat more than my share of bacon-wrapped green beans at Christmas dinner!

At least the green bean part is really healthy?  That has to count for something, right?

The Best Side Dish Christmas Dinner Recipe Idea

What is the best holiday food?

You can have all of your traditional dishes, desserts, and all the fixings.  For my Christmas dinner, though, I look forward to a good helping of my mom’s bacon-wrapped chestnuts!  It is definitely my favorite side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Once again, this isn’t the quickest recipe.  However, they are not hard to do and I have spent my own fair share of time standing in the kitchen wrapping bacon around water chestnuts to help out!  I literally remember year after year of standing on a stool in the kitchen until I was tall enough to reach on my own, rolling up those chestnuts in bacon for our family holiday dinner.  It is especially fun now to see my own kids helping create this delicious side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

They are incredibly delicious, though, and worth a little extra effort!

Surprisingly, I am not a person who would say that I actually just love chestnuts.  However, this recipe is one of my all-time favorite holiday foods and I highly recommend giving it a try along with your Christmas dinner recipe ideas!

As promised, there is a lot of bacon involved!  What’s not to love?!

I expect that this year’s Christmas dinner prep will be about the same as most years.  Once again, I’ll try really hard to be helpful, probably wrapping the green beans or chestnuts in bacon.

Then, as usual, I’ll end up setting the table!  I went ahead and prepared our Christmas Dinner table with some of my favorites.

How to set a beautiful tablescape to go with your Christmas Dinner Recipe Ideas :

• Determine a theme (I went with music ideas since our family is really musical.)
• Create a centerpiece that can be left even after the dishes are cleared (so your table looks pretty all day long)
• Set simple place settings that are easy for everyone in the family to use, youngest to oldest

For my centerpiece, I used my vintage French grain bin and filled it with a faux pine tree, fresh evergreen clippings, and a tall nutcracker.  One each side, I used a vintage piano roll and purposely let it fold and curl around more evergreen clippings and brass candlesticks.

To go with my theme for our Christmas table, I used these vintage brass angel candlesticks that I picked up at a vintage antiques shop.  I shop for these kinds of vintage elements all year long and it’s so fun to pull them out for special occasions and holidays!  The vintage brass angels are one of my favorite table decor items to use during the Christmas season!

Here are some similar pieces:

Even though most of the items on my tablescape are vintage or thrifted, I’ve rounded up some similar items to help you create this look.

• Antique wooden trough
• Large wooden dough bowl
• Vintage brass angel candle holders HERE, HERE, and HERE
• Large brass angel candle holders for centerpiece
• Vintage piano play rolls HERE, HERE, and HERE
• Realistic greenery norfolk pine stems
• Matte gold flatware
• Matte black flatware
• Simple white dishes (use these year round!)
• White dinner napkins
• Use a large, realistic wreath like THIS by laying it in center and building the tablescape around it.  You can even put the wreath down into your larger vessel, like the trencher.

How to create simple Christmas dinner place settings

For my place settings, I used simple, white ironstone dishes and alternated green and white napkins.  Then, I added a little faux cedar wreath and a simple angel ornaments.  I got these last year from @thegatheringcompanymarket and was so excited to pull them out again!

You can find 5 different really easy DIY Christmas place setting ideas over on THIS POST.

Here are some other elements you could use on your Christmas dinner table:

• Thrifted brass candlesticks or find some HERE or HERE
• Favorite battery-operated taper candles HERE
• Realistic norfolk pine garland HERE or HERE
• Mix this realistic eucalyptus garland with your pine or cedar garlands to get a really full and amazing look for your centerpiece.  It’s my favorite way to use greenery on the table!
• Clusters of large bells tucked into greenery
• Add smaller bells to individual place settings
• Mix smaller bells into the layered greenery down the middle of the table
• Mercury glass ornament garland mixed with greenery
• Mercury glass candle holders
• Set of black candlestick holders
• Add a simple wooden nutcracker to each place setting
• Tuck sparkly ornaments into garland down the middle of the table
• Add these beautiful vintage-inspired glass ornaments to each place setting

Are you ready to create Christmas dinner?

“Gathered around the table, stories are told, memories are created, and love is abundantly grown.”  -The Heaping Harvest

Remember…something will go wrong.  Creating Christmas dinner is more about creating amazing memories than it is the perfect meal or magazine-worthy place settings.

I have to admit, I am frequently guilty of forgetting this myself.  As a person with perfectionist tendencies (okay, a certified perfectionist!), it is easy to get caught up in the details.  At the same time, feeling responsible for creating the perfect memories.  I totally get it; your heart is in the right place and your head is overthinking, as usual!

May I offer a challenge as we head into this season?  Let’s plan ahead, make our lists, check them twice, get organized, and be prepared.  Then, take our finger off of the details and make the most of each imperfect moment as it comes!  Everything will not go perfectly,  They won’t even all go as planned.  That is perfectly okay!

However, I hope these Christmas dinner recipe ideas and favorite tablescape elements can help you as you prepare your own Christmas dinner memories this year!

Remember to pin these recipes to your holiday boards so that you can find them when the big cooking days roll around!

I hope you enjoy the plans for our 2022 Christmas Dinner!  Most of all, it is a blessing to gather around the table and celebrate the most wonderful time of the year.  Whether you are working tirelessly in the kitchen or setting the table (or both!), I wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Blessings,

Robyn

I’d love for you to follow me on social media!  You can find my home decor inspiration on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!  

Blessings,

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