Christmas Dinner Party Ideas

It’s time to set a lovely Christmas tablescape, mix up some festive cocktails, and eat, drink and be merry!

Host Christmas Dinner

If you’re hosting Christmas dinner you’ve come to the right place. I’m sharing some of my favorite recipes to help you celebrate.

I’ve chosen each dish for different reasons. Some have a few more steps involved than what I typically make throughout the year, while others incorporate seasonal ingredients. Some are traditional for the holidays and some are fantastic for feeding a crowd.

This dinner party plan is excellent for New Years Eve too! 

Christmas Dinner Menu

Hosting Christmas dinner can be daunting and that’s why I put together these easy ideas to follow. They are festive enough to wow your family and friends, and the recipes are fantastic!

Start off with 1 or 2 light Christmas appetizers to hold guests over while dinner finishes cooking.

Salads

This butternut squash and baby kale salad is seasonal and tastes amazing! This is special enough for Christmas dinner as it’s got bacon, roasted butternut squash, nuts and warm bacon dressing.

• Another seasonal salad is green salad with oranges. I use 3 types of citrus but you can stick with a single type if you like.
• Apples are also terrific at Christmas time. Make kale and apple salad with walnuts and an easy vinaigrette.
• If you have fresh figs in your area, try this fig salad with baby spinach and crispy pancetta. Try it with grilled haloumi cheese or simply top it with goat cheese.

Entrees

A delicious Christmas dinner includes bone-in ribeye roast with red wine barbecue sauce (grab the recipe at bottom). Can I just tell you how good the sauce is!

• For a traditional Southern main dish, bake a yummy spiral sliced ham. The peach glaze has just 3 ingredients and can be substituted with orange flavors instead.
• Make dinner a surf and turf by adding these fantastic baked scallops. Or, give each guest a compote dish filled with cold marinated shrimp.
• Serve one of the seafood dishes above and pair it with homemade fettuccine alfredo.
• Even if you’re not Italian you can enjoy spaghetti & meat sauce on Christmas. It’s great for serving a crowd, and you make it in the slow cooker all day.

Sides

Another way to add surf to your turf is with lobster macaroni and cheese. It’s got bacon, lobster, three cheeses and a white wine cream sauce. It’s total holiday decadence!

• If you want to forego the fancy dish, opt in for my creamy holiday macaroni and cheese. It’s what I reach for year after year for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.
• I’m partial to this broccoli casserole because it’s green, it’s cheesy, it’s crunchy, and it’s delicious!
• I like serving this dressed up version of rice. It’s an easy wild rice pilaf with nuts and dried fruit, and the base is packaged rice with seasoning.
• When it comes to heavy holiday meals, it’s all about balance. Keep it light with marinated green bean salad with colorful bell peppers.
• Don’t let holiday season pass you by without making streusel topped sweet potato casserole. It’s light and fluffy with mini marshmallows and crunchy streusel on top.

Dessert

For dessert make my decadent Kahlua pecan pie. The custard-like center is filled with yummy pecans, and the secret is to chop them rather than leaving them in halves.

• Create a pie table with a selection of pies and include chocolate chess pie and classic chess pie.
• If you’re serving a crowd, make a trifle. This pecan pie trifle has been pleasing the masses for years! If you want something chocolate, go with this chocolate Oreo trifle.

Set the Table

Decorate a table for a Christmas dinner party with natural greenery, pinecones, candles and berries. Use black and white accents and incorporate a single color if you like. It’s a base that can be updated year after year; simply add one color of your choice.

• A wide black and white stripe ribbon stretches the full length of the table to add pizzazz to the greenery. It’s a budget friendly alternative to a table runner.
• As an alternative to a traditional floral centerpiece, create a natural garland-style runner with greenery. A mix of silver dollar eucalyptus from the store, and evergreen tree trimmings from the yard are placed in an overlapping pattern down the center of the table.
• Tuck in candles, pine cones, antlers, and decorative bird’s nests.
• The final touch is a single white rose placed in votive holders interspersed throughout the runner.