It’s Beginning to Taste a Lot Like Christmas! Our Favorite Christmas Food Memories

What are your family’s favorite Christmas food memories? Learn about some of ours, including why Chex mix and chocolate waffles make our Christmas special.

We don’t know about you, but food is one of our favorite parts of the Christmas season! From sweet treats to big family meals, food is just as important as presents and decorations.

In our house, it’s simply not Christmas until we’ve made at least one batch of Chex mix. There’s nothing fancy about it, but it sure is good! We eat it by the handful and everyone pretends they’re not trying to hoard all of the Cheez-Its for themselves (shhhh… don’t tell anyone).

A note from Lisa: The original recipe for our version of Chex mix is actually called Canasta mix and is found in an early version of the Farmville Methodist Cookbook. I don’t remember the edition, but I do remember my mother pulling out that recipe every year. The original version called for Cheese Tidbits which I have not seen in years, but Cheez-its make a good substitute. My mom’s current version no longer has pretzels, because my brother and I picked around the pretzels! (I’m sure it was him more than me! 😊) I’ve added pretzels back into my version since my family likes the pretzels. I still might pick around them.

A note from Sarah: Mom, if you’re reading this… please save some for me!

As is the case for many other families around the world, baking cookies is another one of our favorite Christmas traditions. We’ve used the same sugar cookie recipe from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book for decades. Lisa has an original edition which once belonged to her grandmother- as you can see, it’s been well-loved over the years!

A note from Lisa: Yes, that is one well loved cookbook! It’s been so well loved the front and back covers wore off. It’s okay, I still have them. Our traditional Christmas cookie is the Ethel’s sugar cookies. We switch out the extract for lemon extract and they are wonderful!

Sarah found her own copy in nearly perfect condition at a used bookstore. She looks forward to marking up the pages as her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother have done and continuing her family’s Christmas cookie tradition for years to come.

The cookie cutters we use to make the cookies have also been in our family for generations. We have traditional shapes like trees and people, plus some wildcards like a cowboy boot (Lisa’s dad loves all things western).

A note from Lisa: Don’t forget the sprinkles along with those cookie cutters! It can take days – at least it feels like days – to get them all cleaned. It’s amazing where those red, white and green sprinkles end up!

On the Sunday before Christmas, Lisa’s side of the family typically gathers together for a big potluck lunch. There’s always plenty of yummy food, including lots and lots of casseroles! Like many other big gatherings, our lunch was held virtually in 2020. Even though we couldn’t be together in person, we still enjoyed each other’s company and conversation via Zoom.

Wondering how to host your own virtual family gathering? Check out How to celebrate your family Christmas a little differently this year.

Finally, after opening presents on Christmas morning, we enjoy our most delicious tradition: chocolate waffles! Who says you can’t have dessert for breakfast? It’s been a highlight of our holidays for almost 20 years.

Believe it or not, it all started when Sarah received an American Girl doll as a child. In the doll’s Christmas story, her family ate waffles by the tree after opening presents. We eat our waffles at the kitchen table, but we add our own flair by turning them into sundaes with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

A note from Lisa: I had forgotten how that tradition got started! Of course, we cannot forget the sugar crash that happens later that morning.

However you’re celebrating (and whatever you’re eating), we wish you a happy holiday season! May your days be full of tasty treats, good cheer, and and special memories- old and new.