When I was a kid Christmas was about toys. It was all about the tree, the ornaments, and the packages under that tree. It was all about the things. I was more focused on the things that I gave, or that I got, than I was on the experiences. I mean it wasn’t just about what I myself got. I was equally excited by the presents that others around me received. But still, it was all about things.
As I get older I find I don’t really care about the gifts much at all. Now I’m all about the experiences that the holidays bring. The traditions that we build, layer upon layer, year after year, as a family.
And so many of those traditions focus on food. Tuna dip and nanaimo bars at the big family parties, my mom’s classic French Canadian tourtière on those busy holiday nights, turkey and stuffing Christmas eve, buckwheat waffles for Christmas day breakfast, my mother-in-laws scalloped potatoes with Christmas dinner, the local sausage we always serve with cheese and crackers on New Years…. food, food and more food.
Which holiday classics are a must have at your family parties? What recipe do you find yourself making each year at this time?
When I think of going to mom’s for Christmas I always think of the coffee. I am not even kidding. My sister knows, it’s the first thing I’ll ask for when I walk in the door, and she often will put a cup on for me while I’m helping the kids take off their boots and get settled.
I used to love visiting just so I could try out different flavours in her k-cup machine. However a few months back I finally got my own Keurig, so now I don’t have to wait to visit to get my hands on a cup of Van Houtte Holiday Blend.
Much like other holiday classics, the Van Houtte Holiday Blend coffee or Holliday Spice Latte is a taste that is only around this time of year. It’s one that complements many of the traditional holiday dishes… and even doubles as an ingredient!
Seriously, check out the Van Houtte website for their spin on Nanaimo bars, stuffed turkey breast and mini tourtières, all made using Van Houtte’s holiday blend. Adding coffee to the tourtière mix is something I’d never considered, and I’m eager to give it a shot when I get together with my mom to make pies next weekend.
In the meantime I want to hear what your favourite holiday dish is. Share one of your favourite holiday classic recipes in the comments below for a chance to win a holiday classics prize pack from Keurig and Van Houtte!
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Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Van Houtte. As always my words and opinions are my own.
My favourite holiday recipe is buttertarts and pete de soeurs. Love those during the holidays so tasty. Pete de soeurs are so easy to make with the left over dough from the buttertarts. Butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and you are good to go.
My mom used to make something similar with her leftover pie dough. She called them sugar dogs and they were my favourite part of her making meat pies for Christmas!
One of my favorite holiday treats is my Cinnamon Coffee Cake. So easy to make with basic ingredients. I make several of them every year for a treat exchange..
One of my favorite holiday recipes is for White chocolate,cranberry cheesecake bars.
I like shortbread cookies at Christmas!
I love my MIL’s German Cabbage!
Stuffing is, hands down, my all time favourite holiday dish!!
Shortbread with a cherry on top
my mom always made borken glass dessert for christmas and I still make it for my family every year, its one of our favorites
One of my favourite holiday meals is the Prime Rib Roast, absolutely the best!!
one of my favourite holiday recipes would be gingersnaps..usually only make them at Christmas but sometimes I miss them and make them through the year..
A tough question to answer there are so many that are special to Christmas for me. Probably it’s Plum pudding though swimming in custard, delicious. Mum used to make her own but I’m not that ambitious and buy mine. 🙂
One of my favourite recipes is our shortbread thumbprint cookies with a chocolate candy kiss in the middle. So yummy and you can never eat just one!
I love making festive fudge for the holidays.
I absolutely love Honey Glazed Carrots as a side dish! They are super easy to make and are sooo tasty!
I love home made stuffing.Not sure what the recipe is.
M sister makes awesome almond bars.
Honey baked sugar ham is my favourite. I could eat that for days.
One of my favorite recipes is Chocolate Chip Christmas Cookies https://www.pinterest.com/pinfifi/chocolate-chip-christmas-cookies/
My favourite holiday dish is butter tarts. I don’t have a recipe, but my mom makes an incredible one.
Perogy’s and cabbage rolls are my fav!
Sugar cookies
Whipped Shortbread and Cherry Loaf!
One of my favorite is the Fishermans Brewis on Chirstmas Eve,
My sister in laws rum balls are the best!
I love to make chocolate covered pretzels and decorate them festive for the holidays
The one everyone asks for is my wild rice chicken soup made with coconut milk. For baking, the first on the list is Nanaimo Bars
I love classic Nanaimo Bars.
I’m obsessed with stuffing and this bean casserole dish my husband aunt makes.
Millionaire Bars are one of my favourites!
My Mom’s 5 bean salad.
i love yams with maple syrup and bacon roasted in oven, as well as fudge
My favourite holiday dish is garlic mashed potatoes.
I make home made donair eggrolls they are a big hit.
Homemade stuffing with apple. The apple adds moisture and a touch of sweet.
I love making a bouche de noel!
My favourite holiday dish has to be my moms stuffing! It includes lots of diced veggies, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and at least a half bottle of white wine!
we go to the inlaws, so its the stuffing, the salad, she makes her own perogies, OH AND DESSERT …. she spends a week preparing ….. I work so there is no way I could put out a meal like that (we’ll get the one day off per usual) I haven’t even gone shopping yet for groceries lol and work will give us a gift card with the next paychq
My favourite holiday dish is Broken Glass cake my mom only makes it on Christmas Eve.
Our fav holiday treat is Buttercream candies – it’s the only time I make them because no one in this house can say no to them,,, Or even stop…
M
Egg nog cake 🙂
I love the shortbread cookies that my mom made. I don’t know the recipe
I love christmas shortbread.
Our stuffing…………I love it! My eldest daughter makes it every year and its just amazing! Not very complicated, just onions, celery, butter, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper and good old crusty buns!
My family loves my Roasted Garlic Mashed potatoes. The trick is to roast the garlic heads yourself. A little picky peeling them after but well worth the effort!
My favourite Holiday recipe is peanut butter balls.
My adult children still request peanut butter balls and my husband loves dark Christmas cake.
My favourite holiday recipe is pineapple honey glazed ham.
My mothers roast turkey dinner is one my favourite holiday dish.
This one is always a crowd pleaser – watch out for the icing sugar…you can always see who’s sneaked a cookie! http://www.kraftcanada.com/recipes/chunky-shortbread-157561
I love to make Wife Saver Casserole for Christmas breakfast
My mom makes a delicious cranberry rosmeaey roasted pork loin. It’s definitely my favourite holiday recipe.
One of my favorite holiday dishes is Christmas pudding and it’s oh so sweet with the caramel sauce on top.
My favourite holiday dishes are homemade lasagna and homemade meatballs
My favourite holiday dish is Tourtière, we make it every year on Christmas eve.
My favorite recipe is glazed roast turkey.
My favorite Christmas treat is meat pies and shot bread cookies.
Gingerbread cheesecake! I can’t wait!
my favorite holiday treats are cookies…all the kinds all the time 🙂 Yum!
Shortbread cookies are delicious!
My favorite holiday dish is my mom’s pierogies!
My favourite is salmon dip with a variety of crackers for spreading. It’s very tasty!
I love having my mom’s snowball cookies at the holidays
I like to have butter tarts at Christmas.
My favourite holiday food is stuffing, oh so yummy!
My favourite holiday dish is mashed potatoes – basic, but so delicious. My favourite recipe to use is “Elsie’s Potatoes” from the Best of Bridge book series – they always turn out really well.
My favourite is decorated sugar cookies. It is fun to make them with my daughter and even better eating.
Brussel sprouts with balsamic and cranberries
I am a big fan of green bean casserole, probably because we only make it about twice a year!
Nanaimo bars or Rum and Eggnog ;:)
One of our favourite holiday deserts is gingerbread cookies that I make.
One of my favourite holiday desert dishes is gingerbread cookies.
I love the holiday sweet potato pie. It just melts in your mouth! My mother guards the recipe though.
I love clementines at christmas and I’ve got to have my peas as a side dish.
A favourite holiday dish is Brussels sprouts in butter sauce..
Roast turkey is always my favourite holiday dish.
Traditional stuffing is my favourite. No sausage, raisins (GAH!!), or other funny stuff. Celery, onions, bread crumbs and seasoning. 🙂
My favorite holiday recipe would be gingerbread cookies! Yum!
I love baking cookies with white chocolate and candy cane pieces
Garlic mashed potatoes with bacon and spinach
My favourite is Nanaimo bars – but the regular crust, not the chocolate crust.
I really love pecan bars. I”m trying a low-carb version sometime this week.
No doubt. It’s turkey all the way.
I love to make cakes from scratch, top to bottom. Most of my recipes are complicated, but it’s worth it.
turkey and gravy
Turkey dinner with all the fixings.
My favourite holiday dish is peas pudding! YUM!!! A newfoundland tradition!
Thanks!
I absolutely adore peanut butter balls and my mom’s marshmallow squares.
Green bean casserole is my absolute favorite
I love turkey dinner with homemade stuffing and homemade cranberry sauce
Pecan pie is my favorite holiday dish.
I love my great grandmothers shortbread recipe!
I love cherry cheesecake and butter tarts.They are my holiday favorites! 🙂
One of my favourite recipes is Broken Glass dessert. We have it every Christmas dinner. It has a variety of colours of jello with whipped cream and a graham wafer crust.
One of my favourite holiday dishes is one that my Mom made that she called salmon ball. it was a wonderful spread for crackers. It used canned salmon, cream cheese, grated onion, liquid smoke, horseradish, lemon, and it was rolled in a mixture of chopped pecans and parsley
I love gravy and turkey. Its the best!
My favorite is my blueberry cheesecake
I just tried making Snickerdoodles this weekend for the first time ever. Brought some into work and they were a hit. I’ll definitely be making them more often.
It’s our tradition to have rice pudding every christmas. My mother in law makes it. So good!
I love rum balls
I’m from Europe, so Mushroom dumplings (pierogies) with Beet borscht.
turkey shephards pie is my favourite -made with all the leftovers from Christmas dinner
Would love to have a keurig my entertaining events in the new year!
still roast turkey
I like a Christmas morning casserole dish, made with Egg Creations, almond milk, mustard powder, cheese, back bacon, and thin slices of bread.
I am a sweet lover,and at Christmas I especially love the shortbread and gingersnaps. Who can forget that cherry cheesecake that is always the first dessert to go!
My mother’s recipe for turnip/carrot/parsnip casserole. Lots of nutmeg and cinnamon, with breadcrumbs on top. It’s all caramelized and delish fresh out of the oven.
Thimble Cookies are my big favourite
It’s not a dish…but I love the Molasses cookies I make every year. Mmm…
The only time of year we have turkey with all the trimmings! I love turkey and having turkey sandwiches with the leftovers the next day.
Fruit cake is a favorite
Green bean casserole is my favourite
Pumpkin Pie with lots of Whipped Cream
My favourite holiday dish is cheesecake
do shortbread cookies count? 😀
My favourite is Vennatarta , Icelandic Christmas cake
One of my favorite holiday recipes is my Gumdrop cake
My favorite is my moms homemade meatballs 🙂
My favorite dish is Pumpkin Pie…but I actually use carrots instead of pumpkin puree.
Favorite is homemade stuffing.
I like to make lime/cream cheese/ pineapple jello
kaolin’s– it is an almond shortbread cookie
Cranberry orange cookies are a favourite holiday treat in our house!
One of my favourite holiday treats is Fudge Puddles.
Shortbread
My mother makes amazing stuffing. Definitely a favourite year round.
Honestly, Shortbread is my favourite holiday dish… Followed by Roast Turkey and Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
Oh wow – this ‘Rudolph’s Antler’s Holiday Cookie Recipe couldn’t be easier to make! Love that is also fits my budget. Thanks you!!
https://mapleleafmommy.com/food/food-rudolphs-antlers-holiday-cookie/
It would be the beef stew. Also the mashed potatoes and baked sweet potatoes
My shortbread cookies
My favourite thing at Christmas are Nanaimo Bars
pumpkin pie with whipped cream
My mom makes an amazing stuffed pork tenderloin
My favorite holiday recipe is my sister in laws actually. She makes the best pumpkin spice and pumpkin crackle cookies! I tried to make them but it’s not the same
My favourite holiday dish is mashed sweet potatoes:)
Stuffing is one of my favourite holiday dishes because I so rarely have it at any other time.
Turkey with gravy is my favourite holiday dish!
My favorite holiday recipe’s is a good old fashion rum cake.
I make vegan gingerbread cookies.
My favourite holiday recipe is my mother-in-law’s sweet potato casserole.
Homemade stuffing is my fav!
My favourite holiday dish is my dad’s butter chicken lasagna! So excited to go home for that!
I love to make hermit cookie every year.
I love gingerbread cookies
I like the boiled red cabbage my mom made
My favourite holiday treat is apple strudel.
Turkey and stuffing is my fave holiday dish!
My favorite holiday dish is Turkey stuffing. Never is enough.
Kevin
Sugar cookies with red/green sprinkles
I love delicious rosemary roasted veggies, white chocolate cheesecake and shortbread cookies
The buttery cream cheese garlic mashed potatoes my mom makes is my favorite!
Mostly love the coffee and Irish Cream Liqueur 🙂 No recipe needed!
Pie!
My favorite was my moms twice baked mashed potatoes with cheese and lots of bacon. OMG!! soo good lol not good for the hips lol
I enjoy Cranberry loaf. A simple recipe and tastes good.
My favourite holiday dish is cheesecake, we don’t really celebrate Christmas but we always make this during this time of the year and it’s so good oh my!!
I like turkey basted in olive oil and a dry rub of onion and garlic salt
like shortbread cookies at Christmas
I love fruit trifle we only ever have it Christmas time.
My favourite holiday dish is tiramisu
My favourite Christmas treat is Vennatarta Icelandic Christmas cake
I am always in charge of bring scalloped potatoes. My signature dish!
Our favorite holiday recipes are Christmas Crack and my late father’s Christmas Stuffing. Family traditions!!
I love my mom’s stuffing, her mashed potatoes and corn and her turkey dressed with bacon. Yum-o!
Love to make a yule chocolate log
Homemade stuffing has to be my favourite.
ooh so tough to choose but we do a cinnamon roasted squash and it’s pretty darn amazing!
My Almond Fudge Bars are a huge hit at Christmas – very rich, fudgy and taste as good straight out of the freezer as they do fresh!
My favourite holiday treat is Nanaimo bars!
Cran-Apple turnovers with cinnamon Crème is my holiday fave dessert!
Crazy for my Moms sweet bread, she makes it at Christmas and Easter and boy does she make enough to go around since its requested by everyone.
I love the extra’s like whole wild cranberries sauce, Gravy, and pumpkin pie. delicious.
cherry cheesecake for dessert
I love Nanaimo bars 🙂
I love eating shortbread on the holidays.
It is a tie between plum pudding and trifle for me!!
peach caramel pie – yum
My MIL’s amazing sweet potatoes are my all-time fave holiday dish. 🙂
My aunt’s pizzelle are my favorite Christmas treat. I make them in her honor, each year.
My favorite is traditional Christmas Pudding topped with real thick cream.
Does shortbread count as a “dish” because it’s my favourite holiday food. I save up all year for it and eat a years worth!
Besos Sarah
Journeys of The Zoo
I love a cream cheese topped with cranberry salsa and crackers!!!!
My family enjoy having chocolate truffle mice over the holidays.
Favourite recipe is shortbread cookies 🙂
I love freezer cheese cake. It is so easy to make and my boys love it very much.
I really like homemade pumpkin pie during the holidays. Thanks.
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
Sausage Stuffing
I love van houtte coffee!! one of the best coffees!!
I always make Sugar Cookies for my husband at Christmas-they’re his all time favourite!
My favorite is homemade eggnog.
Shortbread cookies with milk chocolate is my favourite holiday treat.
my favourite recipe for Christmas is my moms Broccoli blue cheese casserole hopefully one day I will perfect it
Chocolate pretzel bark
1cup brownsugar
1cup butter
2cups dark chocolate chips
8oz pretzels
Spread pretzels on sheet. Cook butter/brown sugar on medium on stove. Let boil for 3minutes. Pour over pretzels. Bake for 5 ‘min at 350 degrees. Pull out & drop chocolate chips on top. Put in oven for 2 minutes. Take out use spautla to spread chocolate all over covering pretzels. Cool . Break into chunks.
My favorite is the red velvet cake pops.
My favourite holiday recipe is Cranberry bars. I truly enjoy the taste and the ingredients which are great
for your body.
One of my favorites is a cheesy hashbrown casserole or my mom’s homemade turtles.
I love sausage stuffing. I just use box stuffing mix and add cooked crumbled sausage.
green rice
i love making newfie style stuffing with gluten free bread, onions, chicken stock, savoury and salt and pepper.
My gramma used to make this special holiday jello salad, it was empty so quick everyone ran for it first. She passed suddenly and the recipe was only in her head. The grandchildren have tried constantly and noone can seem to duplicate it. We loved when she was giggling bringing it out…. Such memories!
Our holiday favourite is a rotisserie ham.. delicious!
i love homemade cranberry sauce. my kids eat it on it’s own!
I love butter tarts!
My favorite holiday dish to make and eat is scalloped potatoes with lots of cheese!
I love shortbread!
Looove garlic mashed potatoes!!
I love my Mum’s Broccoli Casserole.
My favourite holiday treats are all butter shortbread cookies.
green bean casserole
I love a good casserole!
My favorite Holiday Treat is Gingerbread. Anything Gingerbread, Cookies, Bread, Cake if it is Gingerbread I am good to go!
my grammas shortbread
Stuffing and gravy is my favorite part.
One of my favourite holiday dishes is pear cake, I make a reg white cake like you would a upside down pineapple but use pears. I use coconut sugar instead of brown
My dad makes squash with marshmallows and I can’t share the recipe because he’s the guy who makes it different every time Lol… but mostly its good! The stuffing, however, varies from year to year with how good it is
My favourite holiday dish is cherry cheesecake.
I love mashed potatoes with turkey gravy
One of my favorite holiday recipes is Brussel Sprouts with bacon. Here’s a recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/pan-roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-bacon-recipe.html
My family prefers them oven roasted with a package of bacon!
Cornbread dressing
I enjoy Shortbread, Here is a easy recipe to follow http://www.marthastewart.com/342402/basic-shortbread
Cranberry stuffing
My favourite recipe is for mock apple pie made with ritz crackers
i like the Buche de Noel cake
One of my favourite holiday meals is the surf & turf dinner that we enjoy on Christmas Eve.
Christmas bark
roast turkey with stuffing
I just love shortbread