# Christmas breakfast



## Ashful (Nov 20, 2013)

With our oldest at age 4, we're just getting into the swing of those special childhood Christmas mornings.  Last year was really our first, in which our son was old enough to really get into the whole ceremony of things.

I remember my family's Christmas mornings, as a kid.  We would spend Christmas eve at church and an old neighbor's annual open house, not necessarily in that order (our church had their last service at 11pm - midnight), and get home very late.  Us kids would be sent to bed, and wake up early... like before 6am early.  Of course we never knew it, but my parents must have stayed up until at least 3am, arranging what always appeared to be truckloads of presents around the tree.  Our parents would make us stay in our beds as long as they could, trying to get that last wink of shut-eye themselves, but we'd always be downstairs by 7am.  We'd spend a few hours opening gifts (there were 7 of us), and then eventually mom would get around to making a big breakfast, before the rounds of guests started rolling in (grandparents, aunts, uncles...).

We're just trying to figure out our own routine, now.  One thing we haven't really done right is breakfast.  My wife's too tired to do it, and while I am usually the pancake and waffle cook in the house, she doesn't want me making a mess with guests on the way (two rounds of grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.).  What to do?

I've thought about getting take-out, like picking up some pastries and meats the night before.  Perhaps there's some business that does Christmas breakfast delivery, which I don't know about (if there's not, there should be!).  Then I got to wondering... what do the rest of you do, when the kids are young, and Christmas mornings are wonderfully hectic?


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## begreen (Nov 20, 2013)

WTH Joful, it's not even Thanksgiving. I'll be thinking about Christmas a few days before and no sooner.


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## Ashful (Nov 20, 2013)

begreen said:


> I'll be thinking about Christmas a few days before and no sooner.


  You clearly don't have a 4 year old boy in the house!  He started asking about Christmas on the way home from the fireworks display on July 4.


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## Grisu (Nov 20, 2013)

Joful said:


> You clearly don't have a 4 year old boy in the house!  He started asking about Christmas on the way home from the fireworks display on July 4.



 Yes, ours also seem to be ahead by at least one or two holidays. I was recently asked when it is Easter again.  

Our families live far away so the holidays are rather quiet. Nevertheless, a dish that I like to make and that is essentially no work in the morning is a make-ahead french toast. Since I cannot find the exact recipe online anymore here it goes:

1 cup dark brown sugar
 1/2 cup butter
3 Tablespoons maple syrup (real; grade A dark amber or B works best)
5 eggs
1.5 cups milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 baguette, challah or (not quite as tasty) toast

Melt butter in small pot, add maple syrup, stir in brown sugar and let slightly boil briefly. Pour in 9"x13" baking dish.
Cut bread in slices, arrange in baking dish. 
Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla extract. Pour mixture over bread. Push bread down with fork that it is well soaked with the egg mixture. Cover dish with aluminium foil and keep in fridge overnight.
Next morning set oven to 350 F, put the dish in right away. After oven has reached temp wait 10 min, then uncover. Bake for another 15 to 20 min. 

We serve it with cut-up fruit which for the most part can also be prepared the evening before.


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## Augie (Nov 21, 2013)

Egg bake is even easier, prep it a few days before, don't cook it, but toss it in the freezer. After church services pull it out pop it in the oven and let it defrost overnight. It will still be a bit frozen in the middle when the oven kicks on so adjust cooking time as needed, set the oven timer for say 8am breakfast is about an hour after the oven comes on. So breakfast before presents start oven at 6am, adjust accordingly. There are many egg bake recipes out there here is one. PM me if you would like more info, I do these for everything from weekend skit trips,make one up for every day at the cabin, to having one in the freezer ready to go almost at all times just incase I end up having people, or person, spending the night.

Here is one 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/brunch-egg-bake-2/


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## Ehouse (Nov 21, 2013)

Joful said:


> With our oldest at age 4, we're just getting into the swing of those special childhood Christmas mornings.  Last year was really our first, in which our son was old enough to really get into the whole ceremony of things.
> 
> I remember my family's Christmas mornings, as a kid.  We would spend Christmas eve at church and an old neighbor's annual open house, not necessarily in that order (our church had their last service at 11pm - midnight), and get home very late.  Us kids would be sent to bed, and wake up early... like before 6am early.  Of course we never knew it, but my parents must have stayed up until at least 3am, arranging what always appeared to be truckloads of presents around the tree.  Our parents would make us stay in our beds as long as they could, trying to get that last wink of shut-eye themselves, but we'd always be downstairs by 7am.  We'd spend a few hours opening gifts (there were 7 of us), and then eventually mom would get around to making a big breakfast, before the rounds of guests started rolling in (grandparents, aunts, uncles...).
> 
> ...




Gobble up all the leftover Halloween candy!


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## FanMan (Nov 21, 2013)

My family's Christmas breakfast was always a Christmas stollen, ordered in advance from a local Jewish (go figure) bakery.  Pop it in the oven and serve it warm with butter, mmmmm.  My wife's family always made hot cross buns... so naturally now we have to have both.


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## My Oslo heats my home (Nov 21, 2013)

Joful said:


> You clearly don't have a 4 year old boy in the house!  He started asking about Christmas on the way home from the fireworks display on July 4.



Nothing wrong with that, I have a wife that started the countdown for the next x-mas the day after the last one.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 21, 2013)

When we were youngsters and growing up in a family that was poor middle-class (didn't know that then) . . . and we were pretty jazzed up about opening the gifts . . . an orange in the stocking and a Pop-Tart was enough for us.

These days my wife and I have made it a tradition to have cinnamon buns . . . although I cheat and just buy the buns in a can from the store.


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## Paul L (Nov 21, 2013)

Kahlua and coffee.   The parents deserve it and the kids don't care about eating.

You're welcome.


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## firebroad (Nov 21, 2013)

If your kids like pancakes, you can make them ahead and freeze them.  Then on Christmas morning, pop them in the oven on a baking sheet (lined with foil for no clean-up) or put them in the toaster oven.
Reminds me of a story of my own--
I always had a big breakfast for Yule, eggs, potatoes, bacon sausage, etc for my family.  After my husband passed and my daughter moved away, my mother would come to visit, so I started having the breakfast again, which she loved, because she usually ate out at restaurants.  One year we went to visit the daughter afterwards, and Mom excaimed, "Oh, we just had the most WONDERFUL breakfast!"  to which my daughter inquired, "Really?  Where did you go?"  Kinda deflated my vanity.


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## Jags (Nov 21, 2013)

Mmmmmm...cinnamon buns.....


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## Delta-T (Nov 21, 2013)

we too are cimmanin buns on xmas morning people. Santa always.....ALWAYS brings my son a can of sardines, which he loves to eat on xmas morning (gross I know...but he just lights up at sardines, too much fun).


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## mass_burner (Nov 21, 2013)

Delta-T said:


> we too are cimmanin buns on xmas morning people. Santa always.....ALWAYS brings my son a can of sardines, which he loves to eat on xmas morning (gross I know...but he just lights up at sardines, too much fun).


 

that's weird, my 7yr old tried a bite off my plate of sardines the other day and almost ate the whole plate. i had to open up another can. i didn't see that coming.


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## My Oslo heats my home (Nov 21, 2013)

I didn't see this coming either, sardine talk on x-mas morning


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## firebroad (Nov 21, 2013)

Delta-T said:


> we too are cimmanin buns on xmas morning people. Santa always.....ALWAYS brings my son a can of sardines, which he loves to eat on xmas morning (gross I know...but he just lights up at sardines, too much fun).





My Oslo heats my home said:


> I didn't see this coming either, sardine talk on x-mas morning


Well, the Brits eat kippers for brekkie, so why not?  Hmmm--cinnimon buns with sardines--gotta try that one.


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## BrotherBart (Nov 21, 2013)

firebroad said:


> Well, the Brits eat kippers for brekkie,



Me too.


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## mass_burner (Nov 21, 2013)

BrotherBart said:


> Me too.



I'm partial to smoked Salmon. Another Christmas favorite in the Netherlands?


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## BrotherBart (Nov 21, 2013)

When I would sit down in a restaurant in England for breakfast invariably the snooty waiters would say "Ham and eggs I presume?" and I would say "No. Kippers and eggs over easy Old Stick." Always surprised them.


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## BrotherBart (Nov 21, 2013)

mass_burner said:


> Another Christmas favorite in the Netherlands?



Yeah. But that mayo on their French Fries!


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## tfdchief (Nov 21, 2013)

Joful said:


> With our oldest at age 4, we're just getting into the swing of those special childhood Christmas mornings.  Last year was really our first, in which our son was old enough to really get into the whole ceremony of things.
> 
> I remember my family's Christmas mornings, as a kid.  We would spend Christmas eve at church and an old neighbor's annual open house, not necessarily in that order (our church had their last service at 11pm - midnight), and get home very late.  Us kids would be sent to bed, and wake up early... like before 6am early.  Of course we never knew it, but my parents must have stayed up until at least 3am, arranging what always appeared to be truckloads of presents around the tree.  Our parents would make us stay in our beds as long as they could, trying to get that last wink of shut-eye themselves, but we'd always be downstairs by 7am.  We'd spend a few hours opening gifts (there were 7 of us), and then eventually mom would get around to making a big breakfast, before the rounds of guests started rolling in (grandparents, aunts, uncles...).
> 
> ...


Oh this sounds so familiar.


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## Ehouse (Nov 21, 2013)

BrotherBart said:


> Yeah. But that mayo on their French Fries!




Ja, and malt vinegar on 'em for the Brits, Old Stick!


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## BrotherBart (Nov 21, 2013)

The worst is breakfast anywhere in Europe but the UK. You can only eat cold cereal, fruit and cold cuts so many times before ya just gotta have something hot and greasy. I used to come off the plane running for a restaurant in Heathrow for a nice greasy English breakfast after a week of "Continental" (bloody awful).  

Never had fries there though.


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## begreen (Nov 21, 2013)

We stayed on a farm outside of Edam last time we were in the Netherlands. The breakfast was huge. No cold cuts it was their own sausage, turkey and ham from the farm. And with all the fruits, eggs, breads and hot cereal there were slabs of great local cheese.


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## Ehouse (Nov 21, 2013)

I remember a big difference between a city breakfast and a country breakfast.  In Holland it was something that sounded like Ouitsmater, Denmark was Pittipana, ( diced pork and taters with 2 fried eggs on top); Sweden was blood pudding (yum!) with eggs and Lingonberries.


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## mass_burner (Nov 21, 2013)

Ehouse said:


> I remember a big difference between a city breakfast and a country breakfast.  In Holland it was something that sounded like Ouitsmater, Denmark was Pittipana, ( diced pork and taters with 2 fried eggs on top); Sweden was blood pudding (yum!) with eggs and Lingonberries.



Yes in Rotterdam I used to have that egg dish, it was delicious. Kind of like a soft boiled egg omelet with all kinds of stuff inside.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 22, 2013)

Ehouse said:


> Ja, and malt vinegar on 'em for the Brits, Old Stick!


 

A lot of folks up this way put vinegar on their fries . . . unless you go way north in The County and then it's cheese and gravy for their poutine.


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## Ehouse (Nov 22, 2013)

firefighterjake said:


> A lot of folks up this way put vinegar on their fries . . . unless you go way north in The County and then it's cheese and gravy for their poutine.




And just salt 'n pepper for steak frites.  The Spud gets my vote for most versatile veggi.......love 'em!


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## Paulywalnut (Nov 23, 2013)

When my 3 were real young I was always the first one down stairs. I got the coffee ready and made sure the wood stoves were going good. The kids were opening presents and I was making eggs and toast. There's enough going on to stick your head in and watch. Then every year it changes. Enjoy these years Joful, soon believe it or not you gotta go wake up the kids.


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## rideau (Nov 24, 2013)

13 of us, and our Christmases were major holidays.  Started cooking cookies weeks in advance- made dozens of varieties.   Bought a new garbage can...the big one...and made dark fruit cake for all the neighbors....dozens of cakes.  Of course, our own cake was several years old, wrapped in cheese cloth that was soaked in brandy three or four times a year.  resulted in a very dark, moist, solid delicious cake.  Christmas pudding also made, Dad did most of the stirring because it was so heavy, but we each stirred once and made a wish.  That was always served on New Year's Day, on the silver platter, brandy alight, served with hard sauce. 

Back to Christmas:  along with many other cookies, we made a sleigh, reindeer and santa  of gingerbread which we mounted on a large wooden carving board (covered with foil) and decorated with icing.  We made cookies for Santa. 

Got up early Christmas morning, had to wait for the parents before we were allowed downstairs.  Dad went down first with the camera and positioned himself in the bigroom door.  Took photos of the younger children as their faces delighted in the sight of the stockings hanging from the fireplace in the living room.    We opened our stockings, which were handed out one at a time, youngest to oldest (all watched each open his/her stocking).  each had a large shopping bag for Christmas presents.  Each stocking always had a tangerine in the foot, underclothes, a few neat toys.  Then we had to get dressed for Church...went to 8 o'clock Mass.  Then home, and Dad made breakfast....he was only home to do this Christmas, New Year's and Easter.  He squeezed fresh orange juice, a real treat in those days, cooked scrambled eggs and sausage and bacon.  We had breakfast, then the older children cleaned the dishes, then we got to see the Christmas tree.   The door to the bigroom was finally opened and the tree was there fully decorated (final decorations and lights had gone on the 24th..our tree never went up before the 22nd.)  Dad handed out the presents one at a time (he loved playing Santa:  I found out years later that he dressed as Santa at Memorial Hospital each year and visited all the children in hospital, as well as is patients), and we all watched each open his/her gifts.  We usually finished around noon....I guess we had lunch, though I don't remember that.  We spent a good part of the afternoon getting Christmas dinner ready, getting out al the silver and special serving pieces and linens.  Christmas dinner was always turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauces, potatoes, peas, corn , broccoli and beans (we had to each have three vegetables of our choice).  There was usually a carrot/raisin salad with vinegar and sugar or waldorf or waldorf winter pear salad. We had olives and sweet pickles too.   Dessert was Christmas cake with hard sauce, ice cream, Christmas cookies and fresh fruit.  There were always mints and Christmas hard candies in silver bowls.  .Most our elderly neighbors came for Christmas dinner.  We usually had about 26 people around he table, which was 16 feet long and built in Perth, Ontario in 1867.

Christmas was a really big deal.  We made ornaments and chains of paper and cranberries for the tree, put the icicles on the tree one at a time.  We made kissing rings, and stuck cloves over the entire surface of naval oranges...those kept for years and still smell good today, although the oranges have really shrunk over the years. Made stencils for the windows out of snow.  Put lights outside in the yew bushes around the veranda. 

All our relatives lived in Canada, we lived in NY, so we had neighbors, who were like grandparents to us, not relatives, spend the holidays with us.


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## theswampthing (Nov 24, 2013)

Last year I made a pumpkin french toast casserole and a pile of bacon. Me and mama split a bottle of wine with it that was damn good, too.


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## begreen (Nov 25, 2013)

Love it now that everyone is grown up. Christmas day we usually don't get around to eating until Brunch.


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