On Christmas Eve, we had our traditional dinner of appetizers, dips, and desserts. Christmas Day ended being a little funky, meal-wise, so we ordered pizzas. Our big, fancy Christmas dinner was finally enjoyed today! I chose an English theme (since this has been a major “Rule Britannia” year for us), and the menu I settled up on included roast beef, brussels sprouts (a very important Christmas dinner staple in England), roast carrots and potatoes, cranberries, and, for dessert, a French cake popular in England, the Bûche de Noël or Yule Log Cake. We also enjoyed drinking wassail, which is another of our regular family Christmas traditions, but fit in nicely with the theme for the day!

Wassail, hot out of the pot:

Standing rib roast with a rosemary-garlic rub, served with a horseradish cream sauce:

A trio of roast vegetables–brussels sprouts, carrots, and potatoes:

Spiced cranberries:

The feast:

The table:

Christmas Crackers:

In addition to a paper hat, everyone’s Christmas Cracker came with a toy:

As well a joke:

The Bûche de Noël:

Happy Christmas!