16 Christmas Eve Food Ideas For Your Next Holiday Gathering

With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s time to start planning a Christmas Eve dinner menu! From classics like glazed ham to unusual martinis, Peerspace is here to help you plan the perfect dinner with a few of our favorite Christmas Eve food ideas! So take a moment to browse our selection before you start baking, decorating, and gift wrapping for the upcoming festivities. After all, that’s what we at Peerspace do best: help friends and families make lasting memories together with epic party ideas and party venues!

1. Bake the perfect spicy maple-glazed ham

With the loads of sugar added to the meat, store-bought ham tends to be too sweet for many people. How about mixing things up with a spicy ham that has tartness instilled from a touch of balsamic vinegar and just a hint of sweetness instead? A spicy maple glazed ham from Bon Appétit might be exactly what you’re looking for! We recommend going with a bone-in cut of meat so you get extra flavor and moisture for the perfect holiday ham.

2. Serve a hearty chicken & wild rice casserole

Looking for a hearty Christmas dish that is as good as anything you’d find at a restaurant? How about a savory chicken and wild rice casserole? You can use fresh chicken – or if you have some leftover holiday turkey you can mix that into the dish as well! Wild rice has a chewy, nutty texture that’s more satisfying to many people than traditional white rice. 

Christmas Eve dinner menu options are important. But don’t forget to book a party space well in advance since venues are reserved quickly for the holiday! Did you know that Peerspace has more than just Christmas Eve food ideas? We’re also the nation’s leading marketplace for event venue rentals. For example, this historic space in downtown Baltimore with a parlor, full kitchen, and dinner table is an ideal place to host a memorable Christmas Eve dinner!

3. Bake homemade dinner rolls with honey glaze

Dinner rolls are one of those dishes that most people opt to buy instead of making them yourself. But why deny yourself the pleasure of creating a dish from scratch? Soft, fluffy dinner rolls like these only require seven ingredients and a little time to mix the dough. Even with time set aside for the dough to rise this is a dish you can easily have ready for an upcoming Christmas Eve party. Don’t forget to brush these with a little honey and melted butter while hot out of the oven right before serving! 

4. Toss a strawberry & spinach salad

Strawberry spinach salad is a colorful dish that brightens up any dinner party table. It looks like something you’d have to order at a high-end restaurant but it’s easy to put together. Plus, like any salad, you can customize the recipe with ease, adding or removing ingredients as you wish. Start with this amazing recipe and switch out the seasonings, cheese, and other ingredients you like for the perfect dinner salad!

New to hosting dinner parties? Be sure to slay after reading our guide on how to host a dinner party that’ll wow your guests!

5. Make a holiday-themed cranberry dip

Cranberries are an iconic holiday flavor but you don’t have to stick with cranberry sauce like every other Christmas dinner out there. Try something unique by whipping up a batch of cranberry dip instead! You can make this dish sweet, savory, or spicy, depending on what you’ll be serving it with. Cranberry dip goes well with corn chips, cheese, stuffing, turkey…The possibilities are limitless!

6. Serve a savory lobster bisque

Bring rich cream and fresh lobster together with a bowl of this classic soup! Lobster bisque is flexible enough to be a main dish or a side that goes well with rolls or breadsticks. Lobster tails are our recommendation since they’re inexpensive and easier to shell. Don’t forget an immersion blender or similar kitchen appliance to create the right velvety texture.

7. Bake your own pumpkin pie

Few flavors inspire Christmas memories so effectively as pumpkin does! From pumpkin lattes to pumpkin cookies, the holidays are awash in all things pumpkin-flavored. But sometimes it’s nice to stick to the classics, like pumpkin pie. The recipe we’ve shared is super easy to make, even for beginners to pie baking. A homemade pumpkin pie is also fun to get creative with if you want to add extra spices or flavors like coconut cream to the mix!

8. Try making rum balls

How about another classic dessert for our list of Christmas Eve food ideas? Rum balls are a sweet treat that is very fun to make since you can roll each one in a different topping for a truly artistic presentation! You can even make them a few days in advance so you have extra time for party planning. Which you won’t need if you let Peerspace give you a hand in choosing the right venue. Our Christmas Eve party venues include seating for guests lists of all sizes, not to mention amenities like skyline views or outdoor patios!

9. Mix and serve cornbread dressing

How about some cornbread dressing to go with your Christmas ham or turkey? Since most people are well acquainted with white bread dressing, this cornbread version is a more unique flavor for guests! Cornbread stuffing can be customized with ease by including extra ingredients like cranberries, shredded turkey, crushed walnuts, raisins, and other additions.

10. Skip the storebought stuff with homemade spiked eggnog

Have any of you ever enjoyed the incredible richness of homemade eggnog? We bet not; store-bought eggnog is such a fixture at Christmas parties. So why not let your guests have a truly unique tasting experience with this recipe for homemade spiked eggnog? As you can see, the list of ingredients doesn’t involve anything you won’t find at your local grocery store! 

11. Arrange a beautiful charcuterie board

From baby showers to birthday parties, charcuterie boards are a staple at any special event. That makes it simple to include one at a Christmas Eve party. You can use the usual cured meats and cheese as the base. Or you can mix things up with candies, fresh fruit, dips, and other items. Arranging the board to look like a Christmas tree or other holiday-themed idea also helps!

Get more festive Christmas charcuterie board ideas here!

12. Put bacon on everything with bacon jam

It is truly said that everything is better with bacon! So make it easy on everyone by sharing a bacon jam spread that you can use to add a touch of bacon to anything. Bread, crackers, sandwiches, soup, and stuffing can all now be made that much tastier with sweet, slow-cooked onions and salty bacon using this recipe. 

13. Stuff some bacon-wrapped dates

Any list of Christmas Eve food ideas should definitely include a few appetizers. Bacon-wrapped dates are at the top of our list because sweet, salty, and savory go so well together! Not to mention easy to make and serve. From the goat cheese filling to the brushed maple syrup glaze, these are an appetizer worthy of any high-end restaurant experience!

14. Make some spicy gingerbread cookies

Is there any dessert that instantly screams “Christmastime!” as perfectly as gingerbread cookies? The icing and candy touches mean you can artistically dress up each one as a little snowman or Santa Claus. Besides the recipe above, you’ll also need some cookie cutters for perfectly shaped gingerbread snowmen, stars, or Christmas trees!

15. Choose your favorite stuffed mushroom recipe

Few Christmas Eve food ideas are as flexible as stuffed mushrooms! You can go rich and hearty with blue cheese and bacon or try for a lighter recipe using hummus or bread stuffing. Stuffed mushrooms are an appetizer or side that’s guaranteed to disappear shortly after being served!

16. Get creative with sugar cookie martinis

We have one more creative spiked drink for you and your guests to enjoy…Bring the buttery sweetness of a sugar cookie together with a bit of alcoholic bite using this recipe for sugar cookie martinis! It has just the right taste and theme for a Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve celebration! Don’t forget to decorate the glass rim with a few candy sprinkles to play up the sugar cookie character!

Christmas Eve food ideas: conclusion

As important as family and friends are, Christmas Eve celebrations are made that much better with food! We could have listed dozens of great Christmas Eve food ideas here but we think 16 of our favorites is enough to get you started! Do let us know what you think. And if you haven’t chosen a Christmas party venue yet, have a look at the hundreds of spaces near you that we have!

Find unique event spaces for your Christmas Eve gathering on Peerspace