Some people go all out on Christmas Eve, while others save their energy (and ovens) for Christmas Day proper. We were curious about what our readers across the South planned to make for the holiday, and were pleasantly surprised by how many SL fans outsource their Christmas Eve meal—we say pleasantly because SL editors, just like you, grow weary of all the cooking the holidays brings.
Between coming off of a particularly late Thanksgiving this year, launching into all of the Christmas cookie baking, and finally, a big Christmas Day feast, it can feel like a lot to also plan a dinner for Christmas Eve. We know some of you are pulling doubles, making a homemade Christmas Eve dinner for loved ones ranging from lasagna to an entire Feast of the Seven Fishes spread, but we were inspired by all the different takeout options many suggested on Facebook.
It seems the best thing to eat on Christmas Eve, according to our readers, might be anything you don’t have to cook yourself, and we love that. Find out what folks are picking up this holiday season; maybe it will inspire you to adopt some new, low-key family traditions too.
Fast Food Fix
It can be a lovely reprieve from the Christmas chaos to pull into a drive-thru, be handed a hot bag of food, and spend the time you would have used cooking to just be with family. No one is going to pass up a french fry, either. One reader turns to a Texas staple every year. “Whataburger. It’s tradition. Every year we go there then go drive through a huge light display,” wrote Elizabeth Drown.
While a few other readers are Waffle House disciples, which you can always count on to be open on Christmas Eve. “Church, then Waffle House for ‘breakfast,’ then a big tip for all the employees to share,” wrote Margaret Logan.
Seconding the suggestion was Tess Davis, who wrote “Our big celebration is Christmas Day so just a few of us go to Waffle House on Christmas Eve. It’s a tradition.” Nothing says Christmas quite like a pecan waffle and smothered hash browns. And as Logan noted, remember to tip generously, as a thank you to those working hard that night so that you don’t have to.
Pizza Party
Ask most pizza places, whether a national chain or local legend, and they’ll likely tell you that Christmas Eve is one of their busiest days of the year. Our readers only affirm why: the delivery staple is a go-to the night before Santa arrives.
For some, it’s a reminder of loved ones lost. “Pizza! My husband set this almost 30 years ago. All throw away stuff so that his grandkids didn’t have to wait all evening to open presents. John died 22 years ago and we still follow his lead for his great grandkids,” wrote Linda Platter.
For some, pizza is an easy way to unwind after doing all the Christmas cooking prep. “Because I cook all day for Christmas, someone gets us take out pizza, Chinese, or Mexican. On a few occasions where I finished early enough, someone might cook, but that someone was not I” wrote Leigh Howell.
No matter the reason, it’s nice having such a convenient delivery option lined up and just a phone call away.
James Ransom; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell
Other Favorites
Our readers have made traditions around all sorts of takeout, but these are a few that stood out to us. “Our Christmas Eve tradition started about 25 years ago: church then out for sushi. [Then] home to watch It’s a Wonderful Life,” wrote Betsy Watts Koch. Sushi and a Christmas movie sounds like a pretty fantastic way to spend the holidays to us.
Another idea we loved came from Rebecca Bull Koraytem. “[My] tradition for 20 odd years was to go out for Indian food because it didn’t taste like Christmas food. Friends would gather at our house for a cranberry martini or other cocktail, and then we’d head to dinner, and then go to Christmas Eve services,” she wrote.
Perhaps the lesson in all these folks’ stories is that no matter how you celebrate, the only rule is that some kind of good food is present. Takeout or otherwise.
