What do you do on Christmas Eve?

I seem to have spent nearly every Christmas Eve baking or cooking since I've been married and especially since I've had children.

This year has been no exception which is why our Christmas Eve dinner has always been a really simple affair.  

After about 10 hours on my feet with only about 2 or 3 REALLY short breaks to sit down, I find that cooking dinner for the family becomes one thing too much on Christmas Eve.  I decided many years ago that we were going to eat enough on Christmas Day so the night before we'll do something different.

It's always light nibblies.  This year it was marinated chicken wings, a mexican bean dip, anchovy stuffed olives, grilled haloumi, my special bocconcini, cherry tomato and olive skewers with pesto (easiest thing on earth to make), and prawns of course.  Unfortunately the prawns remained forgotten in the fridge until we were forced back inside because of the mosquito's that descended.  I'm still not quite sure how we could possibly have forgotten them! 

Dessert is always some fruit and a few chocolates (or maybe a candy cane if you detest chocolate as much as Little Miss R does).

What began out of necessity years ago has now become a lovely, special tradition for our own little nuclear family.  We love it!

(Oh and plastic plates are an absolute must as I refuse to wash up after the amount of times I seem to do it during the day.  No...we don't have a dishwasher.  That's my role.)

I hope Santa is good to every one of you.  

Merry Christmas!

xx Susan