Christmas Day Traditions-Recipes and Activities!

I'm about 7 weeks pregnant and have morning sickness..all day. and all night. So i've been slowed down a bit by this little bambino! hehe. 


But I was trying to see through the fog and plan our meals for Christmas day! i've already started my menu list for Christmas breakfast/lunch even though its just for 3 1/2 people. 


I get my list making tendencies from my mother.....

let me give you a taste of what i'm talking about. this is the e-mail us kids all got before we came home for Christmas last year...

still makes me laugh. i love my mom. note the chinese cook-off between my brother and i. Iron Chef III.

We are staying home this year for Christmas...which i am soooo excited about because we have two weddings to go to this break. one in kansas on new year's eve.. and one in georgia a few days after that! so it's going to get crazy right after Christmas. Our friends invited us to have Christmas dinner with their family and pretty much told me they are making everything and not to worry about a thing....sounds amazing. haha.

But i wanted to make Christmas morning special for our little family since it's our first one at home...so i wanted to bring in some Traditions of when i was little!......two words... 

Blueberry Buckle.

Here's the Recipe my Mom passed on to me when i got married! I'm not sure where she found it but when i find out i'll post it.

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

1 Egg

2 cup sifted all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

2 cups fresh blueberries, washed

Crumb Topping:

1/4 cup soft butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Cream butter; add sugar and beat until lights. Add egg and beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk, beating until smooth. Fold in berries. Pour into greased pan (my mom always used a 9x9x2") Sprinkle with Crumb Topping. Bake 375 degrees for 35 minutes. 6-9 Servings

Sausage Egg Strata

I made this for our first Christmas as Newlyweds and it was a huge hit with family that was visiting! Its a great recipe to make a head and then just throw in the oven in the morning!

Here's the Recipe I used.

Ingredients

1 lb pork sausage

6 (1 ounce) slices of bread, cubed

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

6 eggs

2 cups milk

1 tsp salt (i do a little less..go easy on the salt cause the sausage is so salty!)

1 tsp ground dry mustard

Directions:

-Place sausage in large deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside

-Layer bread cubes, sausage and cheddar cheese in a lgihtly greased 7x11" baking dish.

-In a bowl beat egg, milk, salt, mustard. Pour egg mixture over bread cube mixture.

-Cover it refrigerated 8 hours/overnight

-Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking.

-Preheat 350 Degrees. Bake 50-60 Minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Serves 8

Intense games of Dominoes. 

o yes.. it gets cut throat in our house! watch out. oo the memories. haha.

And of course a movie at the end of the night..

usually one of the ones someone got as a present..but you can never go wrong with a classic like Cats & Dogs. For some reason...this movie cracks our family up. We know the lines of the movie by heart.. (i need a refresher) its sad really.. But i think every family has a movie like this that is their go-to for family laughs. Go get this for your family. the kids will love it..and if you are tired enough and loopy you will laugh as well. ;)

What are some of your Family Traditions for Christmas Day? Are there certain activities or yummy treats that you make??