Family Nativity Dinner

For about the last ten years, our family has kept an annual tradition of a Nativity Dinner in December. Some years it’s just us, some years we invite friends, and some years we use the menu for our small group Christmas party. Since we were home for Christmas Eve this year, we planned our Nativity Dinner for that night, with just us, and it was so special!

I arranged my tablescape earlier in the month to stay set up through all of the holidays, New Year’s included.

My table arrangement is similar to last year’s New Year’s table, but with a few tweaks. And I kept with the same Christmas Biltmore inspiration I used in the den. This was such a fun and colorful table to put together, and I didn’t have to purchase anything but the oranges.

For Christmas Eve, I added a little Nativity set to the centerpiece.

So, on Christmas Eve, I must have had a case of holiday brain because after I counted and put out the silverware, I came up with an an extra spoon and was short a fork. Hmmm. Well, I quickly grabbed another fork, took some photos, and served up the meal. It wasn’t until I sat down at my place setting that I realized I’d put an extra fork in my spoon’s place. And then I got so tickled when I looked at the photos I’d taken because there it was! That fork! See it?

I think those buttery biscuits were just distracting me!

The Baby Jesus Mangers (haystacks) were our dessert, but I placed them on each plate at the beginning of the meal as a little decoration. Aren’t they cute! My son was eager to help make them until I pulled out the plastic babies for him to add and he saw that they were unclothed. I guess we should have added some swaddling cloth.

And here’s our Nativity Meal! Our menu is a little silly, but not disrespectful, and verrry delicious!

Christmas Nativity Dinner

Shepherd’s Pie*

Green Beans Wrapped in Swaddling Bacon

Glazed *Baby* Carrots

Shepherds Watching in a Field of Greens (Salad)

Angel Biscuits

Haystack Mangers

Some years we also add another dessert: Angel Food Cake with “Mary-she-knows” cherries (maraschino cherries—sorry, that’s so corny! It’s a family joke.). This year, we just didn’t need another dessert so we stuck with the haystack mangers only.

*The Shepherd’s Pie is really my recipe for Cottage Pie which is slightly different from a true Shepherd’s Pie, but we love this Cottage Pie, so for Christmas only we call it our Shepherd’s Pie!

This year, instead of cooking the whole meal myself, I asked everyone to choose an item off the menu that they would like to make. So we all pitched and then enjoyed this warm, tasty, filling meal while reflecting on the birth of our Savior!