Think Ahead Thursday: Introduction
I have been brainstorming some ideas for the upcoming holidays. You people knew I was a planner, right? There is just something about my “makeup” that lends itself to thinking through things in advance in preparation and hope that they go “smoothly” (whatever the heck that means).
I have a lot of questions I would like to pose to you, the readers. I also thought that the holidays aren’t the only things that people plan ahead for, well at least some of us. I know there are a great many of you out there that prefer the procastination route. Perhaps this series isn’t so much for you! 
At any rate, I have decided to dedicate Thursdays to this idea of “thinking ahead”. True, many of the first few weeks we will be looking at food and the holidays. But don’t worry, in a few short weeks we will be thinking ahead to lots of new topics. What you ask? Back to school, halloween, Labor Day, fall, winter, new babies. You name it, it’s fair game.
So let’s get started with week 1 . . .
Holiday Breakfasts
Does your family have a tradition of breakfasts/brunch on the holidays or do you just rest your stomach until lunch? What are your traditions around breakfast for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas?
Is yours a feast or a famine? (published with premission Flickr, Creative Commons, Sandy Austin whanau)
I can’t say we had much of a tradition in our house for holiday breakfasts. Oh wait, my mom traditionally opened a can of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls and we ate those. LOL. Does breakfast from a can count as a tradition? (sorry mom).
In my husband’s home, sausage and gravy over biscuits was the order of the day on Christmas. Before any presents were opened one must have a full belly! After participating myself for several years, I must agree, it is a good way to start out Christmas.
What about you and your family?
No, we didn’t have much of a traditional holiday breakfast when I was growing up. There would have been something for breakfast but no single thing every year. Sometimes we might have had a coffee cake that Mom baked the night before. Other times she might have made a strata that was assembled the night before and baked that morning. There was also the can of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls — my favorite were the orange ones.
Now that I have my own family, we still haven’t figured out our own tradition yet. I want something hot and fresh, but with minimal effort so that we can get on to other things.
For the last several years we had been purchasing meals from a local merchant. The meals were very similiar to the OAMC meals, but they already had the ingredients preped for you to assemble or you could buy the meals already assembled. Our favorite for breakfast is a French Toast variety that we would thaw out on Christmas Eve and then pop in the oven as we woke up. Then you just took brown sugar and syrup and melted them together and poured over the top. I know that I will be looking for a similiar recipe to use this year.
As a youngster, we opened gifts, then Mom always had some kind of hot pastry and hot chocolate. Best part was smelling the turkey in the oven that she got up at 5a.m. to start. With my own children, I carried on the Hot Pastry and Hot Chocolate tradition.
My Children, now grown, have made mention many times, that they can’t wait to start their families, so they too, can look forward to Hot Pastry and Hot Chocolate on Christmas morning.
I now live 700 miles away from my adult children, and make Hot Pastry and Hot Chocolate on Christmas morning, but it just dosen’t work. I suppose I am attempting to relive those mornings of long ago. Actually, it only makes me home sick, but I continue to do it every dag gone year.
Our tradition has evolved from Christmas brunch to Christmas Eve brunch. We used to get together as a family on Christmas morning for brunch … over the years that has changed to accomodate the “kids” families (mine & my brothers) to where we now gather on Christmas Eve and have our traditional “brunch” menu for dinner. We didn’t want to give up our Egg Casserole & Monkey Bread! LOL. On Christmas morning, I make sausage gravy & biscuits for myself, my daughter and my parents. It has become a tradition that we all look forward too!
We have always had the egg/sausage casserole that you make the night before for breakfast. We always start unwrapping presents take a break with breakfast and then finish our gifts.
We didn’t really have any morning traditions when I was young. Thanksgiving everyone ate something small in the morning, and saved their appetities for lunch. Christmas morning was spent buried in wrapping paper and shiny new toys.
However, when my own kids were little, and we were split between going to two different places (sometimes more), we stared a new tradition for my kids and their grandparents. Since we lived closer to my in-laws, we did breakfast with them. We always had breakfast burritos. Scrambled egg, bacon, green onions, tomatoes, and whatever else sounded good at the time.
Then we had dinner at my parent’s house, which was your normal ham or roast.
My kids are hooked on the Pillsbury Cinnamon & Orange Rolls. We make up two or three tubes and have OJ and Milk. We have tried other things, but now that the kids are old enough to have an opinion that’s what the ask for.
Growing up my mom always made bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches on a roll for Christmas morning. My husband and I still have that tradition on Christmas morning, but we’ve also added the tradition of one of us going out early Christmas morning to pick up fresh pastries and donuts from our favorite Italian bakery. Our children love having fresh warm donuts. Both my parents and my mother-in-law stop over for breakfast and to open presents with the kids.
The only Christmas breakfast tradition I can remember growing up was my dad always made a pot of coffee… it was significant because that was the only day out of the entire year that he drank coffee. Now that I have a family of my own (complete with two young children), we tend to open presents first and then I take a break to make a large brunch for everyone to eat before we head to Nanna and Pappa’s house.
Every Christmas for as long as I can remember it has been Monkey Bread from a bunt cake pan. It is so delicious and is only complete with orange juice. Very very delicious! Any other time it is breakfast casserole but for Christmas that is what it is!
No we never had a traditional breakfast, but, I love traditions and am open to starting one. I believe these leave such fun and tender memories for children. I am exited to read more and I am a chronic planner so I am exited about this. Love your site. It has been a huge blessing for sure.
Well I must say in my family we didn’t really eat much of a breakfast and waited for a big lunch. However, my husband’s family would NOT MISS a Christmas without his mom’s breakfast casserole and it is truly AMAZING! I guess that what you get with a mother-in-law that’s a Food and Consumer Science teacher! I can get the recipe if you’d like it!
We will be having a link up soon . . .so keep that recipe handy!
we always go to my husbands grandma’s for christmas breakfast with the whole family after ward we open gifts then all disperse to our appointed destination for the day . we normally open our gifts at home before we go to breakfast then afterwards we head off to his moms for dinner and the night before we have dinner at his dads (his parents are divorced) and I dont have any family alive other than my sister and brother and they live with me..
Growing up I don’t remember anything special for breakfast on Christmas morning. Now that I have my own family, we do have a tradition of special Christmas breakfasts. Some years I make a breakfast casserole the night before and stick it in the fridge. Then in the morning I throw it in before the kids get up, and we eat before present opening. Some years I make homemade cinnamon rolls. I make my dough in the bread machine, make the rolls, slice and bake. The recipe I use can be made ahead and flash frozen and then put into a baggie for whenever you want them. That makes it easy also. Some years my husband is in charge, and he will make an all out glorious breakfast like the photo you have posted above. I don’t like to go to extremes with breakfast. I’m not quite awake that early in the morning. Hopefully you will have an upcoming topic about Christmas eve appetizer night. We do that every year too. It’s awesome. I’d love to share some of my favorites. What I would really like to know about is planning ahead for outtings and picnics. That is an area I lack planning ahead in. Thanks for such a great topic.