The short answer: a classic Christmas lunch is a cold table with herring, fish and cold cuts, followed by warm dishes such as roast pork, meatballs, liver pâté and sausage, and finally cheese and dessert. Schnapps and Christmas beer go with it, and the secret is to prepare a lot in advance and put the food out in stages.
Dims Studio's own figures: The Christmas lunch category gets an average of 4.9 out of 5 stars in 101 customer reviews, and the serving platters, which are great for herring and fish dishes, have an average of 5.0 out of 5 stars in 19 reviews.
Contents
Hosting a Christmas lunch at home for family or friends doesn't have to be stressful if you've got the order sorted and know what can be made in advance. Here you'll get the classic menu from herring to rice pudding, suggestions for drinks, a plan for when the food should come out, and some of the games that belong to the Christmas lunch.
The short answer
A classic Christmas lunch is built up as a cold table with herring, fish and cold cuts, supplemented with warm dishes such as roast pork, meatballs, liver pâté and sausage. Then comes cheese and dessert, and schnapps and Christmas beer are drunk throughout. The key to a relaxed Christmas lunch at home is to prepare a lot of the food in advance and put it out in stages, so the table doesn't get overloaded all at once.
What is a Christmas lunch
A Christmas lunch is a festive gathering, typically in December in the run up to Christmas, where traditional Christmas food is eaten, and where you often invite friends and family. If you host it at home, you're free to choose the date, but many people hold it during December, before Christmas Eve itself. At the workplace, the Christmas lunch is usually held earlier, in November or December, before the private rush really begins. The tradition of Christmas lunches as we know them today can be traced back to the 1940s, when singing and a fair bit of drink really became a fixed part of the celebration.
The menu in the right order
The classic Christmas lunch follows a set order, just as the traditional cold table does. Start with herring and the cold fish dishes, for example marinated herring, plaice fillets, prawns or eel with scrambled eggs. This is where most guests start on the buffet, and it makes good sense to begin light and fresh.
Then comes the rest of the cold table and the warm dishes: meatballs, liver pâté, sausage and roast pork are fixed items on a Danish Christmas lunch. The herring and other fish dishes can advantageously be served on a platter that can handle brine, for example a snapper fish platter in stoneware, while prawns and scrambled eggs can sit in a small bowl on the side, with a spoon holder with fish in ceramic for the serving spoons.
Once the cold and warm tables are done, the Christmas lunch is rounded off with cheese and dessert. The most classic dessert is rice pudding with cherry sauce, a rice and cream dessert with almonds, which has been part of Christmas since around 1800, and where the tradition of a hidden whole almond in the bowl still lives on.
Tip: Put the herring and other cold fish dishes on serving platters that can handle brine, so they're easy to pass around the table.
Below, the classic Christmas lunch menu is gathered step by step, so the order is easy to follow.
| Step | Examples of dishes |
|---|---|
| Cold table: herring and fish | Marinated herring, plaice fillets, prawns, eel with scrambled eggs |
| Hot dishes | Meatballs, liver pâté, medister sausage, roast pork |
| Cheese and dessert | Cheese, rice pudding with cherry sauce |
Drinks for the Christmas lunch
Snaps, that is aquavit, and beer, ideally Christmas beer, are a fixed part of the drinks at a Christmas lunch. The snaps is typically drunk with the herring and other cold dishes, while the Christmas beer accompanies the whole meal. If wine is also to be served with cheese or dessert, it can be useful to know how many glasses a bottle will stretch to. Find out more in the article about glasses in a bottle of wine.
Planning: what can be made in advance
A big part of the joy of a Christmas lunch at home lies in the preparation. Bread and pastries, pâté, meatballs and ice cream can be made well in advance and frozen, so they just need to be taken out and warmed or thawed on the day. Dressings can be mixed together, potatoes can be boiled, and salad and vegetables can be rinsed the day before, so there's less to do when the guests arrive.
If you don't have enough room in the fridge for all the cold food, it can be a good idea to borrow or hire an extra fridge for the occasion. Also put up small signs by the dishes, so guests can see what they contain. Don't put the whole buffet out at once. The food comes into its own when it's served in rounds, and what's put on the table first is typically what guests take the most of. Reckon on around 6-800 grams of food including bread per person, so most people will have enough to eat.
Find lovely platters and bowls for the whole cold table, so the buffet is ready when the guests arrive.
See Christmas tableBuffet and hygiene
Even though the kitchen is buzzing with activity in the run-up to the Christmas lunch, there are a few rules from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration that are worth following. Check that the fridge is set to no more than 5 degrees, even when it's packed with Christmas food, and keep raw meat separate from food that's ready to eat.
Put the cold dishes such as salmon and cold cuts on the table just before you're about to eat, while the hot dishes should be piping hot when they come to the table. Only serve as much as you reckon will be eaten, ideally in several rounds, and get the leftovers into the fridge quickly afterwards. Acidic dishes such as herring, red cabbage and cherry sauce shouldn't be kept in foil or aluminium trays.
Norovirus can spread via both food and cutlery at the Christmas buffet, so wash your hands with soap and water before you go to the table. Hand sanitiser doesn't work against this kind of bug. Use the spoons and tongs by the dishes. Hold the bread with a cloth when it's cut, and take a clean plate if you're going back for more food.
Activities and entertainment
A Christmas lunch only really gets cosy once there's room for games too. The best known is the hunt for the almond in the rice pudding, where whoever finds the whole almond in their bowl wins the almond gift.
Another classic is the game mouse, where a couple of handfuls of hazelnuts or pepper nuts are placed in the middle of the table. One player looks away while the others secretly choose a nut to be the mouse. The player then takes nuts one at a time until the mouse is taken, at which point everyone shouts mouse.
A candle race is a third option: each guest has a Christmas tree candle by their place setting. The candles are lit at the same time, and whoever's candle burns the longest wins a prize. If you also want to play with presents, you can find ideas in the article about gift-swapping game for adults.
Frequently asked questions
What do you serve at a Christmas lunch?
You typically serve a cold table with herring and fish dishes, followed by hot dishes such as roast pork, meatballs, liver pâté and medister sausage, and finally cheese and dessert. Snaps and beer, ideally Christmas beer, are drunk alongside.
What is a classic Christmas lunch menu?
The menu starts with herring and cold fish dishes such as plaice fillets, prawns and eel with scrambled eggs, continues with the rest of the cold table and the hot dishes, and finishes with cheese and rice pudding with cherry sauce.
What can you make in advance for a Christmas lunch?
Bread and pastries, pâté, meatballs and ice cream can be made well in advance and frozen, while dressings can be mixed together, and potatoes, salad and vegetables can be sorted the day before.
How much food should you reckon on for a Christmas lunch?
A rule of thumb is around 6-800 grams of food including bread per person.
What games can you play at a Christmas lunch?
The classics are the fight for the almond in the rice pudding, the game of hunting for hazelnuts or marzipan sweets, and the candle race with Christmas tree candles. You can also play a gift-swapping game.
When do you hold a Christmas lunch?
Christmas lunch at home is typically held in December in the run-up to Christmas, while the office Christmas lunch is usually held in November or December, before Christmas Eve itself.
Summary
A classic Christmas lunch at home starts with herring and cold fish dishes, followed by the rest of the cold spread and the warm dishes, and finishes with cheese and rice pudding. With snaps and Christmas beer, good planning beforehand and a bit of attention to hygiene, the buffet becomes easy to manage, and with the almond prize, the hunting game and the candle race, the entertainment is sorted too.
Read also
- Setting the Christmas table: how to lay the table for Christmas
- Cheese board ideas: how to arrange a beautiful cheese board
- Place card ideas: creative name cards for the table
- How many glasses are there in a bottle of wine, and champagne?
- Mulled wine: how to make it, and what goes with it
- Hot cocoa: make it with cocoa powder or chocolate
- Almond prize: ideas for adults, children and the family
Ready to set the table for your Christmas lunch?
Find serving dishes, bowls and a cheese platter that make the buffet easy to manage, from herring to rice pudding.
Shop Christmas table