When I was little, we were a family of habits. Every Christmas Eve we had dinner at Don's Seafood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, followed by presents with everyone under the tree at my grandparents. The next morning were presents at our own homes, and back to Mawmaw and Pawpaw's for dinner, football, and time around the billiard table. Now, Christmas's are celebrated in Florida. Sometimes at Disney, sometimes volunteering somewhere. We are no longer driven by our habits, but by our memories of the years we had together.

This year, our Christmas activities will consist of Christmas Eve dinner at our house and Christmas day lunch/dinner at my parents'. My mother has some friends coming over and we have more places to lay around and play games at my parents'. I have Christmas Eve dinner covered, and we are sharing the Christmas Day responsibilities.

Menu for Christmas Eve

• Salad with chives from our herb garden
• Vegetable lasagna in tomato sauce
• Bread with fresh olive oil and rosemary dip
• Apple tarts with vanilla yogurt
• Pelegrino

Menu for Christmas Day

• Mashed white and sweet potatos with garlic and rosemary
• Veggie turkey (Worthington by the roll)
• Cornbread dressing
• Gravy/Roux
• Green beans with dill or lemon (still deciding)
• Candle salad
• Rolls
• Cranberry sauce with oranges

NPR has an interesting article out from Thanksgiving, which may give you ideas for next year. But until then, it has a good recipe for a vegetarian gravy. It's very similar to my mom's roux base. At our house, we just put the veggie-turkey to warm just before we are ready to serve.