Another favorite Christmas tradition at our house is Shepherd’s Night. We usually do this the Monday before Christmas.
On Shepherd’s Night we eat “shepherd” like food, eat dinner under the stars (the Christmas tree lights) and think about what it must have been like for those shepherds on that very special night.
Please excuse the poor photos but I took these under my kitchen lights as we were getting ready to eat. No staged food for you this time! This is real life.
Our meal consists of a variety of cheeses, meats, fruits, nuts and olives.
I am not a cheese expert so I went to Trader Joe’s and found someone who worked there that knew their cheeses and asked for their recommendations.
Our favorite was this soft, triple cream French cheese. So yummy! I am also a big fan of Beecher’s Cheddar that is from Seattle.
We also had a selection of bread and crackers. We had a baguette, some rosemary flat bread (from Costco) and some crackers.
My favorite thing to serve with cheese is Fig Preserves. So yummy. I love putting a slice of Beecher’s sharp cheddar on a cracker with a spoonful of fig preserves topped with a Marcona Almond. So yummy!
I also went to Whole Foods and got a selection of olives (again I asked someone who worked there for recommendations) We had some dried figs, a bowl of Marcona almonds and some oranges.
I bought a few different salamis and then Jim decided we needed to add something new to the menu this year although I’m pretty sure the shepherds didn’t eat this but we grilled some salmon too!
We are not wine drinkers so we had some sparkling apple juice instead. Some fun flavors. My favorite was the mango!
We also had some gluten free crackers and bread and a selection of goat cheeses for our gluten free/dairy free girl!
We each loaded up our plates and then sat together under the stars in the living room.
We are grateful for those shepherds who so many years ago stood watch and saw that special star that brought the message that Jesus Christ was born!
For other Wilkes family Christmas traditions:
Annual Cookie Baking Day –Christmas Hot Chocolate Bar –Breakfast with Santa –Christmas Minute to Win It Games
Enjoy!
Leigh Anne
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What a cool tradition. I like this idea!! Have a Merry Christmas!!
What a lovely, lovely idea. There is only the two of us home now, but perhaps we can start . Tonight we have been invited to some friends for celebrations, but I will definitely keep this in mind for next years–either family activity or just ‘ours’ Merry Christmas to you all.
Denise (in Boring,Or)
Leigh Anne, What a beautiful tradition! I love the photo of all your family under the ‘stars’ having your meal. And something tells me that you all had a hand in putting it together! Thank you for sharing a beautiful evening!
I always love your family traditions. Thanks for everything you share on your blog. I have always appreciated it. Merry Christmas to you and your good family! xo
the shepherds lived by the sea so it might not have been salmon but i am sure they ate some kind of fish – it truly is a blessing to be married to this woman – all the family traditions we have at Christmas brings us closer as a family – Thank you Leigh Anne for all you do to bond our family together – Love You Jim ( the home based DAD)
We do the Shepherds’ Supper for our Christmas Eve dinner and my kids love it! We eat on a big blanket my husband brought back from Saudi Arabia that is the kind bedouins would have used. I cook lamb and we have pitas, hummus, grapes, dried apricots, pistachios, and pomegranate seeds and we drink grape juice (when my kids are older we’ll have olives and goat cheese). We eat by candle light and listen to the angels (the MoTab 😉 singing and we always end up reading the Nativity story from the scriptures. This year we’re going to watch some of the great videos on lds.org too. We’re looking forward to it tonight!