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A favorite Christmas tradition at our house is Shepherd’s Night. We enjoy a simple meal like the shepherds may have eaten.
Other favorite Christmas traditions include Christmas Eve Fondue and Breakfast with Santa.
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.
Shepherd’s Night Menu
Our meal consists of a variety of:
- Cheeses
- Meats
- Hummus
- Fruits
- Nuts
- Olives
- Crackers/Breads
Cheeses. Depending on how many people you are feeding, I like to have 3-4 different cheeses for our small group of 4-6. If you are not a cheese expert be sure and ask the person who works in the cheese department for suggestions. Trader Joe’s is one of my favorite places to buy cheese. I am a big fan of Beecher’s Cheddar and always include that as part of our Shepherd’s Dinner Board.
Meat. Prosciutto and salami are two of our favorites but we have also added in salmon some years.
Hummus. I had two different flavors of hummus.
Fruits and Veggies. Include a selection of fresh fruit (oranges, apples, grapes, pomegranate seeds) and dried fruit (apricots, figs, dates etc.) We also like to have carrots and cucumber slices.
Nuts. Use your favorite nuts. I love marcona almonds so alway have those.
Olives. I went to a local grocery store and got a selection of olives but you could also just use regular black olives out of the can.
Crackers/Breads. We had a selection of bread and crackers. We had a baguette, some rosemary flat bread and other crackers including a few gluten free options. Some years we make our own bread using this French bread recipe.
Fig Preserves. This is my favorite. 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!
We are not wine drinkers so we had some sparkling apple juice to add to our dinner.
Turn on the Christmas tree lights, light a fire if you have a fireplace and enjoy a lovely evening thinking about the Shepherds.
Shepherds Night Tradition
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 more tips please be sure and check out my post on How to Put Together a Cheese Board
For other Wilkes family Christmas traditions:
Annual Cookie Baking Day –Christmas Hot Chocolate Bar –Breakfast with Santa –Christmas Minute to Win It Games
Originally posted Dec. 24, 2013
Laura Adams says
Thank you for this idea. My family no longer celebrates Christmas, however we celebrate the Biblical Feasts because of the prophetic significance to the First Coming of Christ (spring feasts) and the Second Coming of Christ (fall feasts). We were looking for something special to do today Nissan 1 (March 26, 2020) to celebrate the most prophetically likely day Jesus was born. The night when the Shepherds stayed awake in the fields of Bethlehem and helped the ewes give birth to the Paschal lambs that would be chosen for that year’s Passover sacrifice in the Temple in Jerusalem. What better way to celebrate the birth of Christ than to have a shepherd’s dinner, under the stars. You did all the hard work for me! Thank you. May the Lord bless you and your lovely family.
Crystal says
What a cool tradition. I like this idea!! Have a Merry Christmas!!
Denise says
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)
Jani Howe says
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!
Valerie A. H. says
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
Jim Wilkes says
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)
Heidi says
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!