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I can totally sympathize with the urge, but I would proceed with caution if you're preparing the holiday meals for other people. Lots of folks like tradition and may feel a little--or more--disappointed without their regular trimmings.

That being said, there's no reason not to add or swap a few elements of the big meal: side dishes, desserts, starters, etc.

One of my favorite holiday foods are tamales. In my family, we don't have them for the big Christmas meal, but we snack on them the days before and for Christmas breakfast. That would be a hell of a project for an ambitious cook looking for a challenge, and they freeze beautifully if you end up with too many.

Unfortunately, I don't have a recipe, but I'm sure Rick Bayless would have a good one (try Authentic Mexican) and no doubt there are a lot of recipes floating around. My favorite is pork, but the fillings can vary widely.

You could also venture into the baking side, so many options there.

My brother and I do something different every year for Thanksgiving. This year we had a three day feast of tamales, roasted poblano tomato soup, masa rafts, chiles rellenos, etc. It was fantastic. Heres a link to my blog and some pictures if you're interested. http://thekitchenscale.typepad.com/the_kitchen_scale/

Also, we just grabbed a rick bayless cookbook and planned our entire menu our of that, it was great.

I always dreamed of an elegant candlelight Christmas Eve dinner of many courses, lasting for many wonderful hours with friends and family. The definitive word is elegant. Perhaps singing carols around the piano after dessert, sipping our cognac laced eggnog. Christmas Day would be relaxing and playing with the kids and new toys and relaxed dining. Not a day of cooking, and cooking, and doing dishes and doing dishes.

Never happened. Relatives arrived all day. We always went to church on Christmas Eve (had to get the children all dressed up), Santa always visited for a bit first (miracle of miracles, he brought them new Christmas clothes!!!), then tons of things to do, like making up couches and cots for visiting grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts & uncles, an occasional friend, finish wrapping presents, fill stockings, prepare some things for Christmas breakfast and dinner and fall into bed exhausted, knowing the children would awaken much earlier than usual. The dream was never fulfilled, but the memories are truly more beautiful. I'm now a grandmother and tradition is still alive and well - ,my kids want it that way. Maybe that was best for us. It wasn't about the food or gifts. Besides the religious significance, it was about the magic of children and love of family. I get it even more as a Grandma. than as a young busy Mommy.

Got a bit off topic reminiscing. Depending on the number of mouths to feed, we did vary the menu, but with pretty traditional holiday fare, prime rib, beef tenderloin, ham or an occasional turkey with traditional and untraditional side dishes.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be memorable for all your loved ones. Perhaps you could discuss it with them if you think they might not be adventuresome?

One of my daughters only eats raw foods, and we take her food along if we're invited to dinner. No one seems to mind.

Merry Christmas.

If you could possibly find a way to incorporate some traditional foods into your menu (to please those who need to see them on the table) I think it's a win/win situation. Call me too traditional but using the holidays to experiment to extremes might cause you more strife than rewards.

Wow, mepolo. Your brother must really like his sweet potatoes done a certain way. That's nuts. :)

I agree with chiff0nade on this one, albeit reluctantly. If your family is used to more traditional fare, then you might want to keep certain main courses and instead experiment a bit with the sides.

However, if your family is anything like mine, then they won't care what you make as long as it tastes good. We never have the same thing each year, and we look forward to that as our family tradition.

It all depends on your family. Are they like mepolo's brother, or are they a bit more open to change?

Another way you can try going non-traditional is doing a meat-free meal. Try to embody the celebration of the holidays with peace and harmony for eveyone, including what's on the table.

I am vegetarian, and I respect totally if you;re not... but it's another way of incorporating maybe traditional tastes that people will find familiar presented in a non-traditional way.

If you want some ideas - http://karmafreecooking.wordpress.com has some ideas for what I did in Thanksgiving. Butternut squash Mac & Cheese, an orange-curry salad, etc.

In the next few weeks, I will include traditional Puerto Rican holiday feasts done in a vegetarian way... like Rice and Pigeon Peas (arroz con gandules), "Pasteles", which are a form of tamale but made with green plantains and wrapped in banana leaves and "Tembleque", a coconut milk custard made without eggs. Maybe that route suits your taste ad your family's too.

I feel your pain. I longed to make something other than green bean casserole-mashed potatoes-stuffing-gravy-corn pudding blah blah BLAH for Thanksgiving but am surrounded by traditionalists who would surely mutiny if I strayed.

I won't back down for Christmas, though. I want to find some new recipes for sides and treats instead of the same ol' same 'ol. Wish me luck!

I have done a lot of different things for Christmas. (Two turkey dinners in a month is one too many). Try a stuffed crown roast of pork--very elegant. Another obvious and big favorite is prime rib and yorkshire pudding. But for the past ten years or so we have been stuck on Goose. It just feels so traditional! In our house we also have a traditional meal of cassoulet on Christmas eve--it takes a long time to cook and will be patiently waiting for last minute shopping, church, and caroling to finish.

I've told the story many times of the year my mother was terminally ill, couldn't eat, although my stepfather needed to be fed, and I just couldn't face the traditional meal. So I did a menu from Paul Prudhomme with dirty rice, spicy potato salad, wonnnnnderful sweet potatoes and a pork roast. Adolescent daughter was hysterical, wouldn't come to the table. Once we got through the meal, sans daughter, went to mom's and brought stepdad food and stayed a while. We hadn't left the condo complex when daughter piped up from back seat, "Let's go home and eat leftovers!"

It sounds like a swell idea.

Once I prepared an Italian Passover meal and it worked out well. I think you need to pick one cuisine though and stick to it, rather than having a hodgepodge of cultures.

Good Luck and keep us posted as to your menu! I love to hear about unique holiday menus.