Christmas Food

This is the first year ever that we have done our own Christmas. We've been married 8 years, together for 13. Every single year we've gone home to WI and spent the holiday at my parents house. We always have fun at home but when the girls were born I started wanting to have Christmas at our own home. Last year we weren't going to come home, but then we ended up with a crazy move to OH over the holidays and stayed with my parents yet again.

This is our year to stay home and I am loving every minute of it. My parents won't be coming, which is weird and kind of sad, but my in laws will be here and the girls are excited. I am busily trying to recreate all of the traditions I grew up with for the girls, and add new ones of our own. I am realizing that a lot of our traditions are food based. There are foods that we NEED to have or it just wouldn't be Christmas. Most of those I won't even eat but I still need to have at the table.

Snacks

-raw beef with onions, pepper, and rye bread

-herring and crackers

-summer sausage, assorted sliced cheeses, spreadable cheese, and crackers

-tiny pickles (sweet and dill)

-olives (green and black)

Cookies/Candy

-peanut butter bon bons

-cut outs

-coconut balls

Breakfast

-spinach casserole

-caramel sticky buns

What's on your table every year? And what is with the herring, anybody else have that?