yes, i am going the route of retailers lol... skipping thanksgiving to ask a christmas question

ok, it's official!
SO's kids will be visiting us for the christmas break. i'm so excited AND NERVOUS. they will be with us for 22 days.

i want to make this as wonderful of a time as i can

i've already started using my coupons to stockpile lots and lots of food. there will be 5 kids in the house. four are boys and they all range in ages from 7 to 18.

a little background:
SO is mexican and a big traditional item for christmas it tamales. i've never made them. i'll be buying them from a vendor at the local farmers' market.

ok, so i have the tamales covered...

my questions are:
* what would be a great, kid-friendly christmas morning breakfast?

* how do i learn to make so much more food, and learn quickly?

* what other foods are easy to make, can be easily multiplied to feed a small army, and would be enjoyed by kids?

one i do have covered is home-made pizzas. i'll be making pizza dough, this weekend and popping it in the freezer for when the kids are here.

tia

Re: yes, i am going the route of retailers lol... skipping thanksgiving to ask a christmas question

what would be a great, kid-friendly christmas morning breakfast?
French Toast Cassarole - prepared the night before and baked while opening presents christmas morning


* what other foods are easy to make, can be easily multiplied to feed a small army, and would be enjoyed by kids?
Chili
Macaroni & Meat Sauce
Tacos, Burritos, enchilata's
Macaroni & Cheese
Chicken Cutets
Eggplant Parmigiana
Lasagna
Sausage & Peppers on Italian Heroes
Pot Roast w/ Noodles
Meatloaf
Soups (and grilled cheese) - so fun! You can use different breads and cheeses

Re: yes, i am going the route of retailers lol... skipping thanksgiving to ask a christmas question

I would def go the route of breakfast casseroles, especially for a large number of people. This way you could prep them the night before and just pop them in the oven Christmas morning. Everyone gets to eat a nice hot breakfast and you don't have to worrying about the timing of things or standing over a stove frying up bacon all morning, kwim.

You could make a french toast one and a sausage and egg one. (or maybe even use chorizo, which I've never used and apologize if its not Mexican )

I don't know where they're from, but there's nothing like a NY Bagel...you could also have that out as well.

I think the homemade pizzas are a great idea....again, the whole NY pizza dough can't be beat. You can even purchase a ball of dough from your favorite pizzaria for a fraction of the cost and let them make their own mini pizzas

Baked ziti is always a crowd pleaser and again, inexpensive and easy to make for a large group. You could pick up a bag of meatballs from costco and have them on the side and then make meatball heros with the leftovers later in the week.

Costco also has a bag of boneless, skinless chicken tenders that you could do anything with....buffalo, bbq, pineapple etc. Throw on a big pot of rice and you're good to go.

Have fun

Re: yes, i am going the route of retailers lol... skipping thanksgiving to ask a christmas question

awesome!

these are some good ideas!!!

btw, chorizo is definitely a huge mexican hit... love that stuff!!

keep the ideas coming, please