You’ve been working overtime to ensure your family experiences the joy and magic of the holiday season: buying and wrapping gifts, making food to share with family and friends, keeping up with your family’s holiday traditions, making new ones. Christmas morning is the joyous culmination of all these efforts. It’s when you see the fruits of your hard work in your children’s eyes as they open their gifts.
In years past, you may have struggled to be present on Christmas morning because you were downright exhausted, feeding the baby, or making breakfast for your toddlers.
This year, let’s plan ahead so that you can spend time with your family, and not in the kitchen.
5 Easy Make-Ahead Breakfasts for Christmas Morning:
1. Monkey Bread
This is my family’s favorite for any holiday breakfast throughout the year. It’s super easy to make, super yummy, and 100 percent kid-approved. I don’t know where the recipe originates, but I received it from my mother-in-law years ago and have since tweaked it to be more type 1 diabetes-friendly:
- 20 frozen bread rolls (I like Rhodes yeast dinner rolls best)
- ¾ cup of Splenda brown sugar (or 1 cup regular brown sugar)
- 1 package of instant vanilla or cheesecake pudding (I use sugar-free)
- 2 Tbs. cinnamon
- 1 stick of butter, melted
Grease a bundt pan and place the frozen rolls in it. Mix together brown sugar, pudding mix, and cinnamon in a separate bowl, then sprinkle on top of the frozen rolls. Pour the melted butter over the rolls and spice mixture, then cover with a damp cloth. Leave at room temperature overnight or for at least 8 hours. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. To serve, turn it upside down on your favorite festive serving platter.
2. Breakfast Casserole
A good breakfast casserole is the perfect way to start a holiday morning. Our favorite is this Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole by Lynn at Fresh April Flours. You make it the day before and can customize it to what your family likes to eat. Plus, the leftovers (if you’re lucky enough to have any) are just as yummy.
3. Baked French Toast
Buddy the Elf likes his maple syrup over spaghetti, but you know your family would rather have it smothering delicious french toast. This French Toast Casserole recipe from Bon Appetit is super easy and equally delicious. If you’re looking for an even more decadent French toast on Christmas morning, check out Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond’s) Cinnamon French Toast.
4. Egg Cups
My family loves eggs, but scrambled eggs on Christmas morning just don’t exude that holiday feeling. Enter egg cups! They are completely customizable, and your kids will love that they are muffin sized. Plus, when served with monkey bread or your french toast casserole, you can have confidence that your kids won’t be asking for a snack an hour into gift opening. Check out this delicious egg cup recipe from Tasty!
5. Blueberry Muffins
No matter your Christmas morning breakfast tradition, there’s always a place for blueberry muffins. As an added bonus, you can freeze the leftover muffins for an easy and yummy breakfast addition to ring in the new year. Try your hand at making the best blueberry muffins using this recipe from The New York Times. Or for a little twist on the classic blueberry muffin, check out this highly rated recipe from AllRecipes.
Hopefully, you can give yourself the gift of being present this Christmas morning with these make-ahead breakfast ideas. Who knows, maybe you’ll create a new family tradition. The best part? These recipes are the gifts that keep on giving for other holidays throughout the season and special occasions in the year ahead.
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