I absolutely adore everything about Christmas! From the amazing quality time with family and friends to the daily excitement building with the kids, wrapping presents, and the magic of carols and of course – the FOOD!
As a nutritionist, I’ve shared tips on how I approach the season and how to navigate weaning your baby at Christmas. Today, I’ve rounded up all my best, most practical advice into one bumper guide to help you truly enjoy the festive food fun without the stress.
Before we dive in, please remember this – Christmas is about enjoying time with your little ones. Don’t feel you need to follow every piece of advice perfectly or stick rigidly to a plan. This guide is here to support you, not add extra pressure!
With that reassurance in mind, below is my complete guide to feeding your kids this Christmas. I hope you find it helpful, and most importantly, I hope you have a wonderfully relaxed Christmas!
Maximise family mealtimes
Christmas means food is everywhere, and this is actually an excellent opportunity for all children, whether you have a fussy eater or not!
1. Benefit from eating together – ‘Commensality’
The simple act of eating together as a family is invaluable for little ones. It helps them see and learn about the joy food brings to others. The concepts of conviviality and commensality – essentially, enjoying time together around food – are never stronger than at Christmas time.
Make the most of every opportunity to eat together. Everyone participating in the social aspect of meals can significantly help with food acceptance and food enjoyment.
2. Embrace variety: beyond the treats
Christmas isn’t just about chocolates and crisps! A traditional Christmas dinner offers incredible food variety – roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, stuffing, meat, and yes – sprouts! Fun fact – Raffy has always loved sprouts because we frame them as a special Christmas tradition!
You can offer variety in all your festive meals, and it doesn’t need to be complicated.
- Try sharing boards: I love using sharing platters with veggie sticks, oatcakes, hummus, crackers, cheese, tangerines, and quartered grapes. Allowing children to graze and help themselves reduces mealtime pressure.
- Pressure-free exposure – Buffets and party platters are great because they encourage children to relax around food, enjoy the social setting, and expose them to a wider variety of colours, tastes, and textures.
3. Reduce mealtime pressure & role-modelling
At Christmas, mealtimes can often be more relaxed because everyone is busy and less focused on individual children. This reduction in pressure makes the experience much more pleasant for little ones.
Role-model – Take advantage of grandparents, friends, and extra relatives! They can help demonstrate how to enjoy a balance of foods. Children naturally mimic their loved ones, learning skills and enjoyment from everyone around them.
Weaning your baby: Baby’s first Christmas dinner
If you are lucky enough to be weaning your baby during the festive period, this is a perfect time to introduce new foods and fun family mealtimes.
1. Include baby in the festive meals
Even if your baby isn’t fully weaning yet, try to include your baby at mealtimes so they can participate in the joy. This is a wonderful opportunity to start making special new memories and traditions around meals.
2. Offer baby-friendly festive foods
Don’t be nervous about weaning over Christmas – it’s a fantastic time! Just remember to avoid certain foods for babies under one (including honey and choking hazard foods). Otherwise, there is a plethora of perfect foods available:
- Foods to include: Offer plenty of soft veggies, potatoes, and plain meats.
- Watch the salt: Always keep a close eye on salt levels to ensure your baby isn’t having any added salt in their meals. You can treat them to a Baby’s First Christmas Dinner using safe, mashed, or finger-food portions of the main meal!
Dealing with fussy eaters at Christmas
Christmas strain is the last thing any family needs. If you are struggling with a fussy eater, see Christmas as a time to take the pressure off.
1. Seek support beforehand
If you are currently struggling, carve out time now to read my factsheet on how to cope with fussy eating or take my fussy eating crash course. Focus on implementing key strategies like positive mealtime language and ensuring a relaxed mealtime environment.
2. Make food fun & pressure-free
Christmas is the perfect excuse to make mealtimes extra fun. Let your child help decorate the table with crackers or play Christmas music. Keeping the mood light and chatty helps mealtimes sparkle. There are so many ways to help your child love food without even eating it! Try baking gingerbread biscuits or simple edible gifts together, or potato-stamp stars onto cards. Most importantly, keep food activities fun and pressure free.
Handling sweet foods & treats
Sweet foods and Christmas are inseparable. While no parent should feel guilty about their child having a little more cake or chocolate, it helps to understand the guidance on sugar consumption for babies and children.
The bigger picture
Remember – one or two days of slightly “out-of-whack” eating will not affect overall long-term patterns. It’s the consistent, day-to-day eating habits at mealtimes that truly count.
My personal approach
Ideally, for babies who aren’t aware of sweets, there’s no need to introduce them. Once they are familiar, I believe it’s best not to overtly restrict them, as this can make those foods even more desirable (leading to over-eating later). I treat sweet foods the same as any other food:
- No fuss – I don’t make a big deal or over-emphasise anything negative or positive about sweets.
- Balance – I role-model enjoying a balance myself and offer a variety of lower-sugar options (crackers, cheese, tangerines, fresh fruits) alongside the treats.
- Timing – I stick to specific eating occasions (like lunch, pudding, or designated snack times) for high-sugar options, avoiding all-day grazing.
- Familiarity – Continue to offer familiar foods alongside any new foods – even if that means adding something ‘rogue’ along with the Christmas dinner – it can make all the difference to your child’s experience at the table
- Autonomy – I let my children decide how much they eat at those sittings, without pressure or coercion.
Dealing with nursery/school sweets
It can be frustrating when nurseries or schools offer puddings or extra sweets you don’t agree with. Christmas is definitely a time when extra chocolate coins appear! If you need advice on navigating this, you can read my dedicated blog on why your child’s nursery offers puddings.
Grandparents, friends, and family: managing mealtime input
This is the ultimate holiday hot potato! Christmas is when friends and family often help out with feeding, and differing opinions can make mealtimes tricky – from meal timing to food language.
Most comments are well-intentioned, but if you want to tackle this delicate subject discreetly, my blog on grandparents and relatives feeding your children offers practical solutions.
I highly recommend having a pre-planned conversation to set expectations:
- “We’re working on increasing her food intakes, but we’re choosing not to worry about what she does or doesn’t eat on Christmas day. We hope you can accept that.”
- “We’ve been advised not to overly focus on his food choices right now; we’d really appreciate it if you could help us do the same.”
- “We know Sarah eats differently than Xander, and we’d prefer it if comments about how the kids are eating are off the table for the next few days, if that’s okay?”
You can also use simple, pre-planned exit lines to move on from unsolicited advice without family drama:
- “I can see your point of view, but that doesn’t work for us. Thank you, though.”
- “I appreciate your thoughts on this. Thank you.”
Family-friendly christmas recipes & toddler food inspiration
I have so many amazing festive recipes on my blog! Be sure to check them out and let me know how you get on.
You can browse a full round-up of all my favourite Christmas recipes for the whole family here.
For more Christmas Baby and Toddler inspiration, why not try:
- Toddler-friendly Mince Pie Recipe
- Christmas Snowballs (a firm family favourite)
- NO added sugar Gingerbread men (or the lower sugar version)
- Figgy Porridge Fingers
- Cranberry and Pistachio Spiced Biscuits
- Simple Baby’s First Christmas Dinner (just strips, sticks, or mashed parts of the main meal!)
So, there you have it – my complete Christmas feeding survival guide. Remember the greatest tip of all: don’t worry about trying to make it all perfect. The very best thing about Christmas is the time you get to spend with each other. Enjoy this special season and have a wonderful time with your little ones!
