Idea for a Small Kid-friendly Christmas Meal

I don't know how picky they are, will they eat something like meatloaf or shepards pie?

When in doubt for fun and easy meals with no leftovers, have a pancake dinner topped with fresh cut strawberries and blackberries, syrup and bacon and eggs on the side :)

Oh yeah, the Chinese take out is an excellent idea as well.

Get some kind of take out.
Chinese?
Many people do that here in Hawaii.
Order just enough, so no left overs.

5 year olds... probably don't eat much.
I have a 5 year old son, who is picky. But I know he will eat something from whatever we have. And he does. Even if he is picky. He does not eat a ton.
So per your 5 year old, there is no need really, to plan the ENTIRE meal, around the 5 year old.
Just make sure to have a little something, for him that you know he will, eat. They will not starve.
My son likes Chinese noodles.

How about a cold-cut 'buffet' with good bread, cold cuts, cheese slices, apple slices, carrot sticks, celery, olives and pickle, etc? Easy to clean up, not a lot of extras and not much effort to make it, so no worry if a few things get tossed. Plus, if you don't leave the meat or cheese out for long, you can freeze the lunch meat until you come back.

We do taco's for Christmas Eve every year since I can remember. It's a tradition from my side that has followed to my kids. We love it!

Christmas dinner is normally a repeat of Thanksgiving. But this year we are doing prime rib, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, salad, and rolls. You can plan accordingly and only make what you need :).

i love lasagna it is sooo good with garlic bread and you could make a mini one so everyone could have a serving its in expensive.

That's what i'm making fro Christmas dinner

Either get already cooked (just the heat and serve kind) of sausages, or completely cook some regular ones. In a casserole dish, put a layer of chunky applesauce, then the sausages, then another layer of each. Sprinkle a little brown sugar and cinnamon (just a touch) over the top and bake until it's hot. You could also add canned apricots or peaches (just cut them into bite size pieces). This would be good with a chicken/apple sausage or a maple flavored one. You can leave the sausages whole or cut them into bite size slices.

Great question! Our local high end grocery market has a monthly cuisine magazine and they tackled this question with suggesting serving a nicer than usual stuffed 4-cheese stuffed ravioli, topped with tomato basil sauce, and a dash of freshly grated Parmesean Reggiano. To health it up more, you could add chopped asparagus or finely chopped broccoli to the sauce.

For dessert, baked pears served warm with topped with crushed graham crackers, a drizzle of hot caramel spiced with cinnamon and a tiny dollop of real whipped cream peppered with cinnamon.

The thinking with this suggested menu is most kids (short of a gluten issue) love pasta. The tiny bite sized ravioli is easy for the toddler to eat, and if they still use their fingers is great finger food. The sauce can be served or top, on the side, or avoided altogether for the picky crew. You could just top the ravioli with either butter or olive oil and a few shakes of the parmesean and you're good.

For dessert, if the kids don't like fruit, ice cream always works well too. :)

Mac and cheese bites http://weelicious.com/2010/01/21/mac-chicken-cheese-bites/. You make them in muffin tins and they freeze really well. You eat as many as you like and then throw the rest in a bag and freeze them. Even better you have a quick lunch for your kids for later, just pop them in the toaster oven or microwave.

Note: We're vegetarian, so I sub broccoli in for the chicken in the recipe above.