Short answer
A Christmas dinner outdoors works best with a few dishes that cope with the cold and can be heated over the fire. Start with glögg in the pot, bring cold herring and Christmas ham in a cool bag, let Jansson's temptation and meatballs heat up in cast iron and finish with rice pudding, roasted chestnuts and gingerbread biscuits. Prepare most things at home, bring warm sitting pads and blankets, and let the children take care of the glögg, the chestnuts and the candles.
The menu at a glance
| Dish | At home | By the fire | The children can |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glögg and children's glögg | Mix the spices | Heat in a pot | Stir and serve |
| Herring and eggs | All ready | Served cold | Lay the table |
| Smoked Christmas ham | Bake in the oven and smoke | Sliced cold or heated | Arrange the slices |
| Jansson's temptation | Make it in the cast iron pot | Heat with embers on the lid | – |
| Meatballs | Fry until done | Heat in a pan | Turn them in the pan |
| Rice porridge | Cook or prepare | Heat or finish cooking | Hide the almond |
| Roasted chestnuts | Cut a cross | Roast in a pan | Shake the pan |
| Gingerbread biscuits and knäck toffee | Bake and boil | Served as they are | Hand them round |
The more you do at home, the more time is left by the fire.
A Christmas dinner outdoors by the fire is one of the loveliest ways to celebrate Christmas with children. It smells of smoke and glögg, the snow crunches underfoot and the food somehow tastes better when your hands are cold. It doesn't have to be complicated – with the right planning most things are done at home, and by the fire it is all about heating, serving and enjoying.
The trick is to choose dishes that cope with the cold or can be heated in cast iron. Not everything has to be hot: herring, eggs and cold Christmas ham are perfect outdoors. The hot food – glögg, Jansson's temptation, meatballs and rice pudding – is heated over the embers. The table above shows what is done at home and what happens by the fire.
The menu – from glögg to gingerbread biscuits
Glögg as a welcome drink
The first thing you put on the fire is the glögg. It warms your hands while the fire burns down to embers, and the children get their own children's glögg made with cordial. The recipe is in glögg over an open fire.
The cold table
Herring, egg halves, beetroot salad and cold Christmas ham are brought in a cool bag and served as they are. In winter the cold is an advantage – the food stays cold without ice packs. The ham is best if it is smoked and glazed at home a few days before, as in Christmas ham in a smoker box. Serve with mustard and lingonberry jam.
The hot food – in cast iron
- Jansson's temptation is made in the cast iron pot at home, then heated on the embers with embers on the lid for half an hour.
- Meatballs are fried at home and heated in the pan over the fire – the children can turn them. The basics are in meatballs with mashed potatoes and brown gravy.
- Christmas sausage or small sausages are grilled on a stick – the quickest dish for hungry children. Raw Christmas sausage is pre-cooked at home, see Christmas sausage on skewers. More ideas in food on a stick.
There is more about cooking in a pot over the embers in cooking in a pot over the fire.
Dessert and fika
Rice porridge over an open fire is the obvious end to the Christmas meal – cooked at home and heated in the pot, or finished by the fire. Hide an almond in it. Then roasted chestnuts in the pan, gingerbread biscuits and a jar of homemade knäck toffee.
Timetable
- The day before: bake gingerbread biscuits, make knäck toffee, smoke the ham, make the Jansson's temptation in the pot and fry the meatballs.
- At home, on the day: cook the rice pudding, mix the glögg spices, warm the vacuum flasks with hot water and pack.
- By the fire, the first hour: light the fire, put the glögg on and set out the cold table while the fire burns down.
- When there are embers: put the Jansson's temptation on with embers on the lid, heat the meatballs and grill sausages.
- Finally: heat the rice pudding, roast chestnuts and hand round gingerbread biscuits and knäck toffee.
Allow two to three hours at the spot. With small children it is good to eat while it is light – in winter the days are short.
Warmth and light
- Sitting pads and blankets for everyone – the cold comes from below.
- Spare mittens and hats for the children, as they get wet in the snow.
- Lanterns and tealights in jars along the table. Build a snow lantern next to the fire if you can.
- Headlamps when the dark comes.
Light the fire at a designated barbecue spot if there is one, and check the rules for lighting fires outdoors. Also read about fire safety before you set off.
The children's jobs
- Ages 3–5: lay out the plates, hand round gingerbread biscuits and hide the almond in the rice pudding.
- Ages 6–9: stir the glögg, turn the meatballs and shake the chestnut pan – with fire gloves and an adult beside them.
- Age 10 and up: help with the fire, grill sausages and look after the candles.
More ideas for Advent and Christmas are collected in Christmas with kids, and the gear for outdoor cooking is in equipment for fire cooking.
Packing for the Christmas dinner outdoors
Frequently asked questions
What suits a Christmas dinner outdoors?
Dishes that cope with the cold or can be heated over the fire: glögg, herring and Christmas ham brought cold, Jansson's temptation and meatballs heated in cast iron, and rice pudding, chestnuts and gingerbread biscuits for dessert.
How do you keep the food hot outdoors in winter?
Heat the food at home, pack it in pre-warmed vacuum flasks or an insulated box and reheat it in cast iron on the embers. Serve a little at a time and keep the lids on the pots.
How long does a Christmas dinner outdoors take?
Allow two to three hours at the spot, including lighting the fire and waiting for the embers. With small children shorter is better – plan to eat while it is light or during a short spell of dusk.
What do you need to bring?
A cast iron pot or pan with a lid, a grill rack, fire gloves, vacuum flasks, a cool bag for the cold dishes, sitting pads, blankets, headlamps and candles. Bring firewood or check that there is some at the barbecue spot.
Are you allowed to light a fire in winter?
It is usually easier to light a fire in winter, but rules and fire bans still apply. Use designated barbecue spots where they exist and check the rules in the municipality.