Twelve Days of Christmas Themed Recipes (2024)

The Twelve Days of Christmas is an English Christmas carol, published in 1780. Thought to be of French origin, it features a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas, starting on Christmas Day and ending on January 5. The Twelve Days of Christmas Themed Recipes each borrow from some aspect of the specific day, with a bit of poetic license for some!

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The Twelve Days of Christmas was first published without any music. It wasn’t until 1909 that the familiar tune was added in an arrangement by English composer Frederic Austin. In that arrangement, each verse is built on top of the previous verses.

Day 1. Partridge in a Pear Tree: Pear Tart with Goat Cheese, Rosemary & Honey – Home and Plate

Goat cheese, rosemary and honey are the stars on this pear tart. This simple fall dessert is delicious and can be on your table in 30 minutes.

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Day 2. Two Turtle Doves: Chocolate Turtle Cake with Caramel Pecans and Chocolate Ganache– Wyldflour

This chocolate turtle cake has two layers of moist, fudgey chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, caramel sauce, and chopped pecans in the middle. Then the turtle cake is covered with a thin layer of chocolate buttercream and scraped for a naked effect. Finally, a thick layer of rich chocolate ganacheand sprinkles of extra pecans. Chocolate Overload. Chocolate Decadence. Caramel Pecan Turtle Goodness. There is no perfect name that embodies all the flavors of this chocolate turtle cake.

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Day 3. Three French Hens: Cornish Game Hens with Cranberry Stuffing – Grits and Pinecones

Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Cranberry Stuffing is a delicious, elegant, and inexpensive main course for your Christmas dinner or a special dinner party!

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Day 4. Four Calling Birds: Chicken au Champagne – Cooking with Curls

Calling all Birds with this Chicken au Champagne. The flavors are absolutely amazing. I am not a Champagne lover, I actually can’t stand the taste of it.However, when combined with chicken, and tarragon,il est magnifique!

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Day 5. Five Golden Rings: Baked Apple Cider Donuts – Veggie Inspired

Baked Apple Cider Donuts – Golden Rings of soft, fluffy, moist baked donuts with all the flavors of fall. Dairy free, egg free, and oil free!! Trust me, you are going to love these!

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Day 6. Six Geese a Laying: Easy Potato Salad with Eggs – Melanie Cooks

This easy potato salad with eggs is the best potato salad recipe ever! Once you try this amazing recipe, you’ll never have potato salad any other way! Secret ingredient is revealed below!

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Day 7. Seven Swans a Swimming: Lemon Cream Cheese Bundt Cake – Pudge Factor

Brighten your holiday season with this rich and moist Lemon Cream Cheese Bundt Cake made with Swans Down cake flour. It feels like springtime, and tastes amazing under a layer of lemon glaze.

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Day 8. Eight Maids a Milking: Frozen S’Mores Hot Chocolate – A Turtle’s Life for Me

Homemade hot chocolate with frothy milk has to be one of the most decadent beverages out there, but this recipe for frozen s’mores hot chocolate just kicked it up several notches!

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Day 9. Nine Ladies Dancing: No Bake Black Forest Tiramisu – Food Meanderings

I love tiramisu with ladyfingers and black forest anything so I created this easyno bake dessert. Quick and delicious, it is a combination of tiramisu and my family’s favourite black forest trifle.

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Day 10. Ten Lords a Leaping: Rosemary French 75 – Nomageddon

You’ll definitely want a Rosemary French 75 with the bubbles leaping out of the glass? The classic champagne co*cktail made with London Dry Gin, Brut Champagne, and Rosemary Simple Syrup.

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Day 11. Eleven Pipers Piping: Meringues with Marmalade and Cream – Little Sunny Kitchen

Sweet piped meringues filled with fresh clotted cream, orange marmalade and dark chocolate…

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Day 12: Twelve Drummers Drumming: Sweet Cherry Chicken Lollipops – Rum Smoked – BBQ Bastard

Chicken lollipops (a.k.a. drumsticks) are trending in the BBQ scene for a while now. They look incredible and the technique used for these “Sweet cherry chicken lollipops” is leading to a juicy tasteful and well balanced result.

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Are you drooling yet? Isn’t this an amazing array of Twelve Days of Christmas Themed Recipes?

Leave me a comment and let me know which one of these recipes is your favorite or which one you plan to try first. Even better,leave me a link to your favorite Christmas recipe!

I hope you have a wonderful Holiday season!

Twelve Days of Christmas Themed Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What should be eaten in each of the 12 days of Christmas? ›

of Christmas it brings good luck for the year ahead.

What is the 12th thing in 12 days of Christmas? ›

Each day represents a new gift, starting with 'a partridge in a pear tree' and ending with 'twelve drummers drumming'. It's a traditional English tune dating back to the 1700s, which some historians actually believe to have French origins.

What is a 12 days of Christmas party? ›

The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as the Twelve Days of Christmastide, are the festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity. Christmas Day is the First Day. The Twelve Days are 25 December to 5 January, counting first and last.

How to spend 12 days of Christmas? ›

Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas with Your Family
  1. Play "Name that Christmas Carol." ...
  2. Sing "The 12 Days of Christmas." ...
  3. Open your Christmas gifts throughout the 12 days of Christmas. ...
  4. Look through your Christmas cards together. ...
  5. Set aside a special family day. ...
  6. Host an Epiphany party to celebrate the visit of the magi.

What is the tradition of 12 days of Christmas? ›

What are the 12 days of Christmas? The 12 days of Christmas is the period in Christian theology that marks the span between the birth of Christ and the coming of the Magi, the three wise men. It begins on December 25 (Christmas) and runs through January 6 (the Epiphany, sometimes also called Three Kings' Day).

What is the feast of the 12th day of Christmas? ›

5 January – Twelfth Night

It marked the night before the feast of the Epiphany, the coming of the wise men to visit the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Twelfth Night might have signalled the end of Christmas, but people celebrated it with great feasts, games and plays.

What is the 11th gift in 12 days of Christmas? ›

Day 10: 10 lords a-leaping. Day 11: 11 pipers piping. Day 12: 12 drummers drumming.

What is the 12 course Christmas dinner? ›

A twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper is traditionally prepared to commemorate Jesus' twelve disciples in Central, Northern and Eastern European cultures, especially those that were formerly part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and neighbouring countries.

What is the most eaten meat on Christmas? ›

1. Turkey. Let's admit it, a whole turkey is the best and most traditional meat for Christmas dinners. Originally gracing our plates in the 16th century, popular history tells of King Henry VIII being the first English monarch to have turkey for Christmas.

How many items are in 12 days of Christmas? ›

Your true love has given you a whopping number of 364 gifts over the 12 Days of Christmas. That's almost one gift a day for a whole year! It's only one gift short (2 during a leap year), but with that many gifts, including 42 geese a-swimming, 36 ladies dancing and 12 drummers drumming, who's counting?

How to do a 12 days of Christmas campaign? ›

What is the 12 Days of Christmas marketing strategy? A 12 Days of Christmas marketing strategy is a marketing campaign where you reveal a new deal or piece of content every day for 12 days. Businesses use this strategy to engage their target audience, drive sales, and build brand awareness during the holiday season.

How do you play the 12 Days of Christmas game? ›

To play, deal out twelve cards to each player; the deck consists of 78 cards: one 1, two 2s, and so on up to twelve 12s. By following the lead established by the first player, each player attempts to give away all of her cards before the other players can.

What should be eaten throughout the 12 days of Christmas to ensure good luck in the year ahead? ›

According to tradition, you should eat one mince pie on each of the 12 days of Christmas to bring good luck. It's technically illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas Day in England. In the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas pudding, mince pies and anything to do with gluttony.

What is the main Christmas meal consists of 12 dishes? ›

Why do Poles eat 12 dishes during the Christmas Eve dinner? Tradition calls for 12 traditional courses to be served during the Polish Christmas Eve. This number is a symbol of wealth, the 12 Apostles and a representation of the 12 months of the year. But in the past, dinner consisted of an odd number of dishes.

Which Christmas food is considered good luck to eat one on each of the 12 days of Christmas? ›

Mince Pie Superstition

It was thought lucky to eat one mince pie on each of the twelve days of Christmas (ending with Epiphany, the 6th of January). Alternatively, to refuse one would lead to bad luck.

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