Christmas is fast approaching and we will all be turning our attention to some time of work spent with friends and family, gifts and, of course, the traditional Christmas dinner. But why be traditional this year? Instead, why not give your Christmas dinner a theme? And there can be no better theme than an American one!

Why American? Well, it is not so radically different a meal as to the one we enjoy in the UK that it will put off your relatives but it is still different enough to make this year a memorable one! American food is, after all, extremely diverse so you can be as different as you like.

First of all, the traditional mainstay of a UK dinner is turkey, but as Americans have this for Thanksgiving in November, it is usually replaced by a ham, goose or roast beef, so pick one of these instead. Ham is particularly delicious and can be prepared in a number of ways – honey glazed, boiled or baked for example.

If you prefer a goose then that is just fine too and can be served with stuffing while beef is also good and very tasty with horseradish sauce.

If you have guests from a particular area of the States then you could try to cook something up for them. For example, in Virginia they enjoy oysters and ham pie.

On the side are the usual roast vegetables such as carrots, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and broccoli, potatoes – mashed and roasted – and condiments such as mustard and the aforementioned horseradish. However, you can make it more American by using squash, yams and sweet potatoes. All served with a plentiful amount of gravy, of course.

Dessert in the UK is obviously a Christmas cake, Yule log or delicious Christmas pudding and they also enjoy this in the US, but you could also go for pumpkin pie, carrot cake, apple or gooseberry pie or even coconut cake or sweet potato pie if you want the Southern feel.

In addition to the main meal, just like in the UK, American sweets are commonly eaten on and around Christmas Day so stock up on American candy like Hershey\’s chocolate, Reese\’s Peanut Butter Cups and even Twinkies for people to eat when they feel like.

Finally, you will need something to drink. For the adults beer and wine is traditional in the UK and US (champagne to celebrate too of course!), but for the kids you could think about buying Kool Aid, Welch\’s Grape Soda or Minute Maid lemonade.

Adults could also enjoy traditional American root beer like A&W, Mug or Barq\’s. And if you need a pick me up or boost of energy after a heavy meal or a night on the ale then how about some Mountain Dew?

It doesn\’t take much to give your Christmas an American feel and make it one to remember so give it a go.

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of American Soda, importers of American food, American sweets and American drinks.

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of American Soda (http://www.americansoda.co.uk), importers of American food, sweets and drinks into the UK.

Author Bio: Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of American Soda, importers of American food, American sweets and American drinks.

Category: Food and Drinks
Keywords: christmas dinner, american food, american drinks, american sweets