French Christmas meals (Le Réveillon) are lavish, featuring rich starters like foie gras, oysters, and smoked salmon, followed by a grand roasted bird (turkey, capon, or goose) often stuffed with chestnuts, and concluding with the iconic Yule log cake, Bûche de Noël, plus a cheese course and Champagne. Regional variations exist, but seafood, poultry, and decadent desserts are central.
Besides the most traditional turkey, there are other main meat dishes that you can find on a Christmas dinner in France. Depending on budget and number of guests, people can cook guinea fowl, duck, chicken, or goose. On smaller tables, you will most likely find capon, quail, or fattened-hen.
The possibilities are endless: beautiful breads, freshly-pressed juices, colourful winter fruit salads, quiches, and eggs in a million and one different ways. Wonderful! Here is one of my favourite Christmas breakfast in France recipes.
13 French Christmas Desserts to Try This Season
The perfect make-ahead drink for Winter entertaining.
If you've ever wandered through a snowy Christmas market in France, you've likely been drawn in by the warm, spicy aroma of Vin Chaud, France's beloved take on mulled wine. Served steaming hot in cups, the French mulled wine is equal parts warming and festive.
Following the feast, many families attend La Messe de Minuit (Midnight Mass). This special church service marks the birth of Jesus and is an important spiritual moment of the holiday season. For many, Midnight Mass completes Christmas Eve before returning home to rest, or in some families, to open gifts.
Of the two, bûche de Noël (known in America as a “yule log cake” and also called a gâteau de Noël or gâteau roulé in France) is the reigning holiday indulgence at French tables.
Five traditional Christmas dishes often include Roast Turkey or Ham, Stuffing, Roast Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, and a festive dessert like Christmas Pudding, Fruitcake, or Trifle, though variations exist globally, with popular sides like Brussels sprouts and gravy also essential.
The "5 to 7 rule" in France, or le cinq à sept, traditionally refers to a secret, after-work rendezvous (5 PM to 7 PM) with a lover for an illicit sexual encounter before returning home to family, but it's also used more broadly for discreet romantic meetings or even just a casual happy hour, though its meaning varies by region, with Québec using it more for social gatherings than affairs.
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Here are 10 Christmas traditions to add to your festive celebrations in France:
The local superstitions require the number to always be even. A friend of ours from the Czech Republic informed us that a similar tradition is practiced there too, but that it is applied only during the Christmas dinner: the table must be set for an even number of guests.
The most popular Christmas desserts include gingerbread cookies, peppermint bark, sugar cookies, yule log cakes, pecan pie, Christmas pudding, trifles, and chocolate peppermint treats, along with newer favorites like cheesecakes, cupcakes, poke cakes, and layered cakes featuring festive flavors like eggnog, cranberry, ...
Christmas main course
It can be meat like turkey, capon, duck, and guinea fowl. Meat is often served stuffed with foie gras or mushrooms or some other stuffing. Duck is a very traditional and popular dish for Christmas because there are various ways to cook it, and it is usually not very difficult.
Few desserts capture the magic of French Christmas as vividly as the Bûche de Noël, or Yule Log cake. A symbol of festive cheer, family gatherings, and culinary artistry, this iconic dessert graces tables across France every holiday season.
Kouign-amann (/ˌkwiːn æˈmɑːn/; Breton: [ˌkwiɲ aˈmãn]; pl. kouignoù-amann) is a sweet, round Breton laminated dough pastry, originally made with bread dough, but is also made with laminated viennoiserie dough, containing layers of butter and incorporated sugar, similar in fashion to puff pastry albeit with fewer layers.
10 Most Popular French Cookies for a Delicious Experience
Christmas trees
Like most Westernised countries, the French put their tree up at the beginning of the season, whenever they choose to celebrate – and lay the gifts from Père Noël under the tree.
Réveillon: The French Christmas Feast
It is the main French Christmas Meal and usually starts after the midnight mass, which can be as late as 2 am, but in modern times, families begin at 8 pm till after midnight. They gather for a late-night feast featuring oysters, foie gras, and perfectly roasted meats.
The traditional French dessert for Christmas is of course the Bûche de Noël or Yule Log. The custom is to make a genoise cake, layer on buttercream, then roll it up into a log shape and decorate.
Vin chaud (hot mulled wine) is a favorite this time of year in France. In fact, we have received many requests for the version we offer at our annual holiday market. It's warm, a little spicy, a little sweet, and very festive!
From eggnog and wassail to the Tom and Jerry and poinsettia, these classic Christmas drinks are as inherent to holiday celebrations as decorating the tree and yummy baked treats. The recipes have stood the test of time and are sure to keep your season bright.