Christmas dinner is all about getting together with family and friends to enjoy a special feast. The centrepiece of this meal is always the Turkey. If you, or one of your guests, are Vegan or Vegetarian, what do you have instead? With a little bit of effort and forward planning, everyone can sit down to an enjoyable meal, whatever their eating philosophy may be.

It's very important to remember the key differences between Vegetarianism and Veganism. A vegetarian does not eat meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish and any other product that involves killing any kind of living things. They also tend to eat free range dairy products. A Vegan goes that step further; they also don't eat any kind of dairy product, milk, eggs or honey.

With this basic information it becomes a lot easier to feed these people and make them feel welcome. There are many dishes you can make for them. The main thing to remember is that when you go shopping for the ingredients, read the labels. If you have a starter, keep to something simple for them, such as fruit. If you make soup, remember that there are bound to be ingredients in there that one, or neither of them, can eat. A ready made, fresh Vegan soup will serve both of them well.

Feeding a vegetarian or Vegan at Christmas time could be as easy as giving them the vegetables. That seems very lazy, and it is. If you have invited this person for Christmas dinner you should at least make them feel as if you have made an effort. There are many dishes you can make for them. Another thing to remember is to keep these meals separate in the kitchen. A mistake a lot of people make it to pour the gravy that everyone else is having over their dinners as well. Your gravy is made from meat stock, so go for specialist gravy granules.

If time just doesn't allow you to make them special dishes, there are some excellent ready made meals available these days. Check with their families what they like and get something that will go with the vegetables, so they still feel as if they are having a proper meal. If you do decide you want to cook something special for each of them, there are dozens of wonderful Christmas recipes online.

Beer and wine must be checked out too. What a lot of people don't realise is that most alcoholic drinks are clarified with animals products to keep them clear. It isn't mentioned on the labels, however, as it isn't an actual ingredient. Check on the shelf labels as shops often disclose this information themselves, or ask a reputable wine merchant for assistance.

Now you have all the information you need to create a successful Christmas dinner for all your guests.

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