My First Vegan Christmas

On creating alternative festive traditions.

Christmas time centres a lot around food and drink. There are so many traditions involving turkey, honey roasted carrots, sausage meat stuffing, Yorkshire puds, pigs in blankets, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, chocolate, cheese, mulled wine, biscuits, hot chocolate, eggnog and best of all, mince pies. I love a good ol’ mince pie. But this year is going to be a little bit different. For me, anyway.

Nearly a year ago I decided to join in with Veganuary. There were many reasons as to why, but mainly ethical and environmental. In preparation, during the week before the 1st January, when this would start, I feasted on several helpings of leftover Christmas sweets and treats, chocolate and cheese, Christmas pudding and alcohol; anything I might miss during my month of predicted starvation and cravings.

To my surprise I didn’t starve! But I definitely craved things like Cathedral City extra strong cheddar cheese and Cadbury’s dairy milk. I admit, I cheated a few times. I had a little nibble here and there and sometimes resorted to vegetarianism instead whilst eating out with friends. I stuck with it though past January, and will be celebrating my first Vegan Anniversary in a few weeks.

Yes, that is a thing.

Because I said so.

This Christmas will be my first as a vegan. I panicked when I originally thought about it, wondering what on earth I was going to have for Christmas dinner — arguably the most important meal of the year. Really, I couldn’t eat any of the traditional foods and drinks I listed above. Even most wines and ciders contain animal products. So what makes up a traditional vegan Christmas dinner? Is there even such a thing?

There isn’t. Although Google tells me otherwise. Because tradition is whatever you want it to be. You can start your own tradition any time, any year, so this year I’m going to start mine.

Instead of turkey, I’m going to steal a recipe I enjoyed from a pub lunch I had not long ago. It was a sweet potato and apricot chutney tart, with a nut crumble topping. It was honestly one of the most divine things I have ever tasted, vegan or not. I’ve never even attempted to make it before, so I don’t know how well it will turn out, but I promise I’ll be bragging about it either way on my instagram story.

I will also be roasting my own potatoes, separate from the goose fat ones the rest of the family will be eating. Alongside these in the oven will be maple covered carrots, mixed in with a few sprouts and chopped walnuts. I will easily opt for sage and onion stuffing and may even attempt to make my own Yorkshire puds. If they turn out flat, who cares? I’ll just pile more broccoli onto my plate. (I actually love broccoli.)

The only concern I do have about this is, oven space. As everyone household cooking Christmas dinner knows, space is already limited on Christmas Day from very early in the morning. This means I will have to prepare and pre-cook most of my own feast on Christmas Eve. A small price to pay to ensure I have a meal at all on the big day. I’m sure this will work out well after a few glasses of mulled wine.

However, Christmas is about more than just the food. Another problem I seem to have encountered is gift buying for my family. They are all non-vegans and so will happily eat chocolate and drink any wine they receive. But, I cannot buy them these things. Even though they may ask for a leather wallet, I can’t buy it for them. Although they may love candles and it would be the perfect stocking filler, I would have to do my research first to make sure I am getting them a vegan one.

It doesn’t matter if the recipient is vegan or not because, if I buy a non-vegan product, I am still contributing to the use of animal products, even if I am not the one to use or consume it. And so, this would go against my lifestyle choice.

Another dilemma in this is what I should do if someone accidentally buys me a present that they didn’t realise was not vegan. What if they get me alcohol that isn’t vegan-friendly, or buy me make up that isn’t even cruelty free? Do I smile and take it without comment, or do I tell them I simply cannot accept it? Or even, do I take it, don’t use it and then re-gift it next year? Or is that poor form also?

To be honest, it is probably something that should be mentioned in advance; a polite reminder to check the label or research the item before they buy it. But this is my first vegan Christmas, so if my sister has knitted me a scarf with 100% Peruvian wool, I’m probably still going to wear it.

I’m still learning.

Being vegan at Christmas has, so far, not actually been as hard as I expected. Most people I meet tend to believe that a plant based diet is a difficult one to follow on a day-to-day basis. And it was years ago. But now with the steady rise of people turning away from animal-based products, there is a wider variety of vegan versions of foods we’re so used to eating, that is really is not hard at all. This is called vegan consumerism, but we can get into that in another article.

So, despite Christmas cake traditionally containing suet and mince pies usually made with diary, I won’t have to miss out on these as there are now so many vegan-friendly recipes and alternatives for almost anything. We are literally spoilt for choice.

Supermarkets are even selling vegan Christmas sandwiches, which are some of the tastiest things I have EVER put in my mouth. I highly recommend M&S’s The Nutcracker or their No Turkey Feast sandwich (they should really change the name though, because I don’t want to think about turkey whilst I’m eating). This is actually available all year round. Waitrose have their own version of the No Turkey Feast, but it’s just not up to the same standard. They’re just too shy with the cranberry sauce. They do have an interesting vegan version of smoked salmon and cream cheese, which involves smoked slices of carrot instead. But I don’t think I’ll be paying £3 again for that.

Coffee shops are also getting there with their non-dairy alternatives of festive classics. Although not a Christmas drink, I did enjoy several mugs of Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte. I had never tried one before this year, and as soon as I had one, I’d had about 20. I’m wishing they sold them all year round, because now I’m trying to find the perfect recipe to make my own at home. I am yet to succeed.

I’m far from the perfect vegan. Just the other day I ate a fruit and nut bar and didn’t realise until after it had honey in it. I still consider myself a newbie. But I’m learning.

One thing is for sure; on my first Vegan Christmas, I will not be staring longingly at the turkey or craving pigs in blankets. I won’t be jealous of my family for their slices of Yule log, or custard topped Christmas pudding. I’m not going to feel left out because I can’t have a chocolate from the Quality Street tin or drink a glass of eggnog in the evening on Christmas eve. Because, this lifestyle is a choice and, to be honest, I think my first vegan Christmas is going to be the tastiest Christmas yet.

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