The Shepherd's Dinner

This is my Portuguese Nativity set.

One of our family Christmas traditions is to have a Shepherd's Dinner. I love it because it's so simple to pull off, yet it still feels special.

The purpose of the dinner is to think of what it must have been like to be one of the shepherds who first visited the baby Jesus. We usually have our dinner sitting on the floor picnic-style in front of a fire in the fireplace with the lights turned low. The little kids like to wear their bathrobes.

Before we did everything gluten-free, we served pita bread. Now we serve either Progresso Lentil soup or lentil casserole (click the link for a recipe like mine) with dried fruits, nuts, and maybe a salad. Depending how brave I feel, we may have grape juice. This year, it'll probably be water.

After we eat, we read the Christmas story from Luke. The little kids usually like to act out the story, and sometimes we sing a few carols, too.

Do you have a special holiday tradition?