Is Gen Z changing Christmas food?
 Have you already had a roast turkey dinner, or have multiple turkey dinners booked in? Do you have a countdown to the first mince pie of the season? Do you make two Christmas puddings for yourself? Some festive foods are anchors of the season, highlights of our year, unmissable. However, according to recent surveys, some traditional Christmas foods are being cast aside by the younger generation, putting the Christmas dinner as we know it at risk of going the way of sugarplums and the sack-posset. What might we see at the festive feast in the future and what could be resigned to the history books? Going down: Christmas pudding For many Brits, Christmas dinner would not be complete without a flaming Christmas pudding, with a generous helping of brandy butter or brandy sauce to finish it off. Sales of the pud reportedly starting dropping off in 2020. Now, only 28 percent of people are planning to tuck into a traditional pud on Christmas Day, down from 44 percent last year, according to the 2021 Tesco Christmas trends report. That sinks to just 8 percent of those aged 18 to 34 years old. The younger generations reportedly would rather have chocolate desserts, cheesecake and ice cream instead of the traditional dessert. Christmas trends in the supermarkets favour alternative flavour combinations such as chocolate orange and salted caramel, crowding out the traditional pudding. Our tip: Who stops at one dessert at Christmas? Mary Berry, the queen of Christmas desserts, has the traditional Christmas pudding and a chocolate steamed pudding on the table. Our chocolate Christmas fridge cake looks like a traditional pudding, but will please the young at heart. Going down: Brussels sprouts The sprout’s position as a festive staple could be at risk, with the vegetable’s popularity reportedly slipping with each generation asked. Only 26 percent of 18 to 24 year-olds said they like Brussels sprouts. There’s also been an 11 percent rise in 18 to 34 year-olds claiming to hate the vegetable since last year. For the first time in Tesco’s reporting, more people in this age group hate sprouts than love them. Nevertheless, 61 percent of all people asked still said they were an essential part of the Christmas dinner plate. Older generations are keeping sprouts in business with 65 percent of over-75s declaring their love for them. So maybe the rumours of the sprout's demise are slightly premature. Our tip: If you think you dislike sprouts, you may want to try roasted sprouts with parmesan, creamy Brussels sprouts or cook sprouts with pancetta. If these recipes don't persuade you, have you tried thinking of them as tiny space cabbages? Going up: Christmas brunch Brunch has taken Britain by storm, even in 2017 more than half of UK adults had brunch at least once a month. So it’s not so surprising that festive brunches are gaining popularity among people aged 18 to 34. Almost a fifth (19 percent) of this age group reported they would replace their traditional Christmas lunch in favour of a Christmas brunch! Our tip: If someone in your house thinks breakfast is the most important meal of the day, make it special with waffles or French toast with plenty of fruit or even ice cream. Or appease them with a cinnamon bun. If you fancy peaking early and avoiding the whole Christmas dinner, then go for a very filling brunch of egg, ham and hollandaise pancakes. Going down: Festive booze Not everyone drinks at Christmas, but for some people the festive season isn't complete without mulled wine, mulled cider, Irish cream liqueur or Bucks fizz. But this year, almost a quarter of UK adults are set to opt for no or low-alcohol drinks on Christmas day. Some cities are more up for this than others. Brighton (40 percent), Norwich (40 percent) and Cardiff (35 percent) are pioneering a low-alcohol Christmas day. Our tip: The range of non-alcoholic cordials, spirits, wines and beers is growing at a phenomenal rate, and it's not difficult to find a range of drinks for guests who aren't drinking. For a homemade hot brew that makes your home smell particularly festive, chai masala is a great choice. If you want a special way to start the morning, a Christmas smoothie with clementine and spice will do the job. Our top non-alcoholic cocktail is a virgin mojito that's very drinkable. Going up: Cheese, but not as you know it There’s always room for cheese. A whopping 71 percent of the nation say they’re going to tuck into a cheese board on Christmas Day. Cheddar (52 percent), brie (36 percent) and Stilton (24 percent) are the UK's favourite Christmas cheeses on the whole, but a younger generation are more likely to opt for halloumi on Christmas Day, according to the research. Halloumi’s new position as a festive staple saw sales soar by 33 percent in the five weeks leading up to Christmas in 2020, according to Tesco. Our tip: No, cold halloumi isn't going to appearing on the Christmas cheeseboard, but it does have a place in the snack panopoly. Halloumi skewers make a delicious party food and you can bejewel chunky halloumi fries with pomegranate seeds for the sparkly festive treatment. For the younger vegan crowd, Gaz Oakley's vegan cream "cheese" beetroot tart is really tasty and great for sharing. Holding steady: turkey When it comes to the centrepiece, roast turkey is still on top, as 68 percent of UK adults plan to tuck into a turkey roast on Christmas Day. Whether it's a turkey crown or a rolled turkey breast, the big bird isn't going anywhere. But it may have company. In a 2021 YouGov survey, only 30% of respondents said that it was important to have turkey for Christmas dinner, and only 18% said they would be upset if they could not have a turkey. While Tesco's Christmas survey reports over a quarter of respondents (27 percent) saying they will also be catering for vegan and vegetarian guests this Christmas. While supermarkets have been releasing plenty of faux meat gammon and turkey products, we have easy, homemade vegan Christmas recipes and vegetarian Christmas recipes that everyone will want to share. Our tip: If you're looking to put on a spread to please everyone, you'll want to make sure you have put thought and care into choosing your veggie and vegan dishes. A nut roast is a go-to for many people, but we have stand-out stuffed butternut squash, mushroom Wellington and vegetarian pie recipes too. Going up: Pigs in blankets The popularity of pigs in blankets continues to soar and almost a quarter of 25 to 34 year-olds reckon they will eat more than ten pigs in blankets over the Christmas season! Two-thirds of UK adults surveyed said pigs in blankets are their all-time favourite trimming, although roast potatoes take the top spot for the most essential side. Our tip: Clearly you can never make too many, because they always come in handy for sandwiches on Boxing Day. Wrap and freeze the pigs ahead and save time on the big day. Make sure no-one misses out on the fun with our vegetarian pigs in blankets recipe that wraps veggie sausages in miso-maple parsnips. Going up: Roast potatoes Roast potatoes are the most important component of a Christmas dinner, according to both YouGov and ASDA surveys. Almost half the population (47%) said would be distraught if they couldn’t have these staples at their festive feast, but luckily the UK isn’t short a potato or two! Our tip: TikTok Potato Queen Poppy O'Toole is here to teach you how to make the best roast potatoes this Christmas. *Unless otherwise stated, statistics are from the Tesco Christmas Report 2021, surveyed by Opinium.