Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Themed Dinner

This week, we watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer while enjoying a special dinner themed to the film!

When I think of a Christmas classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer always comes to mind.  Reflecting on my earliest Christmas memories, I remember being so excited to pop in my recorded Rudolph VHS tape and watch the movie.  Yes, you read that right!  My childhood go-to Christmas movie was recorded straight from TV onto VHS, with Christmas commercials and all.  And in all fairness, those commercials were some of my favorite parts!

Fueled by nostalgia, I decided this was the year I would prepare a Rudolph themed dinner for the kids to enjoy.  Well, let’s be honest, for me to enjoy too!  I wanted our Rudolph dinner to not just be a fun family night, but a great memory that the kids can look back on like I did.  And maybe, someday, they will pass the tradition down to their own kids.  Oh my gosh WHY do I get so sentimental at Christmastime?!

To create our Rudolph dinner menu, I took inspiration from the many characters Rudolph encounters on his adventures.

I also created printable food labels you can download by clicking the link below.  These printables can be cut and folded to stand freely, or (for a more festive look) you can use candy canes as card holders!

Sam the Snowman Cheeseball

If you have been following this blog, then you know I’m a sucker for a good cheeseball.  And the more artistic I can make it – the better!  I’ve seen a lot of adorable snowman cheeseballs on Pinterest and decided I would try to make one that looks like Sam the Snowman for our Rudolph dinner. To make the cheeseball, I used a recipe from Together as a Family. 

In Rudolph, Sam the Snowman sports a distinguished white moustache and goatee, dapper green vest, and fancy bowler cap.  To achieve the same appearance, I decided to use sliced Swiss cheese for his facial hair, and small pieces of black olive for his eyes.  His bowler hat was also made with strategically stacked olives, and his vest was made with green onion.

I was pretty happy with how our cheeseball captured Sam’s likeness!  Plus, it was a great snack to enjoy during the movie.

Santa Hats

Our healthy-ish menu item was inspired by Santa Claus himself and his signature hat.

To make our Santa hats, I cut thin slices of banana and coated them with shredded coconut to create a fluffy appearance.  Once the bananas were ready, I topped them off with strawberries and mini marshmallows. 

And there you have it – Santa hats!  These were super simple to make, and the kids thought they were fun.

Bumble’s Christmas Tree

The poor, toothless, Abominable Snowman.  By the end of the film, the formerly vicious beast finds a job in the North Pole by using his height to place a gold star atop the Christmas tree.

To incorporate Bumble on our Rudolph dinner menu, I decided to make a pinwheel Christmas tree topped with his very own star topper.

I used a recipe from Recipe Girl to make our pinwheels. This is one of my go-to pinwheel recipes during the holidays because it features great festive flavors.

Once the pinwheels were ready, I stacked them in a tree shape.  Then, I added tomatoes as ornaments and topped the tree with a star made from cheese. 

Sleigh Pulling Sliders 

I recruited my husband to help with this project.  He usually makes large batches of sliders for my daughter’s birthday party, and I figured they would make the perfect entrée for our Rudolph dinner. 

To make our sliders look like Santa’s team of reindeer, I made eyes from cheese and black olives as well as antlers from pretzels.  Rudolph’s red nose was made with tomato, while the other reindeer donned black olive noses.

I absolutely love how these turned out.  And I gotta give props to my husband because they tasted great!

Silver and Gold

One of my favorite songs in the film is Silver and Gold, so I decided to represent it on our menu with silver and gold-wrapped Hershey’s Nuggets. 

It may not have been the silver and gold Yukon Cornelius was seeking, but it was a great addition to our Rudolph dinner, nonetheless!

Rudolph Cookies

And finally, for dessert I made Rudolph gingerbread cookies.  The recipe I used for these cookies comes from Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen.  This is the same recipe I used for our Nightmare Before Christmas reindeer skeleton cookies because it is that good.  Without a doubt, this is my go-to gingerbread recipe moving forward.

I used a little bit of icing and red mini M&Ms to decorate the cookies like Rudolph.  The cookies turned out great, and the kids were big fans.  They were the perfect treat to cap off our Rudolph themed dinner.

I hope you enjoyed our Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer dinner!  This was an especially fun movie night with the family, and a great way to kick off the Christmas season.

What holiday themed dinner should we do next?  Let me know in the comments!

Looking for other Christmas themed dinners?  Check out our Home Alone Dinner HERE and our How the Grinch Stole Christmas Dinner HERE!

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