A Tropical Christmas Menu with a Romantic Twist

Our articles may contain affiliate links. For more information, view our policies.

Just when the winter gloom sets in, and the outdoor palette of colors seems to be another variation of gray, I start having fantasies about escaping to a brightly tinted, temperate world. I see myself indulging in a tropical Christmas menu featuring exotic fruits and tongue-teasing spices. I feel the steel drums beat. I can hear the white sand beckon. And, of course, an imaginary fruity, umbrella-topped drink cools my thirst. Then I check the airfare for an island holiday and quickly came back to reality. Christmas in the tropics is just too financially prohibitive for a freelance food writer and culinary instructor. But maybe I could bring the tropics to my home, with the right beach Christmas menu and a plan!

Table of Contents

How to create a tropical getaway at home

I’ve decided to make my own island retreat, with the company of a few friends, right in my Southern California beach home. The colors outdoors may be pallid, but I’m going to create an enchanted tropical glow inside. How can you have a festive island bash? Here are a few of my best suggestions as a chef and party planner to create a hot, hot, hot exotic holiday:

Make a tropical Christmas tree

Instead of a pine holiday tree, opt for several dwarf palm trees. String the trunks with mini white lights and hang red ball ornaments of several sizes for a quirky charm. If you really want to get into the spirit, add some tropical Christmas ornaments to your Christmas palm trees. Then string dozens of colored light strings overhead to represent the bright beach and tropical forest colors.

Easy tropical Christmas ideas

Spin some reggae music, and set a buffet table with vivid linens and lush flowers. Tropical fruits are at the height of the season, so fill a beautiful bowl with pineapple, star fruit, passion fruit, mangoes, and papaya. Palm fronds or banana leaves make a gorgeous display on the tabletop, place platters of food on top of them and you’re an instant designer.

If you’re going to make this a tropical Christmas party, you can send the invitations in tropical Christmas cards to get the vibe going before the first sweet sounds of reggae hit your guests’ ears.

My Caribbean Christmas menu ideas work for two or a crowd

For the menu, start with a jelly jar of rum punch, filled to the brim with ice and topped with the quintessential paper umbrella. This drink can set the tone for an evening on your pretend deserted island if it’s just the two of you. (You may notice that, like most of my recipes, this cocktail recipe is layered with aphrodisiacs.) But this is also an easy cocktail if you want to turn your tropical holiday into a party.

Get good-quality dark rum, like Meyers, and follow this classic West Indies recipe: One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four of weak. You can use lime juice or lemon juice for your sour, simple syrup or grenadine for your sweet, island dark rum as your strong and any type of juice (pineapple, mango, orange) for your weak component. Stir and top it off with a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg, (a noted aphrodisiac), and snap, you’re transported to your favorite white sand beach.

Keep your Christmas menu simple

Use the KISS method for your Christmas menu party food: Keep it simple and sexy. Here’s what my tropical menu ideas include:

Chicken Roti Skewers
West Indian Roti
Caribbean Pumpkin Soup with Lobster and Cocoa Nibs
Ginger Cake with Tropical Rum Salsa

Get the Christmas menu recipes

Serve chicken roti with a twist; usually, this is a stew-type dish, but stringing it up on skewers makes it far more sophisticated. Use the roti to wrap around the skewer and soak up the alluring sauce. Make a pot of sumptuous soup flavored with pumpkin and chocolate, topped with luxurious lobster. For dessert, nibble on tiny cakes with a heady smack of ginger and drunken fruit salsa. All of these can be made in advance and reheated with finishing touches for easy entertaining.

I couldn’t complete this Christmas menu without mention of the magical qualities of the Caribbean spice rack. Ingredients like chiles, cloves, ginger, cocoa and cinnamon are so perfectly suited for an evening of passion. And, of course, so is the luxury of adding lobster to your meal. Let that be your little holiday gift to your guests.

Diane Brown is the author of The Seduction Cookbook: Culinary Creations For Lovers. Order your copy from Amazon today.

An Irish Salmon Recipe with a Simple Butter Sauce

Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe

The Aphrodisiac - a Pomegranate Vodka Cocktail

Pan Seared Salmon with Juniper Gin Sauce

Lavender Madeleines Recipe with a Vodka Lemon Glaze

Author
Recent Posts

Diane Brown

Diane Brown is the author of The Seduction Cookbook: Culinary Creations For Lovers, (Innova Publishing 2005). She is a personal chef as well as a freelance food writer. Her work has appeared in publications including Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Sunset, Veggie Life, Chile Pepper and Wine Enthusiast. She has taught aphrodisiac cooking both in person and on tv and radio, including appearances on The Other Half, Fox News “Ask the Expert” and Leeza at Night. A champion of CSA's, Diane writes the blog Family Farm Box, where she showcases the use of local, fresh produce.