From hectic to relaxed, this year, of all years, let's make it a make-ahead Christmas morning.

YUMMY BREADS & COFFEE CAKES

Photo by Swanky Panky

Bake/Shake ~ Filthy, Gooey Gluttony: Make-Ahead Monkey Bread "I used to hate making things ahead, demanding that their flavor and texture suffered or that it wouldn't really save time. ... But this works, completely, and after a night in the fridge, an hour on the counter the next morning and a few extra minutes in the oven, a blissful, sticky dome of yeasty rolls cloaked in caramelized sugar and butter, with toasted pecans adding crunch, thumped and slurped out of its Pyrex dish (my preferred, Bundt-less pan of choice for the even browning it promotes) and was devoured by many fingers."

Joy the Baker ~ Cranberry Coffee Cake "The thing that makes it over the top, crazy delicious is the crunchy streusel topping. And I’ve got tricks. I take a few handfuls of the streusel topping and swirl it into the coffee cake batter. Yea! Awesome! Delicious! I take the rest of the topping, which is seriously ample and layer it on top before baking. The coffee cake bakes up a delicious golden color, the streusel topping is perfectly crunchy, and the cranberries add the perfect bright tartness. For reals."

EGGS & PROTEIN

Photo by Photo by 80 Breakfasts

Apartment Therapy ~ Breakfast Pizza "So good! The advantages to this breakfast are that most of it can be made ahead. Have guests? Just set out the pizza dough and toppings in the morning, then pop into the oven for five minutes. These are so thin that they don't take long to cook at all."

Thrifty Kitchen ~ Egg Strata "... horizontal layers of English muffins, Canadian bacon, tomato and/or spinach. The layers are sprinkled with cheese, soaked in egg and baked to a golden doneness. ... it was so nice to not be in the kitchen at the last minute, nor have any prep dishes to clean up when guests leave."

80 Breakfasts ~ Bacon & Egg Pies "I liked this dish at first sight – a savory tart (something I love but don’t get to eat often) that seemed to be created for a breakfast-lover (and a bacon and eggs lover!) just like me."

Real Mom Kitchen ~ Breakfast Casserole "I got this recipe from a coupon section of my Sunday paper years ago. It uses sausage and some other veggies. I don't add the tomatoes or mushrooms due to my family's tastes. I do think it would be even better with those in there. Since I don't put those veggies in there, my husband like to drizzle a little syrup on his serving."

Diane's Dishes ~ Sausage Balls and Vegetarian Sausage Balls "... I LOVE bacon and sausage, though I didn't eat it very often. ... I've found mock "chicken" and "mock" meat that I like, but up to this point I had not found a "sausage" and still have not found a "bacon" that worked. Today I tried out a sausage substitute and adapted the old sausage ball recipe I used to use and it worked out PERFECTLY! Trust me, you'll never know the meat sausage is not there!"

FRENCH TOAST
Prudence Pennywise ~ Blueberry Maple Overnight French Toast "I can never lose this recipe for overnight French Toast. I made it one night when we had 12-yep TWELVE, twelve overnight guests spending the night in my house. ... The least I could do was make them a lovely mapley french toast breakfast, bejeweled with sweet blueberries."

Juju & Family ~ Crème Brulee French Toast "My Aunt is really good about trying out the recipes from our local newspaper. (Something I admit to not being good about). This special gem she tried one year for Christmas morning. It's awesome because you make it the night before and then in the morning, when all you want to do is visit with your guests, by golly you can!"

A WHOLE MENU!
Pithy & Cleaver ~ Feeding a Crowd: Make-Ahead Brunch "Mission: feed ten people (including vegetarians) a brunch feast including sweet and savory on a Sunday morning without panicking, running out of burners, wishing you'd moved to the suburbs where they have real kitchens, or missing out on the fun once your friends show up and start mixing mimosas!"

TWITTER LINKS
(NOTE: Every so often, my fellow BlogHer editor Kalyn Denny and I do a call for links via Twitter. Follow me via Kitchen Parade on Twitter and Kalyn via Kalyn's Kitchen on Twitter.)

Tea & Cookies ~ Gingerbread Pancakes "I can’t imagine a better breakfast for Christmas morning than the gingerbread pancakes we made this year. Once the initial rounds of stockings and presents were opened, I headed into the kitchen. The batter had been mixed up the night before, and soon a happy pile of pancakes filled a baking dish. We served them as they do at my favorite brunch place in San Francisco, with lemon curd and poached pears. As the morning went by and people grew hungry, they wandered over and make themselves a plate of pancakes."

Smith Family Recipes ~ Christmas Morning Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole "Perfect for Christmas morning! This recipe calls for the assembled dish to be refrigerated overnight. In the morning you pop it in the oven for an hour, then take out the warm, hearty result."

And you?
And you, what's your favorite recipe for Christmas morning? If it's make-ahead, leave a recipe or a link to the recipe in the comments!

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg loves to 'make' a birthday cake for Jesus but instead shares her recipe for apple yogurt salad, perfect for Christmas morning.