What is Christmas without the Christmas feast? In Victorian Britain and America, turkey was often the preferred bird for the holidays, with goose a distant second (possibly because a turkey feeds a lot more hungry people than a goose!). Roast beef was also very popular. As for that indispensible (and sometimes inedible) finish to the feast, plum pudding - who knew there were so many ways to make it? In America, of course, the Thanksgiving feast provides Christmas with some competition. Here are a host of recipes to make anyone's mouth water - and perhaps inspire your next holiday feast!

Thanksgiving

Bills of Fare for Thanksgiving Dinner (Demorest, 1880)

From a dinner for twelve to a "plain sanitary dinner" ("one that almost any person could eat, that can eat a dinner at all, without the least disturbance of mind or body"), with a host of luscious recipes.

Home Cookery: Thanksgiving Day Menu, by Laura Lathrop (Ingalls' Home Magazine, 1888)

Christmas

Christmas Cooking/Dinner Serviettes (Godey's, 1873)

This piece begins by showing you how to fold a napkin into the shape of a swan, and follows it with mouth-watering recipes for a Christmas supper, including roast goose and Christmas cakes.

Christmas Receipts (Demorest, 1873)

A host of plum pudding recipes.

Receipts for the Holiday Season/Dinner Serviettes (Godey's, 1873)

Christmas cakes and cookies, plus instructions on creating a beautiful napkin and floral centerpiece.

Christmas Dinners (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

"Christmas Day without its dinner would be like the play of 'Hamlet' with the part of Hamlet omitted. A genuine Christmas dinner, too, reveals our real national taste, and proves to ourselves and all the world that we have not yet acquired a French one. I wonder if it is possible for a statician to calculate how many huge sirloins of beef and immense turkeys are consumed on Christmas Day."

How to Give a Nice Little Supper (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

A menu for a Christmas supper.

Catering for Christmas Parties (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1880)

Tips on setting up a Christmas supper that enables the guests to help themselves to easily served dishes.

Christmas Dinner Menus (Demorest, 1880)

Bills of fare for everything from the "plain Christmas dinner" (ham, roast goose, apple sauce, cabbage, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, cheese, apples, nuts, coffee) to a three-course dinner for ten persons.

Christmas Recipes (Demorest, 1880)

A "plain family dinner" includes roast turkey with oyster dressing, cranberry sauce, celery, mashed potatoes, stewed tomatoes and boiled onions, chicken fricassee, salad, plum pudding with sauce, followed by nuts, apples, oranges and coffee. A fancier dinner might add pumpkin pie and apple meringue to the dessert menu!

How to Cook Sucking-Pig, by A.G. Payne (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1880)

Puddings and Pies for Christmas (Demorest, 1880)

Who knew there were so many ways to prepare plum pudding? This collection also offers Mocha Pudding, Pumpkin Pie, Dartmouth Pudding, Mince-meat, and many other recipes that sound unbearably tempting!

Christmas Dinners, by A.G. Payne (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1881)

Recipes from the Christmas beef to the plum pudding.

Christmas Season: Gifts & Entertainment, by Laura Willis Lathrop (Ingalls' Home Magazine, 1888)

Tips on choosing the right gifts, and preparing the Christmas dinner and entertainment.

Christmas Thoughts and Christmas Dishes, by Laura Willis Lathrop (Ingalls' Home Magazine, 1889)

A variety of holiday recipes.

Dishes for a Christmas Party, by Phyllis Browne (Girl's Own Paper, 1889)

Recipes for a delicious almond milk mould, punch torte, rice cream, apple cream, oranges and cream and other luscious desserts.

The Table, by Laura Willis Lathrop (Ingalls' Home Magazine, 1889)

Tips on decorating the table, and some delicious Christmas recipes.

Christmas Poultry and Game, and How to Cook It (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

Christmas Sweet Dishes, by Constance (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

More tempting treats, including Currant Buns, Dundee Cake, Shortbread, Meringues, Creams, Biscottines, Fruit Compotes, and more.

Christmas Cakes and Candies, by Frances E. Lanigan (Ladies' Home Journal, 1893)

Christmas Fare for Rich and Poor, by Lucy Yates (Girl's Own Paper, 1896)

From Turkish fig-pudding to game pie, this is a delectable round-up of Christmas puddings, cakes, pies, and main courses.

The Children's Party Supper, by Lucy Yates (Girl's Own Paper, 1897)

Recipes for a children's supper, including Galantine (with rabbit), Chicken Patties, Duchess Gateaux, Crystal Palace Pudding, Chocolate Mould, and Prune Jelly. (The children also enjoyed mince pies, cheesecakes, and fruits and nuts.)

Christmas Dainties on the Chafing-Dish, by Mrs. S.T. Rorer (Ladies Home Journal, 1898)

Not so much a collection of recipes as how to prepare a chafing-dish menu of courses for a Christmas Eve dinner.

• See the Holidays section for more articles on Victorian Christmas and holiday entertaining.