Oh, I like this discussion. Since being very young, 19-20 years old, I have been the host to most small family functions. Boy do I look back and see the graciousness of my guests (mostly single guy friends of my husband). I have done many different things over the years and now that I have children in their late teens, I would question the change of traditional menu items. I can just hear your guests say, " where is the ham?cheesey potatoes? etc.
My mother-in-law is almost always with us for Christmas, and I have fallen into doing Pork ribs in her honor for Christmas Eve dinner. That is our big, fancy meal of the holiday. Baked potatoes with creamed corn, coleslaw, homemade potato rolls, veggie tray with dip and baked beans for my husband. We all love this and I'm not feeding a crowd or it would be something different.
Hope you got some ideas, as I know I have.