Fun, festive Christmas morning breakfast ideas

Christmas morning is magical — the soft glow of the lights, the sounds of happy children and the smell of something delicious wafting from the kitchen. Breakfast is always the most important meal of the day, and on Christmas, it can make the celebration all the more memorable.

Here, Jen Guthrie of The Gulf Coast Mom shares some of her tried-and-true favorites:

TATER-TOT BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

What you need:

• 1 bag frozen tater tots
• 1 cup milk
• 8-10 eggs
• shredded cheese
• breakfast sausage

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brown the sausage, then put it in the bottom of a casserole dish.
3. Whisk the eggs and milk together; season well with salt and pepper. Pour mixture over sausage and top with cheese (to taste).
4. Place tots in rows on top of the egg mixture; cover with foil.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes until eggs are set. I like to uncover with 25 minutes left so the tots get crunchy.

MONKEY BREAD: PULL-APART STYLE

What you need:

• 3 cans of buttermilk biscuits (I do not like the flaky ones for this recipe.)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 sticks of butter (melted)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut biscuits into quarters and place in a gallon Ziploc bag.
3. Add the cinnamon and plain sugar to the bag; shake well until all biscuit pieces are coated.
4. Place biscuit pieces into a bundt-style pan.
5. Mix the brown sugar with the melted butter; pour over the biscuits.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, and enjoy!

CINNAMON ROLL BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

What you need:

• 3 tubes cinnamon-roll dough
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• chopped pecans (optional)
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place butter in a 9-by- 13-inch casserole dish to prevent sticking.
3. Cut each cinnamon roll into four pieces; keep the frosting packets.
4. Whisk eggs, milk, cinnamon, salt and milk in a bowl and add the cinnamon-roll pieces to coat them. Transfer to baking dish.
5. Mix the brown sugar with the pecans (or just leave it plain brown sugar); sprinkle over top.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Mix the icing packets with sour cream or Greek yogurt and use as icing.

SAUSAGE BALLS

What you need:

• 1 tube breakfast sausage
• 1 1/2 cups of Bisquick mix
• 1 cup cheddar cheese

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, mix (uncooked) sausage, Bisquick mix and cheese.
3. Roll into balls. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until done and enjoy!

CRESCENT ROLL BREAKFAST RING

What you need:

• 1 package crescent rolls
• scrambled eggs, cooked
• bacon or sausage, cooked
• cheese of choice

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. On a sheet pan, place crescent triangles in a circle with the thickest end at the center.
3. Fill the “ring” with eggs, bacon or sausage and cheese; fold triangles over the top.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes and enjoy!