10 Relatable Holiday Vegan Memes to Get You Through the Season

The holidays are upon us, and for many people, that means gathering with family and friends, sharing gifts, and eating food—which usually includes a heck of a lot of animal products. 

On Christmas Day (and, of course, Thanksgiving in the US), turkey or ham is traditional, while Hanukkah feasts often include beef brisket. Cheese and charcuterie boards are also a common occurrence this time of year, as well as smaller dishes and appetizers like pigs in blankets, smoked salmon, and macaroni and cheese. For many, it’s incredibly hard to avoid the onslaught of meat and dairy products over the holiday period.

Luckily, nowadays, there are also many vegan alternatives on the market, too, as well as plenty of plant-based holiday recipes (we recommend this delicious vegan holiday roast with hazelnut cranberry stuffing, for example). However, even the tastiest of vegan options often still can’t stop the inevitable: that one uncle who is stuffing down his Christmas ham, and just can’t resist asking: “But, if you’re a vegan, where do you get your protein?”

Being vegan during the holidays can be difficult, especially if you’re sitting at a table or attending a party with a bunch of omnivores. But don’t worry, you can take comfort in the fact that most vegans are in the same boat. These vegan memes are the proof, and they might just give you a much-needed giggle this holiday season.

10 relatable vegan memes for the holiday season

@vegainsmeme

1 A peaceful vegan Christmas

Home Alone is great meme material, and this one doesn’t disappoint. 

The truth is, for all of those animal products to reach the holiday table, there needs to be a lot of suffering and environmental destruction. In the UK alone, around nine million turkeys are killed in the run-up to the end of December and in the US, approximately 22 million pigs are slaughtered for Christmas hams across the country. 

In contrast, a delicious plant-based squash roast or Tofurky is slaughter-free, cruelty-free, and peaceful.

@lizclimo

2 Pizza for Christmas dinner

It’s true, the only way to have a turkey for dinner is to invite one along to the party, with pizza. 

While you might not want to actually have a turkey guest at your dinner table this year (or maybe you do, we’re not judging), you could certainly choose to adopt a turkey instead of eating one. Farm Sanctuary, for example, has been running its Adopt a Turkey project since 1986. It makes a great gift idea, too. 

@avocajaja

3 Cruelty-free holiday baking

There is no greater friend to the animals than a Disney princess. Make like Snow White this holiday season by choosing to bake all of your sweet treats without animal products. Find our top seven essential vegan baking tips for the holidays here and our favorite Christmas cookie recipes here.

Bored Panda

4 Surviving holiday parties

Okay, so you don’t actually have to be like Baby and carry a watermelon to your holiday party, but it doesn’t hurt to offer to bring a few vegan appetizers if you’re worried about a lack of options. We love these 11 bite-sized recipes, for example, which are perfect for New Year’s Eve appetizers.

Swing Kitchen

5 All we want for Christmas

Remember that uncle we were talking about earlier? The one who was worried about protein deficiency? Well, his next comment might be something like this: “But are you healthy?” If that happens, one option is to send him towards all of VegNews’ health and wellness content. You’re so welcome.

@davidclearyveganpt

6 What vegans actually eat at Christmas

If you’ve got a few vegan food skeptics around you this holiday season, make sure to prove them wrong by indulging in plenty of vegan chocolate, vegan meat, vegan cheese, vegan ice cream, vegan cake, and much more. Come on, do it for the cause.

@veganshumor

7 The holiday dinner interrogation

It’s bad enough if it’s just one uncle, but when it’s the whole holiday table questioning you, things can get a little bit stressful. You have a few options here, request to enjoy your dinner in peace, arm yourself with a few facts, or send them VegNews’ way to get all the latest up-to-date information on the vegan movement and lifestyle. We’ve got you.

Bored Panda

8 Vegans don’t share the holiday food

While we want everyone to find out just how delicious vegan food is, we also don’t want to go hungry, especially if the vegan food options are limited. Top tip: don’t hesitate to fill your plate up with as many plant-based options on the first buffet round. There is no room for politeness here, future you will be grateful.

@vegan_sarcasm

9 Bring plenty of vegan supplies just in case

Don’t trust your non-vegan family to have enough vegan options? Set your mind at rest by filling your bag with all the tastiest vegan snacks. For top tips, follow our guides to grocery stores like Trader Joe’s, Kroger, and Walmart.

Veggly

10 The vegan Grinch

Nothing gives us more satisfaction than presenting our loved ones with a huge pile of vegan cookies, brownies, or cupcakes, only for them to polish them off without having a clue that they were vegan until afterwards.

Charlotte is a writer and editor based in sunny Southsea on England’s southern coast.