Anyone else having Christmas with non big eaters?

Was thinking about this earlier. Might be rose tinted glasses, but felt like I could put away more as a kid at Christmas than I do now. I don’t know if it’s because food is different (especially as we use more shop bought stuff maybe it fills us up quicker?) or just the fact that we eat well all year around. So you get to Xmas and you just don’t need to over do it because you can have nice stuff anytime.

Parents ageing definitely has resulted in them eating less too. And I just don’t like feeling overly full anymore. I think there’s pressure to buy loads as no one wants to look stingy but the collective food waste across the country is pretty appalling

If you’re planning a huge amount of food while also just celebrating Christmas on the day itself then yes there’s only so much you can eat. The festive period for us last until New Year’s Day, so the nice food, baking etc happens, and is eaten over the course of 8/9 days. I also have honed Christmas dinner to include things we like, rather than having 8 sides because someone said it’s traditional. So a nice roast dinner with some extra bits, and cheese/desert for later in the evening.

We have lots of food, it will all be eaten over the next week or so interspersed with plainer meals as a break from rich food.

@AlertDucki don’t suppose you have a spare room? Maybe you’re thinking about getting a lodger? Asking for a friend!

We are like this. Every year dh clients spoil us with hampers- Harrods and fortnums and every year we just end up regifting. We are not big meat eaters, don’t enjoy fancy cheese, chutneys , and find all the biscuits a bit too sweet. My kids were gifted a Biscuiteers gingerbread house which they built but haven’t touched or eaten. We really all have small appetites. The sight of masses of food has always just put me off. And none of us enjoy leftovers too. So we always cook enough for the day. Everyone is different

But in the longer term it doesn’t make anyone feel good, does it? So many people have weight related health problems.

I'm not a big eater, one DD is on WLI so can't, the rest are about average. So I made sure that anything bought and not used can be frozen or will keep until we meet again at New Year.

We tend to spread out our festivities over a few days, so the pressure isn't on to eat it all on one day, and I find gradually grazing over several days suits me better anyway.

On another thread people were talking about cooking huge amounts of roast potatoes and how their kids ate half a kilo each, so some people must eat loads.

I'm convinced a lot of the people on that thread were mistaking kilos for pounds with the amounts they were talking about.

YABU massively, we are in an obesity crisis. Food is more plentiful, calorific and extravagant all year round now, not just Christmas. Everyone wants to feed us which is on them and if we don’t want to accept we happily shouldn’t.

Over indulgence isn’t even enjoyable, it makes me feel lethargic.

I think there’s a huge number of people on Mounjaro/weight loss injections who keep silent about it, but can’t manage the same volumes of food.

No such problems here with a teen DC who is happy to be a food hoover!

I need somebody like you in the building

You could do all my cooking! 😂

Seriously, it sounds like you need to do cooking on a big scale. Either for a living or in some kind of charity way. You clearly love it so everybody wins!

I have just waved family and friends off with bags of unopened food from our fridge. None of us oldies eat a lot and otherwise it will go to waste. We arent dieting but just not big eaters anymore.

This is why having Christmas over a few weeks rather than a single day is so useful - we ill do trifle for new year , the crumble was Christmas Eve - spread it out

Cook and put it on Olio or something then, or help at a soup kitchen/the Samaritans etc.

Yes, I've learned over the last few years to buy less and just do a little top up if needed before NYE.

Do you feel reading the MN threads on small portions and all the complaints makes you feel pressurised? I don't think it's reflective of real life.

I think we all over buy Christmas food and alot is wasted. There’s no reason to have 3/4 desserts plus chocolate, biscuits etc. It’s only one day, people can only eat so much. I’m a big eater I think but I could only eat main meal and one small dessert on Christmas Day.

I don't see this stuff on social media, but I would hate it

Generally, one of the things I hate about Christmas is people pushing you to eat too much

I've been thin, I've been fat, now average.

do people just photograph thisstuff and then freeze it? I must admit, I don't really get people who do food as a love language thing. It's annoying for others if you get pressured to eat. I used to work with a woman who got really annoyed if you didn't eat whatever she brought in.

I think, if you you've got 20 people coming round, then you need lots of choice in catering terms sure. But otherwise, I don't get it.

I'm not virtue signalling. I have been very fat. But food is one of those things that has its limit, surely, if you're talking one meal? You want to cook massive seafood platters, do a neighbourhood gathering maybe a street party? People would love it.

I mean, if you said I could buy all the diamonds I wanted, I would struggle to know when to stop 😂 But overeating has a natural end point!

also, buffet spreads don't look very nice. I'm surprised people aspire to them.

when my father was alive, I had a struggle to get my parents to cut back on Christmas food just for three of us. It was stuff you can have later - like buying too much cake or whatever.

I think after growing up in tough financial circumstances, they were excited to actually buy it. And then didn't think about when it would get eaten.

I hate this expression of teeny tiny eater. It's just normal eating.
Don't think of indulgence as more. You can still indulge but with better quality ingredients, sides you rarely eat but enjoy, a few sweet treats. I brought into the hype of more this year and won't bother next year. A cheese board need not have multiple cheeses, just a few good quality ones. Nicer crackers etc. I think too much ruins it.

If getting left out of the opulence means getting left out of the January diet and daily red faced jog round dark streets, then I'll take that.

We’re a household of non big-eaters. Even our triffid sons, but particularly me. My Christmas dinner filled half a plate. I have just never had a big appetite.

We have been given many ‘treats’ - a Christmas cake, mince pies, a panettone, boxes of chocolates. No idea why, but I ordered 3 M&S puddings which are sitting in the fridge. No one will touch them and I’ll end up taking all of it into work in January.

My husband’s side of the family has many gluttons. It actually repulses me to see them with massive platefuls of food which they’ll shovel in without looking up. Bleurgh.

Nobody's stomach magically grows 3 times the size at Christmas so it stands to reason if you serve up far more food than normal it won't get eaten. We don't normally have a starter or dessert with a roast and if we go out to eat would probably only have 2 courses, having not had a big lunch. If you are eating a big breakfast, then 3 courses at lunchtime is a lot to ask then Nibbles and an evening buffet is probably far too much for most people