Anyone else having Christmas with non big eaters?

I'm a non big eater and I can't just indulge on command, I can't eat if I'm not hungry.

Most of my family is like that, we just avoid big meals and favour quality over quantities.

I was saying similar to DH the other day. I just can't eat the amount that I used to.

I have baked too much this year - again.

A few years ago PILs were around, DS was a hollow teenager and my BIL hoovered up most things, so I would bake about 36 mince pies and a similar amount of sausage rolls (but tiny, just a couple of mouthfuls) so between 7 of us, spread over a few days it wasn't a large amount each, and visitors would also tuck in as well.

Roll on 5 years, PILs no longer with us, DS no longer a hollow teenager and ours and BILs appetites have decreased, so I am looking at the tin of mince pies and thinking I probably should freeze some. There is an uncut Stollen, an uncut Yule Log and an uncut Christmas cake. The latter is fine, I made it and it won't go to waste, that will keep uncut for weeks. But I really didn't need the rest and they were last minute "just in case" purchases anyway.

I said to DH that next year we need to cut it all right back because it's actually making me a bit stressed about the amount of unnecessary food in my fridge. It would have been eaten a few years ago, but we are fewer in number and our appetites have definitely changed.

Yep. I think my family have naturally high levels of glp1. They take ages to eat and don't eat much. Even the one who is a biggish eater stops and says he has had enough. They just don't go beyond the full point. Not a problem though I don't think. I tend to spread things throughout the period e.g. don't have the ham on Christmas day.

YANBU

We're also a bit like that. There's so much lovely food around and we want to eat it but we (me, DH and our 3 adult sons) have fairly small appetites.

No doubt a few childish posters will be along to throw the 'Teeny Tiny' insults around 🙄

But none of us have ever had particularly large appetites, apart from a few years when our sons were teenagers.

Sounds sensible really, rather than eating beyond your means and feeling ill.
It does become a bit of eating for the sake of eating all because Christmas is deemed to be a decent reason.
My family are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Told off that they weren’t eating enough even though I’d prefer them to eat what they feel like, rather than suffer the consequences - and who wants to be dealing with puke!

I think we’re probably a bit like this. I’ve honed our Christmas food to just what we like, we don’t have starters for example, and barely a dessert after our Christmas lunch. Although I’ve still bought too much cheese, I do a mail order delivery from a company I like, every year I say I must cut down but it never seems to happen ! It’s strange because we’re actually big eaters normally, but for a proper meal , not endless chocolate or extras. This year the chocolate log is just about finished, I do most things home made as that’s what we like.

I’ve just put a side of salmon in the freezer as it was supposed to be yesterday’s dinner but we had a round 2 Christmas dinner with all the leftovers. Nobody wanted pudding so I have a massive M&S trifle sell by yesterday.

And now back to work with a weird packed lunch of cheese and crackers and mince pies because I hate waste. Of course work is full of tins and tins of sweet stuff that everyone else is trying to get rid of.

My family made less food this year than in previous years .
We usually freeze the left overs

No starter for Christmas dinner. Roast beef, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, brussels sprouts with chestnuts, carrots, red cabbage, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire puddings and gravy, pigs in blankets (3 each). Didn't eat Christmas pudding until later and had it for tea/supper. 1 tub of chocolates, so far we have each had two, the cheese board, a couple of slices. That's normal, the buying of too much food and wastage is not and lines the pockets of the supermarkets.

I bought so much because we were having people over, but honestly, people just ate less this year. I'm off my food due to having the lurgy, but I'm surprised none of the rest of the usual gannets have swooped down and inhaled some of it. I've got a fridge full left now so will have to carefully check which to use first/which is nearest its use by date.

Youre welcome to invite us round any time @AlertDuck it sounds delicious!

I would love this. History of binge eating with family of overeaters makes aspects of Christmas challenging.

If it’s all freezable freeze in portions you’ll use and enjoy later.

Same over here! Although I don’t mind the lack of indulgence at all and always feel better for it after Christmas. Definitely used to be different but over the last few years we’ve all become more health conscious

We don’t overeat and I wouldn’t force myself to overeat to be polite. I don’t want to feel sick or uncomfortable.

I think we're a bit like this. Maybe a lot of people are. Maybe it's the expectation of what the perfect Christmas meal should be that's the problem, not your family's appetite. Shops are relentlessly bombarding us with advertising about all the food we have to eat to make it a perfect Christmas. It just piles on the stress and it's totally unrealistic. It also means loads of waste.

Yep. I stick to one tin of chocolates for our family of 4 adults now and half of it gets thrown away by March.
I want a fridge filled with treats but have learned it all gets thrown away so don’t do that any more. Christmas Day we had one glass of fizz each. One chocolate biscuit each. Then dinner. Then a few crisps later and another single drink.
I miss when they were teens!