To think serving a starter with Christmas dinner is unnecessary. And weird.

[Kavalier]

Am hosting DH's family for Xmas dinner for the first time this year. MIL always does a prawn cocktail starter and they will miss a starter if I don't serve one, so I will. I think it's very odd though. AIBU?

We have nibble starters, ritz with pate or smoked salmon and cream cheese, breaded mushrooms etc. I out them on plates and circulate them around so not exactly a starter more like appetisers.

It's the law to have starters!!!!

We always have prawn cocktail as a starter.

We are probably a bit weird though.

YABU! You must have a starter on Christmas Day, it's the law in my parents house anyway

Yanbu! I've started similar threads on Mumsnet about this.

So, you're just about to eat an enormous main course which it has taken some poor soul hours to cook, followed by compulsory pudding, and no doubt preceded by endless nibbles like twiglets and cheese footballs ... and still you want a starter?

You get laughed at in my house.

18 vegetables, haroldlloyd?

I didn't know there were 18 veg. Unless straying into random kohlrabi territory.

I've never had a starter for Christmas lunch, in fact I think I was about 25 before I realised people ever served starters for any meal, I thought they were something that was only done in restaurants.

Absolutely have prawn cocktail starter. I thinks it's the law.

Mmm starters, I love them. Oysters or smoked salmon or canapés or pate or prawn cocktail or cheesy twist things... But then my mum is French and in France it is terribly, terribly important to have a multi course Christmas feast that starts excessively and continues in that vein for hours. With too much .

That said, if you're cooking, cook what you want!

they will miss a starter if I don't serve one, so I will

My family and inlaws always served a starter. They also did Christmas Day breakfast and a full supper in the evening.

I've been hosting everyone for Christmas for over 30 years and because I don't feel a starter's needed, I don't serve one. I don't do a proper supper either. We've had plenty to eat with two courses.

My home serves my menu.
In the event we ever get invited to DCs we'll enjoy what they choose to serve.

Be brave OP and make it your own.

YABVVU prawn cocktails are a MUST on Christmas Day

Christmas Dinner has one course, if anyone disagrees, they can't cook a good roast...

Same here mintyy! Would be hollow laughter from cook.

Smoked salmon bagels for breakfast here (or dh's posh scrambled eggs for the non fish eaters). Plus superstrength Bloody Marys.

So no need for fishy starter.

I like to get everything on the table, sit down & tuck in. Prospect of leaping up after a few prawns, to finish off the veg & start doshing up main course sounds like an awful lot of faff for the cook.

we always have one, though I'm trying to persuade DM, who is hosting, that doing without is better with 2 small ones getting confused and not great at sitting at the table for hours on end whilst she fannies about with each course!

I have never in all my many years had a starter with Christmas dinner... Why take up valuable space in your tum that can be filled with a roast potato?
Besides, as the cook, all my time is spent doing last minute veg cooking and meat carving. If I stopped to have a starter either something would yo cold, something would overcook or the cats would steal meat and I'd not be able to relax enough to enjoy a starter...

No starters here, totally unnecessary IMO, don't recall ever being served one in anyone else's house either. You're about to sit down to the most delicious, most looked forward to, most filling meal of the year, you don't want to spoil your appetite with starters.

Mmmmm twiglets

Ahem

FIL fusses like mad when we go there (alt years) over fiddly melba toast and butter curls served at12 noon followed by trad Xmas lunch. Relief to be on home turf and eat when it's done. No starter.
have

You don't really have to cook a prawn cocktail though.I have special fancy prawn cocktail glasses that only come out at christmas.

Our main dinner is sooooo big we don't have room for a sweet, let alone a starter

Why take up valuable space in your tum that can be filled with a roast potato?

^ this

I've never had a starter on Christmas Day and even if one was offered and especially if it was prawn cocktail being offered I would probably politely decline it anyway. I never manage to finish my main course usually, despite serving myself probably half of what everyone else seems to pack away. We often don't have dessert until much later on either, because everyone else is too full.

I'm now intrigued as to what everyone has in their Christmas dinner main course...might have to go and start a thread!

well no, not cook, but then I'd have to wolf it down & go & sort out the sprouts.

I have ALL the cba for this prospect .

Oooops wtf was that random 'have'?

Fuck you, Thickphone

at dp's parents' the starter assembly (usually smoked salmon, homemade oatcakes and sour cream) is undertaken by someone else, not the Chief Cook

i like it, but we never had a starter when i was growing up so i'm very happy without

We don't do starters. Well, unless you count twiglets...