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?

Prawn cocktail here too.

Although this year, MIL is bringing the starter and my parents are bringing dessert. Up to them what they bring. I will have had too much Mulled Pear cider and cranberry punch to care.

Not only do we not have starters, we don't have puddings either

What the....???? Are you out of your mind??!

Gin cured gravadlax for starter is a must for christmas day at home. I'd be pretty disappointed if it wasn't served as per family tradition.

no starter here

main meal too filling

plus who cba

plus the werido drinking all day types

are you not allowed booze the rest of the year?
dont you feel hungover by lunch?

I always view both practices as a bit council

ofcourse Yabu
We have Sage and chestnut soup with warm crusty bread for starters.... Mmmmmmm

I cba. What's the point of Christmas dinner if it's just a main course? It's just a roast otherwise - starters and puddings are two thirds of the meal, and the best bits

View it as council all you want - you're still bonkers

YANBU! I can't even eat main and pudding. I'd be like the glutinous guy off Se7en if I ate a starter too!

YANBU - starter on Christmas day is just daft.

Face down into the trough for the greatest roast of all - but don't forget the bread sauce.

Xmas dinner is 6 courses here, but we aren't traditional, (we don't even have turkey). Canapés, soup, fish, meat, cheese, pudding.

Good back up plan Neville! I have both already (well olive spread) so we are sorted.

Yes, YABVVVVVVVU! A Christmas dinner isn't a complete Christmas dinner without a starter.
We have prawn cocktail or soup here. I'd be 'gutted' if I didn't have my prawn cocktail at Christmas, it just wouldn't be the same!

Yabvvvvvu.

We start with two bottles of Buck's Fizz to set us up ready for the main event.

One year we had two starters because my dm couldn't bear the thought of no smoked salmon and I was being all hostess with the mostest and had planned a gastronomic feast. That was the year we started drinking Bucks Fizz from 9am...

Bartlebee Good God.

Yah it's totally council dahlink. If by council you mean fuck off posh estate.

Fnar fnar

I do live on a council estate...

My prawns are Icelands finest.

My family often does soup and a choice of another starter. Then onto a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. Then there is a few different choices of dessert. Usually a fancy ice cream, Christmas cake & custard and another dessert.
We will also do done snacks our favorite are the Nigella cocktail sausages.

We have 3 fussy adults in our family (the kids are fine) so that way there is something for everyone.

I should add my dad was a chef,my mum worked in kitchens too and both my sister and I are keen cooks.

Is anyone else really hungry now?

Quite fancy a prawn ring.

No starter here, not since the 80s when iirc Mum did melon one year and we were all underwhelmed.

I couldn't eat my lunch if I had prawns first! Agree that you need the space for roasties and Christmas pudding.

For desserts we will have plum duff, some marks pudding I have ordered which sounded nice at the time and HUGE FUCK OFF TRIFLE.

Which I will have for breakfast lunch and dinner on boxing day.

We didn't used to, then one year I went on a cookery course and learned to make salmon mousse, we had that for a starter that year and now it's kind of traditional. I hate prawn cocktail.

I serve canapes between 10 and 11am. I vary the canapes each year and only repeat those that guests say they loved. E.g. Salmon and cream cheese on Bellini's, puff pastry swirls containing blue cheese, walnuts, thyme or brie & apple chutney (great easy Gordon Ramsey recipe): you get the picture. Everyone eats those while exchanging / opening presents. Then we have the f off roast dinner with all the trimmings at 1.30pm followed by choice of two different desserts.

I don't think it's weird, but we don't have starters.

I can't even manage afters cos the main meal is so big.