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 always have a huge fuck off trifle too. No one really likes Christmas pudding.

I'd be happy to skip Christmas dinner and just eat the trifle.

Never had prawn cocktail or smoked salmon as we all hate seafood of any kind.

I make soup or we have melon sometimes as well. I would think it very strange not to have a starter.

No starter for the main dinner usually eaten about six in the evening but we have brunch of smoked salmon bagels and cream cheese and prawn cocktail.

Yabu, we have pate.

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

Oh, they sound gorgeous. I may have to try some of them this year (if I can motivate myself)
I'd need my prawn cocktail starter as well though later on or else it just wouldn't be Christmas. oink

I was confused by council, did you mean council houses? Weird comment
What I find odd is the fortune people spend on each other at Christmas, we just buy token presents.

I think we need a Christmas trifle thread. I think I need a huge fuck off trifle this year.

Prawn cocktail means nothing to me.

Trifle, now that's something else entirely.

Starters on Christmas Day are common.

Cool I'll add that to my list.

OP asked about timings.

Olives and nibbles about 11am.
Starter about 12.30
Roast about 1.30
General flaffing and present giving
Pudding about 4pm
More fun
Cheese and biscuits 7pm
Sandwiches if anyone bothered about 9pm

Starters aren't common. The Queen has a starter (Iceland prawn ring with Helmans with white bread and butter and a can of Lilt) just before she tucks into her swan and chips. Philip doesn't have the Lilt because citrus and fizzy drinks irritate the bladder and frankly he's had enough trouble with the old waterworks this year, so he sticks to Guiness or a milk stout.

They do start early though cos Lizzie's got to be on telly for 3.

Neither has trifle because that is terribly common.

Moving - they do have a Dubonnet at half three when it's all over though.

Another one here who has a prawn cocktail starter .

It's the height of sophistication don't cha know. Council indeed! I haven't heard that used as a put-down since primary school.

MovingOnUp that really made me laugh - I needed that today!

Trifle definitely isn't common. Unless you use 'rum flavoring' and sprinkle it with hundreds and thousands.

They do indeed Baffled. A bottle each with a straw.

Then they play Pictionary for hours.

Every. sodding. year.

We never have a starter unless you count the fact we have been eating chocolates since the kids woke us up at about 5am!!

Noelle you're betraying a really nasty attitude there.
Bet you sneer at the Iceland ad too.

I guess we all have different traditions. I am of the no sterter camp by dh is a starter so I just go with the flow and provide a starter although I think it unnecessary.

Lovely fish platter with salmon prawns lobster crab and salad(pate and Melba toast for the non fishy people) but probably and 1 to 2 before the main, then pudding is around tea time
and cheese plate for supper!! Food spaced out nice for continual troughing!!
I am amazed with the precision of some peoples timing for each course!!

That's 1 to 2 hours before the main, sorry!!

yanbu in fact I don't think I'll bother this year. Last year dd2 (1 at the time) kicked off when she was given her smoked salmon and salad when she could see the yummy roast cooking. So we ate it with her screaming as a backdrop.

Haven't read the full thread but we have our 'starter' about 12.30 / 13.00 and then the main Christmas spectacular around 5pm. Makes total sense to me that you can feast on shellfish / smoked salmon loveliness without worrying about being too full for the main event - have a good walk / play games etc whilst building up an appetite for the next bit. Usually then don't have to bother with boring old turkey sangers as by the time we're done with pudding / cheese it's too late to need any more food. Apart from chocolates of course

Well we are having seven courses this year

BUT we are all grown ups, there will be six of us, and we are having our Christmas on Christmas Eve (trying to be a lovely MIL).
Everyone is arriving by lunchtime and each couple is responsible for a couple of courses, so we will be pottling around the kitchen all afternoon.

We plan to start the celebrations at 6pm and get up from the table at midnight. All courses are small with lots of daft games and silly presents to keep us entertained.

Christmas day is for vegging out with alcohol and sweets because on Boxing Day I have a household of 22 people to feed!

Bloody Brilliant!

The point of the starter is to occupy that interminable stretch between when Christmas dinner was supposed to be ready - and when it actually arrives at the tables. It's a necessary distraction from the cursing emanating fr the kitchen.

We have the 'trad' Christmas Meal, just spread out over the day.

So..... smoked salmon and scrambles for brekkie.

Main Roast and trimmings at 'lunch'

then Christmas Cake, Mince Pies and some sort of choc/fruit/icecream alternative at Supper (with stilton and crackers for the greedy).

But then, we have our Christmas Meal either Christmas Eve or Boxing Day so that Christmas Day itself is a lovely blur of gifts and nibbles.......