'Starter' at Christmas Dinner - yay or nay

[Bearlyawake]

Lighthearted household debate...

We are hosting Christmas this year. Will be dinner with all the trimmings. Earlier, DH asked if we will be having a starter, his family usually do one. I said I couldn't really be bothered, I can't really see the point of having a starter before eating a big old Christmas dinner and hopefully some Christmas pudding afterwards.

He maintains that having a starter makes it more of an occasion rather than just another roast dinner.

So...

YABU - Where's your sense of occasion? Of course you need a starter!

YANBU - we will already trough enough food on Christmas day, we don't need a starter!

Side observation - if you say the word starter too much it starts to sound like a fake word, if you know what I mean.

We do canapés a couple of hours before hand. I find a starter makes it just too much food all at once.

We usually have canapes or something to stave hunger off while still cooking...but the last few years I've always been pregnant/breastfeeding and there's been small hungry DC that couldn't wait.

We have a buffet of starter type foods for lunch, then Christmas dinner at dinner time.

We have my mums lentil soup. Have done every year for as long as I can remember. It literally tastes like Christmas to me 🎄 🥰

Starter
Starter
Starter
Farter

We normally have something light like melon, prawn cocktail etc

This year I’ve bought blinis, smoked salmon and a little pot of caviar to nibble on whilst cooking the main so not a sit down starter as such and people can eat as little or as many as they want

Yeah we have prawn cocktail or melon as a starter, it’s just a family thing. We usually take one course on each, so the host does the dinner (with contributions if needed) another brings and sorts the starter and another the pud. And someone the drinks! It means one person isn’t in the kitchen all day.
I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it if there wasn’t one though!

I just hand out the cheeseboard and crackers but tell everyone not to eat too much. I’d rather everyone be feeling ravenous before the main and dessert so it actually gets eaten.

Lentil Soup
Melon
Pate

Prosecco is a starter, right?

We have soup with bread rolls and baguettes with pate and salad and a selection of pickles, chutney, etc

We do a starter but have a couple of hours between courses, makes it easier for serving, you're not rushing to down your starter while trying to serve the main course plus it gives time for one course to digest, we all stay around the table in between chatting, playing stupid games etc

We used to but the kids got fed up waiting for the main course when they were younger, so we ditched it in favour of canapés around an hour or so before. Much more relaxed. Also, our kitchen isn't huge and we don't have a dishwasher so it was difficult juggling the dirty starter dishes whilst trying to dish up the main.

We have smoked salmon on bread but just handed round, not at the table, and about an hour before the proper food.

@ILikeStrongTea yes!! I can get on board with that.

Fish course and soup before the main event, though the soup is usually eaten about 1pm to stop people being hangry keep the kids going until dinner is served around 4.30/5

My mother always had a starter - homemade mushroom soup or prawn cocktail. We had brunch then Christmas Dinner around 5 so we were pretty hungry by then! I can't be bothered if just family- the main will be big enough, but if hosting more formally then I'd have one.

Canapés, including smoked salmon on blinis with dill mustard. And fizz.

There is not a starter that makes me willing to eat less Christmas dinner. So no starter for me.

I also wouldn't allowing anyone to bring one along, they will be getting under you feet in the kitchen, asking where things are kept, generally being in way, and need to use fridge/freezer space or oven. And it will be extra washing up.

We never had a starter on Christmas day in my family. I was horrified when I started going to my husband's family because I felt obliged to eat melon, then soup, to be polite, then I didn't feel like eating the turkey and ham. And I'm not one of these 'I eat like a teeny tiny bird' people either, I'm the opposite, I know I have a tendency to overindulge.

So I'm in the no starter camp. Purely because I love roast potatoes and enjoy them more when I'm really hungry

We usually have appetizers to snack on during the day. Like stuffed mushrooms, hot crab dip served in a bread bowl with pita chips, pinwheels etc

I've always done a starter of either soup or seafood salad. But this year I'm thinking of doing canapes a bit earlier. It does make more sense.

We always have soup that i make the day before.

We have a starter most weekend dinners anyway so Christmas Dinner we won't, mainly because of the mountain of food we’re planning on cooking

We will have canapes to nibble on while cooking though.

Definitely a starter. It's about the only meal where we do this, and it makes it more of an occasion.

I like a few little bowls of salty things - smoked nuts, olives, these, etc, with a pre dinner drink.