'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.

Nay, it’s quite filling enough, and TBH who needs the extra faff? We just have some canapés an hour or so beforehand - usually M&S cold smoked salmon-y ones, so no bother about heating them up.
We don’t have dinner until around 5, so canapés at about 3.30.

On my side its prawn cocktails. On DHs side its soup. Last year I did haloumi fingers and baked camembert with bread and chutneys. But I'm pregnant and cba so its soup and crusty bread this year.

More to the point why is everyone eating such 1980s food?! Melon, ham, soup. These are such 80s foods.

Has Christmas pudding been replaced with arctic role?

Personally we don't have a starter - it makes it too much food and I'd rather eat more roast dinner and no starter!

It depends what time you eat your Christmas Dinner. My family have always cooked dinner for around 2pm and that's our main meal for the day, we're usually too full for anything else after that

It’s not Christmas dinner without prawn cocktail as a starter! I hate going to PIL at Christmas as they don’t do starters plus they wheel out the same old leftovers from Christmas Day for the Boxing Day dinner.

YANBU - no starters here, never knew anyone else did, I feel very unsophisticated now! Still seems like a lot of effort when there's already plenty of food at Christmas. Plus, I like a pudding, or 3, so need to save space .

Yep starter
soup/prawn cocktail/pate & toast

We always have a starter. Usually a very small one. Bit of smoked salmon or gravad lax. Or canape style offerings. Then a small drinking pause while we do the finishing touches on the main.

I've done simple starters in the past like garlic mushrooms or prawn cocktail but it's just a pain and really not necessary when you're going to have a massive dinner, dessert and cheeseboard and half a tin of quality street.

Now when we host I'll just chuck some party food, nuts and nibbles out for people to pick at while they wait. Much easier.

No starter. But my plates are like 2 normal people portions so I need all the stomach room possible.

I don't do starters because its too much for the kids. I can see its nice when everyone is older and you can have a nice relaxed meal

Smoked salmon mousse here. Bought ready made, then tipped onto plates. It takes two minutes.

Never had a xmas dinner without a starter! First starter I remember was prawn cocktail and I have kept the same tradition.

@ShirleyPhallus

More to the point why is everyone eating such 1980s food?! Melon, ham, soup. These are such 80s foods.

Has Christmas pudding been replaced with arctic role?

I was born in the 90s so I eat much more modern melon and soup

I agree with your DH.

It doesn't have to be too much effort. I'll usually do something light but easy like pate, smoked salmon or Parma ham with a green salad. It's just a matter of putting it in a plate.

Ditto @movingondown I'm feeling very uncouth with my lack of starter! But I could be converted by those halloumi fingers @Nottherealslimshady

@TillyTopper

Personally we don't have a starter - it makes it too much food and I'd rather eat more roast dinner and no starter!

I agree!

@Lsquiggles

It depends what time you eat your Christmas Dinner. My family have always cooked dinner for around 2pm and that's our main meal for the day, we're usually too full for anything else after that

Me too, I suppose we have "the starter" as supper instead (unless we just have some chocolate in the evening...)

You need a starter to merit pairing it with that first bottle of white.

@AngelicInnocent

We do late breakfast of fresh out of the oven bread (comes out about 8.30 and we eat it about 9.30) with a choice of butter, various jams, marmalades, cream cheese or smoked salmon.

Then dinner about 4.30 with chocolates, nuts etc nibbled in between.

When there were small children around, there was a lunch of party type food for them.

Unless you count the chocolate and bucks fizz as a starter, then no, no starters here.

We do similar.

Our children are teens so they just stuff their faces on chocolate all day. Which means I have to drink their share of the Buck’s Fizz 😢😢😢

Much respect to those of you who eat soup, rolls and filled baguettes as a starter before Christmas dinner.

I like a starter for Christmas dinner, it gives everyone time to get settled at the table, get some wine poured etc. I wouldn't serve soup, as it's something else for the cook to do.

I think something light & cold works best, that can be plated up ahead of time, pâté, Parma ham with figs, avocado with a fish mousse would all work well.

I'm hosting for the firat time in years - I'll do nibbles and fizz an hour before but no starter

We have a choice of prawn cocktail, salmon mousse, melon or pate.

A pack (or 2) of M&S party nibbles while turkey cooks and we drink wine and open presents. (You probably could call that canapés).

When we go "down home" for Christmas, we have:

Middle of the day turkey dinner -
starter of chicken and ham vol au vents, followed by:
soup
full turkey, ham and trimmings main course
trifle, plum pudding, maybe another dessert
coffee

Evening turkey dinner:
starter of smoked salmon on some salad or else prawn cocktail
full turkey, ham, spiced beef and trimmings main
cheeseboard
plum pudding, jelly, ice cream
coffee and chocs

If we travel, neither DM accepts we are due in the other one this year, and both insist on feeding us as they serve at different times of the day (and visiting at other times doesn't work) - so we spend Stephen's Day having meat sweats and walking it off.

So when we DON'T travel, we take it a lot easier with less food, and that food spread out over a number of hours (canapes, gap, turkey main, gap, cheeseboard, gap, plum pudding in the late evening).