'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 usually have canapes and then a decent gap before main course. Then dessert is often an hour or so later. Spaces things out with the kids too. Can do extra present opening between courses so they aren't overwhelmed all at once.

@Bluntness100

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

What do have as canapés?

Bacon butties with fizz at 9-10am ish

Leek and potato soup made on Christmas Eve as starter (I’m allergic to fish - parents used to have prawn cocktail), at around 3 ish

Then All the Christmas Dinner.

And no pudding.

Cheese at around 9pm with copious amounts of wine

As a pp put-it's simple-if he wants a starter then he can sort it out.

Sometimes we just have Graved Lachs.

I have no idea how any one can manage a starter as well as Xmas dinner

Thegrass, we just buy Marks and Sparks ones, so it’s like mini beef wellingtons, dim sum, sticky chilli chicken, they do loads, and then have them with some fizz a couple of hours before the main course.

Means your oven is freed up, you don’t need to worry about doing multiple courses at once and of course you build your appetite back up for the main,

I don't think I've ever seen a perfect 50:50 split on AIBU before (with a good number of votes)

We normally have caviar with blinis. We have a big smoked salmon mousse in the freezer we need to use up, so this year we might have that before Christmas lunch and have the caviar on Christmas Eve or Boxing Day.

Yes, gravadlax and really thinly sliced brown bread. Delicious. Has been the same started for ever, couldn’t do Christmas lunch without it.

We have hot canapés (bought) with a glass of something around an hour before the turkey is served. I possibly enjoy it even more than the turkey....

@pontiouspilates

I do smoked salmon and cream cheese blinis and hand them out about half an hour before dinner. I find huge amounts of food really off-putting, so there is generally also a fairly long gap between main course and pudding too!

Same here!

I do a few other things too, like prawn toasts, and smoked mackerel pate on crostini.

Got to have something to soak up the G&Ts imo.

@gottakeeponmovin

I have no idea how any one can manage a starter as well as Xmas dinner

It’s really easy. I’m staggered by the things people have for their Christmas dinner though - mashed potato, Yorkshire pudding with turkey, ham and turkey. It takes me all my time to cook - and eat - one meat, three or four veg, roast potatoes and appropriate sauces.

3 large malbecs will be my starter.

I'm surprised that no one has said yet that your DH can make the starter if he's so keen on having one!

EEEw it's not a "Starter", it's a first course. lol. And nothing beats a little smoked salmon, with some lemon, tomato salad and rye bread.

YANBU

No starters! Ever! They are not needed when you have a main course.

^SinkGirl
How does anyone eat a starter and then Christmas dinner? Believe me I’m no skinny waif, but I always struggle to finish Christmas dinner and never have room for dessert, there’s no way I could eat a starter as well^

By only having a small portion of each course

^^ This. I don't really understand why a roast has to be 'big' so that you don't have room for a starter or dessert. Surely the size of the meal isn't dependent on what's in it and you just have whatever portion you want to?

We have a starter but its usually prawn cocktail, maybe with some smoked salmon too and its only a small light thing. The 'Christmas lunch' tends to spread over several hours anyway so lunch and dinner kind of merge into one, especially if we have guests.

early morning with coffee/tea and present opening - breakfast chocolates
mid morning - Proper cooked breakfast
early afternoon - starter
mid afternoon - the roast
5/6/7 pm - pudding and cheese if anyone wants it
8-10 pm meat, pickles, mince pies etc

We don’t do breakfast just coffee - then no one minds a few chocolates whilst opening presents
Lunch is between 1 and 2
Starter and main
Invariably every one is too full for a dessert so we have that 6 ish
I usually just have a drink or three in the evening but for anyone who’s peckish there is always cheese n biscuits, nuts, fruit, leftovers and things like Xmas cake or mince pies
So thinking about it we only have one huge meal - it’s just spread through the day!

@Bearlyawake

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

My haloumi fingers are to die for, beer battered and fried, with sweet chili dip, tzatziki and caramelized red onions, with baked camembert and toasted pitta bread it really didn't need a main course after it though!

We usually have a small portion of smoked salmon with a little salad. I actually enjoy that it’s fresh of it compared to rest of the meal.

In the past, when I’ve done starters, I’ve found people ended up much too full. Even without starters, we don’t usually have room for pudding straight away.

The starters are always a bit blah - like every single one mentioned on the thread.

When I've had to have a starter (when we've done Xmas dinner in restaurants/pubs), I've done about three bites then packed it in. I want lots of room for lovely Christmas main course!

I mean, soup?????

I also began to do Christmas pudding as Christmas teatime food, once my Dad had died - he insisted we have it after Xmas dinner. But really, people eat it more and appreciate it more when it's served later.

My Dad is the only person I know who would save plenty of room for his Xmas pudding. I miss him, and his perfect moderation that my son learned from him.

This. I don't really understand why a roast has to be 'big' so that you don't have room for a starter or dessert. Surely the size of the meal isn't dependent on what's in it and you just have whatever portion you want to?

I don’t have a heaving plate full of food but have some of everything, and I couldn’t eat more on top. I guess this is the issue with just having two adults for Christmas dinner - there are certain things we both want included, so will cook, i guess if you have more adults then it’s easier. I don’t want to spend ages making the perfect roast potato and then eat one of them!

Noooo, Id rather save room for more stuffing and pigs in blankets.

We have an hour or two break before pudding too.

It depends whether you have small DC - we have a 3-year-old so no starters here, we'll do canapes instead. Normally though, yes to a light starter.