To not understand why people eat at such strange times at Christmas?

[NumberSixtyTwo]

I really don't get why so many people choose to have Christmas dinner at times they'd never normally eat a meal. Like many seem to have it at 3 or 4pm. Normally no one eats at that time so why do it on Christmas day?

Why not have it at a normal lunch time, like about 1pm, or a proper evening meal time?

Having it in between normal meal times surely just means you're too hungry or not hungry enough?

Because it takes time to cook and prepare in the morning alongside all the other activities that come with Christmas — and because an evening meal is too late if you want to enjoy the snacks / cheeseboard etc.

because many, many people work?

do you fit in cheese without having two meals?

But people work every day and it’s Christmas Day that is the outlier.

On Christmas Day we keep what we call ‘Sunday hours’ in that it’s the same as we do on Sundays. Sleep in, eat brunch at about 10:30/11, then lunch about 3:30. May then have a light supper at about 8.

During the week, I don’t eat breakfast because I don’t really get hungry till about 11, then I’ll usually have lunch about 12/12:30 and dinner at 8/8:30.

Our normal Sunday lunch is eaten any time between 1:00 and 7:00pm depending on what's going on with everyone, so Christmas day is no different to us.

Well you can't speak for everyone, when we are at home during the weekend we often have roast dinners about 3/4 o clock.

I'm having cockerel and won't get back from church until 12 so it will be about 3 when we eat.

I don't eat breakfast/lunch anyway so it's a reasonable time for me. No prep to do, everything else is just stick it in the oven.

If people eat the lavish breakfasts I see described on here of course they won't want to eat til 3 - no one eats a massive cooked breakfast every day and wants lunch at 1pm !

Out of interest - if your partner or child wanted a “lavish” breakfast… what would happen?

genuine question. i’m an early bird and not a foodie at all. and i feel SO glad that i’m a single parent and both my children are similar! i have got them a croissant each for breakfast, and me muesli and yoghurt - which we will all have around 8.30/9, then lunch (me cooking so very simply! meat and accompaniments and dessert stuff from M&S aside from roast potatoes and veg) at 1 sharp and then leftovers plus quiche and salad at 7.

It works because it’s works for all three of us. i think - what would happen if one of us wasn’t a brekkie person, so wanted a big breakfast at midday and then lunch at 4 etc etc. There would be absolutely
nothing wrong with that, but it would be totally at odds with the other two of us in the family!

Lavish breakfast for me a lightly toasted English muffin poached egg smoked salmon with fresh M&S hollandaise sauce on top. So not massively filling -but delicious! Otherwise follow same meal plan. Like to get big meal done with so then help yourself and hosts can kick back.

I don't often eat 3 meals, I usually skip lunch. So it makes no difference to me. DS as a 15 year old boy is always hungry so he'll eat whenever I cook.

We have ours at 3/4pm. Here's the logic:

1. Have breakfast at 9/10am (later than usual) so are hungry by 3/4pm. It'd be too late for lunch so we go straight to an early dinner

1. It's such a huge meal that we don't want to eat at 6/7pm and go to bed with a full stomach so 3/4pm is a great time

1. It leaves us space to have lighter, snackier foods whilst watching telly later

It all makes perfect sense.

We have ours at 1pm as we don't like a massive meal in the evening and like to have a walk after. We get a 3 bird roast which is preboned so only takes 90 minutes to cook.

This sounds like heaven
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/dec/25/a-christmas-that-changed-me-i-was-late-for-lunch-and-learned-an-important-lesson?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

what the same very heavy food 3x a day for three days running?

Sounds horrific…. to me!

It all makes perfect sense.

to you and your family. And that’s lovely.

Not to me and my family. and that’s lovely too.

I'm a shift worker, so the idea of people eating at "normal" times isn't alien to me.

Why would anyone care when somebody else eats?

We have breakfast around 10am (just had scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns) then have dinner at 3/4pm. Never eat again in the evening as always too stuffed! Most of the time we don’t have dessert until 7/8pm. We do the same most weekends to be honest. I quite like having 2 bigger meals rather than breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I’d hate to have to be up and out to someone’s house for Christmas lunch at 12/1pm. I like a nice chilled Christmas morning!

Let me forget I’m old and wouldn’t manage it these days.

I just don't have a cheeseboard and too many snacks.

Or you move things around, cheese can be eaten as a light lunch snack instead.

We got up really late and didn't had breakfast before 10am, so the roast is moved to 7pm, we have the cold cuts and cheese we planned for dinner as a lunch snack.

A late lunch/early dinner, whatever you call it, would just mean I am constantly snacking in the evening and would eat far too much.

If you have a 'normal' celebration breakfast of say cereal for the kids , freshly baked pastries , a fry at 10.30 how on earth could you eat the nain Christmas meal at 1 ?

I know at least two people who would regard this comment as a challenge!

(And then wonder why they are a) very overweight and b) plagued with terrible indigestion)

We are having dinner at 2:30 ish.

So far I have consumed 3 glasses of bucksfizz, smoked salmon with brown bread, a Lindt chocolate reindeer and a big bag of prawn cocktail crocodiles… I’ll be ready for my turkey by 2:30 (although I might have a couple of walnut whips to put me on…).

Merry eating weird stuff at weird times day!

Good for you @Treefusis ! I'm having a chicken and a massive salad for myself and our 20 guests. 😂😂

Surely you don’t need a whole chicken AND a massive salad? You could get by with a couple of breasts and a lettuce!

You just sound rather ignorant.

I have joy but I also don’t think others have to fit in with my meal timings. However, I do expect a basic level of education.