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?

We have ours around 4pm, we have a later breakfast than normal so that keeps us going until then. It is a bigger and more involved meal than we would have for a normal dinner so takes longer to eat so makes sense to me to have it a tad earlier! I wouldn't want it any earlier than 3 though

I sort of agree but of course different things will suit different families. We have ours at 5.30-6pm so it's just like an early dinner for our kids. This means we can spend the morning opening presents and the early afternoon going for a walk/to the playground, and no one really has to worry about getting busy in the kitchen until it's getting dark anyway. But that's just what works for us.

YANBU. We used to eat Christmas dinner at 8pm like civilised people but now my parents want their grandchildren (all aged under 5) to participate so have decided to eat at 4pm even though I have made it clear the kids are 1) mostly too young to sit quietly through a whole meal and 2) aren’t likely to eat a huge dinner at 4pm when they’ll have had lunch at a normal time (since I’m not starving little children from breakfast in preparation for a 4pm meal).

Bloody hell who pissed on your chips? Laziness? Incompetence? Are you feeling ok? You seem very angry!

Look, it's ready when it's sodding well ready, alright??? DON'T RUSH MEEEEEEE!!!!

I completely agree. It is one aspect of Christmas I can't stand (and I like Christmas). I find the expectation that you stuff yourself at breakfast so you don't need to eat until late afternoon, when most adults don't normally have a meal time anyway, so aren't naturally hungry.

I find the floating, yet somehow compressed, meal time timetable quite stressful and I am never hungry at the times I am expected to be. It is also a field day for 'ooooh, I couldn't possibly eat EVER AGAIN', types, who are just awful hosts at the best of times.

A light breakfast, slightly late lunch (I'm talking 2-3pm AT THE LATEST), to accomodate cooking times, and light supper if you want it is fine, surely?

Are there lots of things you find confusing OP?

This year I am planning to take three cornflakes for breakfast, so I won't need to eat until 7pm, when I'll share two Brussel sprouts and a stuffing ball between four of us.

We have to have breakfast early as I only put the sprouts on to cook after I've eaten. I don't understand how anyone can eat before 7pm unless maybe they put the sprouts on the day before?

3 cornflakes?? You will pay for that in January.

Yes. And I HATE IT.

So you are good and hungry for a feast and can digest it before bed.

I'm in the 5%. Have it at 5pm. Bacon sarnie or cocktail sausage rolls around 10.30am, then save myself for my evening meal. I hardly ever have room for pudding, so save that till Boxing Day. Genuinely wonder how I'm so bloody fat.

We always have our dinner round 6 or 7

I find it odd that people ask such strange questions. What does it matter when people eat their Christmas food? It's not a normal day, so normal routine doesn't apply.

For what it's worth, I eat at the normal time, but don't find anything strange about others eating at unusual times.

No idea what time we are having the main meal on Monday. Our daughter will be coming off a night shift so depends on how tired she is. We will fit around her and her work as we always do. People do what works for them and what is going on for them at the time. I have never questioned or wondered about other people's meal times.

I just assumed it's because you're eating two meals in one because it's so big. Plus we eat sausages, crisps and chocolate throughout the morning...

Christmas lunch at lunchtime for us so around 12.30pm/1pm. We then spend the rest of the afternoon and evening lounging around digesting it all and topping up our stomachs with chocolate etc.

However, normally we just have a sandwich or something light st lunchtime and a cooked dinner in the evening. Christmas Day rules are different.

But I am not hungry late afternoon after being given odd meals at odd times for the rest of the day prior.

That's what I was going to point out - it takes hours to prepare 53 different types of vegetables and cook a turkey the size of a juvenile ostrich, especially with a house full of people and dogs and cats under your feet and you are slightly tipsy with unaccustomed morning sherry

This. People do what suits them. I always used to aim for lunch at 2 but ended up serving it about 3. Nowadays we have it about 5.

I never eat before 3pm. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Depends how big a breakfast you have, and how much of the foody treats from your stocking you eat during the morning. Some of us really wouldn't be hungry at 1pm. I compromise at 2pm although I would be happy to wait till 3ish, because I want there to be time for a snacky supper later and if lunch is too late you emd up not eating again before bed.

I can't understand why people want to eat a big Christmas dinner at 8pm

We have ours about 4 because any earlier is too early when we are used to a main meal in the evening and we don’t want to go any later because by the time you’ve done all the courses and played a game of something it would be really late for people going home .

We often eat lunch at 3 or 4 pm if it’s a weekend and we are having people over. The logic is that you wake up late, eat breakfast late and so only need to eat lunch at 3 or 4.