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?

In Scotland, most people just have it at a normal dinner time in the evening.

It’s a big meal so you want to be fully hungry for it. 12-1 would be too early if you’d eaten breakfast an hour earlier. On a usual Sunday we have breakfast later than usual (late morning), and our Sunday lunch is both lunch and dinner so 3pm-ish is perfect. Christmas Day is no different.

You pig. A whole bowl of muesli? That would leave me stuffed until the new year. No more than an eggcup’s worth for me. No wonder we have an obesity crisis.

According to another thread if they ate in the evening, they wouldn’t be able to shovel enough food in before falling asleep.

Fuck me. Imagine having the headspace to hold a whole opinion about the time that complete strangers eat a meal.

I only put the sprouts on to cook after I've eaten

Feck!

Mine have been simmering since mid-October and I'm still not sure they'll be done . . .

Because the first thing we eat is chocolate - there bound to be a selection box to unwrap and let's be honest, it's going to get eaten there and then.

Then you start feeling like actually, you should probably have some real food, so basically have brunch at about 11.

Then there's mince pies and crisps and stuff floating around. Probably another selection box.

Then Christmas dinner is at 3 or whatever.

Then there's no proper evening meal, just random leftovers and cheese, eaten whenever you fancy it.

Because it's the one day a year no one is saying 'don't eat that, it's almost lunch time' they're saying 'do you want another twirl?' instead. Consequently, everyone is full of twirls for 90% of the day.

Or maybe that's just me?!

Like many seem to have it at 3 or 4pm. Normally no one eats at that time so why do it on Christmas day?

people book restaurant tables for 3 and 4pm on a Saturday and Sunday repeatedly throughout the year - its not unusual, especially on a Sunday - the pub cavern where I work is packed and they are queuing out the door for the Cauvery at this time.

Go into any pub carver on a Sunday to witness for yourself

Oh dear God if there is one - it truly depends, for those hosting a gathering, mid-afternoon fits best with most people.

Other than that, people are generally free to eat what they want whenever they want. One of the only calander days that the majority of UK people can do that. There's 364 other days to 'rain on that parade' if you really want to.

Ours has always been a dinner, starting sometime between 6 and 8 or perhaps 9 if one particular family member was cooking that year. We’ve always stayed under one roof for the holidays and done a big festive dinner party with far too many courses in the evening, where children are given sweets and allowed to stay up too late and adults uncork numerous bottles of wine and champagne. Everyone wakes up late the next morning for brunch, which includes more sweets for the children and mimosas for the adults. I will carry this tradition on forever because it’s always a fantastic time.

We are hosting and lunch is at 2-3 because otherwise I won’t have enough time to make everything for earlier. And no, I won’t be waking up at ungodly hour to please others- they can have big breakfast or snacks late morning. We are not doing it later as it’s a big meal and we all have kids that we don’t want to overstimulate with a gathering later in the day for a second day in a row.

For me, I want it before dinner time (which is after 5pm) but it’s too early to have it at my normal lunchtime (around 12).

So I have something light to eat in the morning and then eat my dinner at around 2.

Then I’ll have something light to eat around 8pm if I’m hungry.

I don’t think many people could eat a big meal at 12.

I know people who eat chocolate for breakfast on Xmas day, so the norm does go out the window.

No, this is exactly right

We usually have it about 6, 2 or 3 never worked in previous years as I had to go and put the horse to bed at that time

Even now I've given up horses, I wouldn't want to eat a heavy dinner outside of my normal time, because I'm not hungry enough. So 6 works well as that's normal dinner time

Eat Christmas nibbles etc until then

If I try to eat an enormous lunch at lunchtime I won't finish it. You have to leave some time to work up an appetite!

However we tend to do the starters as a kind of small lunch, we have kids under 5 and they can't exist on chocolate until 2pm or they would go (even more) loopy.

We will be having the starters at lunchtime so say 1pm give or take, main meal between 5 and 6 pm and dessert 9pm ish. People do xmas day how they do it no matter how strange to others

We wake a bit earlier and do presents before breakfast. We eat after presents and getting dressed. I wouldn't want a massive lunch after a late breakfast. Equally, I wouldn't want a massive meal not long before bed. 2/3pm makes perfect sense. Nice breakfast, later lunch and time to relax in the evening, and no need to cook another meal, snacks and leftovers will do.

I don't know what I'd do if someone suggested an evening Christmas meal. That seems so odd to me.

Selection boxes obvs. Washed down with a bottle each of champagne. Then you don’t give a fuck what time you eat!

Because generally a lot of chocolate is consumed for breakfast. Playing with the kids toys, and before I know it bam is it’s 3pm before dinner is ready

I don’t think there are rules? You eat it when you want, surely?

Because you don't have a 3 course meal every day, do you? Plus cheese n crackers n stuff. If you space it out and start at 3 means your not eating too late. Hope that helps🤔

We have our starters at around 1pm as there are four children between 15 months and 7 years old. We then move onto the mains. We then have a break before pudding and then cheese and biscuits all washed down with mimosas, a few bottles of wine and a bottle of Port for the cheese and biscuits.

I agree OP. We tend to have Christmas dinner 1 or 2pm which is when we’d normally have lunch. My body clock doesn't suddenly change just because it’s Christmas.

I also feel similar with barbecues - normal meal times seen to go out the window and so you end up eating something which isn’t quite lunch but isn’t dinner either.

I have breakfast at breakfast time, lunch at lunchtime and dinner at dinner time. That means dinner around 5.30-6pm for me. I've always eaten the largest meal of the day at this time and I've always been thin (not skin and bones), I think it's too many calories over a day which can lead people to be overweight rather than when you eat your dinner.

I get the impression that in some houses there very much are…