to think starters with Christmas dinner are superfluous?

[thatsgotit]

Just what the thread title says, really. How does anyone manage to do full justice to a turkey dinner if they've had their appetite blunted by a starter beforehand? (I do realise not everyone has turkey or even a roast, obviously, but I'm mainly talking here about those who do.)

This might be partly a generational thing, but personally I'd much rather leave myself more room to enjoy the main (and some Christmas pudding afterwards, which again I realise not everyone has) and it wouldn't even occur to me to plan a starter for Christmas Day. It just feels entirely superfluous. Surely I'm not the only one?

We have smoked salmon and sour cream blini canapés, but they are small and don't have much effect on our appetites when we have the main course an hour and a half or so later.

(And champagne along with the blini...)

We have a light starter (prawn cocktail or paté or gazpacho or similar), but there are a lot of us and a full three-course meal, plus cheese and all the other bits, will be stretched out over four-six hours!

People will get up and go for a stroll between courses, we're not tied to the dining room during that period. 😁

Canapés are the solution, they take the edge off if dinner is running late and not obligatory for people who would rather wait for the turkey

Dunno what the non-starters on here would think of the six courses I’m aiming for!

This is what we do too

We don’t, have enough issue fitting in breakfast before but I’m not an early riser. We eat at 2pm to be able to fit in the extensive cheeseboard, antipasti selection and all those little bits you bake in the oven (I wouldn’t bother but mum buys them, they are quite moreish like all processed foods!)

We don’t do starters either. I’d get too full up! Always have dessert though I’m not a dessert person, I will try and eat it out of politeness.

Totally agree.

We changed it around a few years ago.

Some variation of smoked salmon for breakfast

Dinner late afternoon

Evening snack - turkey sandwich or dessert

No , I love a seafood starter

Our schedule goes like this

9ish - pork pie with bread and butter plus champagne
1ish starters - pate/salmon or such like
3ish - Christmas dinner

After that my job is done and people can help themselves to whatever they want because I will now be on the sofa for games and films and in the evening I will be enjoying my cheeseboard 😀

I don’t agree. I need my traditional prawn cocktail on a bed of iceberg lettuce serve in a little glass dish. It’s not Christmas dinner without that first.

Oooo what are you doing?

We have never done started either .even canapes are too much .
Years ago...and I mean years..DH and I would remember hig Christmas dinners when we were kids.. And then a huge Christmas tea around the table. with everything ..cold meats sausage rolls pork pie cheeses..a table full of food.
Where did we put it all..
I couldn't do it now.....burp....

It would not be Christmas without prawn cocktail. Christmas Pudding is the optional bit as far as I’m concerned. A small bit for tradition’s sake and that’s that.

We don’t have a pudding at all! Would rather have a starter than a pudding.

My mum has been making prawn cocktails in the green prawn cocktail glasses she and my dad received as a wedding gift for the starter for as long as I can remember. It’s the only prawn cocktail I ever have in a year, and it may be superfluous in terms of quantity of food to come, but I like the tradition. Loads of things about Christmas don’t “need” to be there, but why not.

You leave at least an hour between courses.
Aperitifs and canapés at 2, starter at 3, main course at 4, but it'll probably slip to 5. Puddings at the first point anyone can be bothered. They don't need much doing to them.

Honestly I'm sure it will be lovely but personally I don't want 6 courses for dinner on Christmas day and nor would I want to cook/prepare 6 courses when I could instead be playing uno and trying to get a picture of the dog wearing reindeer antlers.

Yeah I feel like those of us who find a starter far superior to any dessert are a much maligned group. And don’t get me started on the fact that you hardly ever get a ‘cheese plate for one’ option on any festive menu when dining out!

They're not starters then, are they? They're lunch, and your roast is a different meal!

OP, we never do starters either. I grew up with starters and by the time the main event made it to the table, I could easily have done without.

Also I need starters so that I can set the table with multiple sets of cutlery per person à la Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.

Don't do starters on Christmas Day, but will have canapes/crisps/nuts/olives etc dotted around before lunch, for snackage accompanied by champagne, g&t or Bloody Marys. I cannot be arsed with sorting starters alongside The Turkey and all the trimmings, plus several different puds.

We do have a starter on Boxing Day though, usually soup. Goes nicely with the baked potatoes, pickles and cold cuts that make up an easy BD lunch (and is much more enjoyable than the Christmas Day lunch, imo)

I agree, for me a Christmas dinner, if you’re having a full roast with all the trimmings, means there is no place for a starter. I only have starters generally if it’s a 3 course type meal with a more reasonably sized main, but with the amount of sides we have with it there’s so way we could fit in a starter! We also tend to have dessert in the evening after having Christmas lunch due to volume of food!

Ah!!! I love it. We had green ones too, they were sort of like glass lettuce leaves. When my mum departs these will be one of the first things I look for in the absolute hoarding paradise that is her loft.

I'd be delighted to eat it - cook it, not so much!