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?

And us

Love a starter!! But then i dont eat dessert or the chocolates after.

Meh the main is just a Sunday roast really so we have a starter and don’t go crazy portion wise with main , dessert is usually a couple of hours later

We don’t do starters either @thatsgotit - I like to save myself for the main event 🤣

Its just me, DH and DS (5yo) on Christmas morning so we just have whatever we fancy for breakfast.
Then we usually have various family members popping in to us for an hour or so each between maybe 11-3ish while on their way to their various dinner plans. I pre-make a big soup which I have in the slow cooker and have some nice crusty bread in and people are welcome to help themselves to some if they fancy something at lunchtime. DS and DH will usually want some but I don’t bother.

We usually sit down to dinner (turkey and all the trimmings) at about 5ish

Love starters. We don’t eat huge portions so don’t feel full up. A little break in between courses and it’s fine. I love making food/cooking/hosting though, so it’s right up my street.

Three course meals are a thing, they've been around a while

We don’t have starters or pudding but do get stuck into a cheese board about an hour after dinner. Probably the only time of year we have a cheeseboard

Not at Christmas but this brought back a memory as a child of having melon with port on it - now that was nice!

YABVVVVU

I'm unreasonably affronted by your post, though, so we're quits.

ah yes and melon balls in a little silver dish! They make a nice palette cleanser actually

Because we aren't all teeny weeny Mumsnet waifs who think "we've lost sight of what a Christmas dinner looks like" or whatever. If I want a plate of melon before Christmas dinner I'm going to have it 🤷‍♀️

Erm… I know?? 🤔

We always have our main Christmas meal at lunchtime so have never had a starter on Christmas Day at home and I would only ever cook a three course meal for dinner, not lunch.

I am aware that starters are often served with a Christmas meal in a restaurant. I don't eat enough to want a starter taking the edge of my main Christmas meal.

Yep, completely agree OP. No starters. We have a couple of warm canapés around 11am though and a glass of bucks fizz. A nice way to bring everyone together for 15 mins or so then back to the kitchen/toys/whatever! Lunch at 1pm ish.

No starters here, but we do Santa pancakes for breakfast. But as we have young kids and are up at the crack of dawn, breakfast is a long time before dinner!

From my own perspective this is very much not why the question is being asked, is all I can say to that! 😄 I’ve never been anywhere near teeny, weeny or a waif, there’s just a limit to how much I can comfortably manage to eat in a sitting - but surely that’s the case for most/all of us?

Oh and the obligatory chocolates throughout the morning and afternoon (and evening)

Don't think any of us wanting to wait for the main event of just the Christmas dinner rather than three courses are going to be in the waif category...

We have a starter but there's only 4 of us to organise.

Plus the starter is light - smoked salmon with a wedge of lemon.

I agree, but WW3 would break out with DH’s family if we didn’t serve a soup.

if we are having a lower key Christmas dinner on our own, I do a nice starter as ‘lunch’ about 1pm and then we have our main course at 4-ish. Cheese and Christmas cake around 7. It’s perfect.

It is, but some of us prefer to have a starter and less main meal/pudding!

Well it shouldn't come as such a surprise that people may like to enjoy a starter beforehand.

I enjoy a starter as it makes the lunch something different to a normal Sunday roast.

Having a variety of thing doesn't mean it has to be superfluous

Canapés and champagne about an hour before we eat.
No starters.

Haha, no. We don't eat a starter because the dinner is bloody enormous. Hardly waif like behaviour. If the dinner was a lettuce leaf with a teeny slice of turkey maybe.

Likewise. I don't want to be able to see the plate under the meal before I dig in. I've waited all blooming year for it so I want it to be enjoyed in its full glory. 😁