What's your Christmas menu?

[msrisotto]

I'm hosting boxing day which in my family, is basically Christmas day but without the obligation to cook Turkey. I'm wondering about starter and dessert so am looking for inspiration! And please feel free to comment on my menu if anything strikes you! My sketchy menu is:
Starter:
Leftover turkey soup or balsamic onion and goats cheese tart
Main:
Gammon with leek and wholegrain mustard sauce
Sides:
Potato Dauphinoise, Cauliflower cheese, some simple greens
Dessert:
Rhubarb crumble & custard, truffles

Honestly I don't like anything on your menu obviously you know your guests and have planned accordingly so I know that's not very helpful
But I'll add my Christmas menu anyway -

Starters (which we actually have for 'lunch' then have a couple of hours break before mains) -

• butternut squash soup with bacon and croutons
• chicken goujon cocktail (chicken goujons on a bed of lettuce and apple to look like prawn cocktail) - the kids usually go for this
• pate and toast with red onion chutney

Main -
Turkey
Beef cooked in red wine sauce
Roast potatoes
Roast honey parsnips
Sprouts
Carrots
Stuffing (paxo sage & onion)
Mint sauce
Cranberry sauce
Gravy

Deserts -
-Warm mince pies & clotted cream

• Christmas pudding & brandy sauce
• Chocolate pots & custard (again, mostly for the kids)
• Some kind of fancy cheesecake

Then tea/coffee and the after eights & mint matchmakers come out

Starter - seafood, main - roast beef Yorkshire's, horseradish, chipolatas, veg, not sure about puds yet, maybe a selection of bite sized cheesecake etc, cheese and biscuits, as long as there's chocolate and booze in the house we'll be fine

Okay well that knocked the wind out of my sails a little bit NoCapes! I honestly thought those were pretty safe options.

I'm really surprised that some of you do more than one main course meat option too! That must get expensive.

msrisotto I too am surprised at how many people do more than one main / sort of meat.

FWIW I though your menu sounded fab and I would like everything on it! Maybe I would opt for the onion and goats cheese tart instead of the soup as it leaves a turkey free day. Everything else sounds lovely.

I think I am doing beef on Boxing Day but I haven't got as far as planning starters and pudding yet. A trifle will probably make an appearance at some point.

Sorry, OP I don't like your starter or main sadly. Veg and desert sound lovely though.

We are:

Starter will be something fishy so salmon or prawn cocktail or lobster.

Main turkey with all the trimmings

Dessert chocolate something plus port and cheese and biscuits

On Christmas Day we're having:

Pate with toast and chutney
Brie and caramelised onion filo parcel things

Turkey
Venison (we always have venison as a Christmas Day option, I prefer it to turkey)
Mashed potatoes
Roast potatoes
Honey roast parsnips
Carrots
Sprouts with pancetta
Home made stuffing
Pigs in blankets
Gravy
Cranberry sauce and redcurrant jelly

Dessert is a free for all, everyone has whatever they want:
Christmas pudding with brandy butter
Cheese and biscuits
Ice cream
Whatever's caught our eye from the M&S or Sainsbury's selection when we do the big shop on the 23rd. Usually the M&S salted caramel profiteroles and some kind of chocolate and raspberry or chocolate orange type thing.

Boxing Day is usually a buffet type thing but sometimes roast beef and yorkshires etc. if anyone can face another big dinner!

Xmas dinner for us this year

Starter - prawn cocktail or vegetable soup with fresh baked bread (will have this around 1 or 2 hours before main, if at all)
Main - turkey, ham, stuffing, pigs in blankets, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, roast carrots and parsnips, peas, broccoli and gravy
Dessert - banoffee pie and ice cream

OP, I think your menu looks delicious and full of crowd pleasers. In your shoes I wouldn't bother doing a choice of starters- just do the tart.

Our Christmas lunch (well, dinner) is completely traditional-

No starter but lots of canapés (smoked salmon on rye bread; quails eggs; Parma ham, fig and goat's cheese bundles; Stilton, pear and walnut on an endive leaf.

Turkey, chestnut stuffing, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, gravy, sausages, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, red cabbage, sprouts and chestnuts, peas, carrots.

Christmas pudding w/cream or ice cream

Cheese

I've never done different meats or types of potato, but usually don't big ham for Christmas Eve so we still get double leftovers

do a

I love potato dauphinois and cauliflower cheese! Both together would prob be a bit too rich for me.

We are having

Starter: no actual sit down starter, just canapés and smoked salmon and crisps n dips from midday.
Main: Turkey, roasties, mashed swede and carrot, green cabbage and peas, braised red cabbage, sautéed sprouts, roast parsnips, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy. I really want cauliflower cheese too , but it may be too much!
Pudding: pumpkin tart, triffle, Christmas pudding.

Yeah I hadn't actually decided on which starter, I wasn't really intending on doing both.

Everyone loves potato dauphinoise and cauliflower cheese in my family! And this is the perfect time of year for lots of rich food

We have party food Christmas Eve. Roast duck and the trimmings Christmas Day. Then cold meats and (leftovers) buffet on Boxing Day. No way I am spending all my Christmas cooking.

OP I think your menu sounds very nice.

I'm amazed by how much food everyone else does. I'm guessing you all have a house full of people to feed. Makes my efforts seem really basic.

No starter here. A main of roast beef or lamb, roast potatoes, mashed swede, carrots, sprouts, cabbage, Yorkshire puds, pigs in blankets, stuffing and gravy. For pud it is Christmas pudding and thick cream followed later by coffee, port/Baileys and some fancy chocolates.

We eat quite late so will have had croissants and jam or a bacon sandwich earlier in the day.

Now I was wondering about home made pizza, as a complete change.

I've got my meal booked at a Indian restaurant so I'll probably go for mixed pakora, tandoori chicken with nan bread and then I think it's cheesecake for dessert. The only time I'm planning on stepping foot in the kitchen is for breakfast then sweets and drinks at night.