What starter do you have with Christmas dinner?

[catherinep80]

I think we normally just have soup as a starter but I'm doing Christmas dinner this year and I want to do something different. Any ideas for something easy but impressive? What does everyone else do?

No starter, - we don't have Christmas dinner until around 5, but have nibbles (usually nice M&S canapés) 2-3 hours earlier.

I worked in a restaurant once that served 7 courses for Christmas day...

Starter (pate and toast or melon I think)
Soup
Fish (on it's own with nothing else - weird)
Sorbet
Main course (roast with all the trimmings)
Dessert (Christmas pudding, trifle or something similarly heavy)
Cheese and biscuits.

Then there was coffee with, I kid you not, mince pies!

We were full every year...I wondered where people put it all.

Here we do main course and dessert. But we like to save room for nibbles later which as a pp said is the best bit.

Baked camembert, it is the law. Soup for those weirdo's who dont like cheese