Ideas for starter for Christmas Day lunch

[TheIckabog]

DSis and I are hosting Christmas lunch this year. My mum has always hosted and without fail has done either prawn cocktail and smoked salmon or mini ‘fish pie’ served in a scallop shell as a starter so this year we’d like a change!

What do you do for starters? Ideally we need something that could be made ahead, something suitable for a vegetarian (or can be adapted for a veggie) and also suitable for a 95-year-old!

Last year I did little pick and mix starters

So I did prawn cocktails in shot glasses with brown bread stars

Garlic dough baubles

Brie and cranberry filo crackers

In the past I’ve done pate and melba toast, soup and par baked rolls, garlic mushrooms,

We don't have a starter but we have a few nibbles with a glass of bubbly instead. Usually just M&S style canapés. Nice & easy & you can get a variety for everyone.

If you're after a proper starter, maybe soup (broccoli & Stilton or something with chestnuts), pate, twice baked soufflé. Can all be made in advance
&/or frozen.

A really good soup, with some sort of speciality bread?

Or quails eggs served with home made mayonnaise in a "nest" of rocket or mustard & cress. If the eggs and still slightly warm, this can be fabulous

Or aubergine rolls, stuffed with breadcrumbs. chees, olives & herbs.

If you want to stay fishy you could do a mackerel pate?
Garlic or boozy mushrooms
Soup as already suggested is generally a winner
Some kind of salad ?
A cheese and something tartlet

Canapes and fizz. Full on starter is too much imo.

Cream of celeriac soup - delicious!

I don't like soup as a starter at christmas because I find it too filling.

Pate is a great choice and you could offer a vegetarian and a meat one. that's usually my preference if I do a starter.

Baked cheese - camembert etc - is nice too but again, maybe manage portions as it's' rich and then there's still the rest of the food. Also a bit harder to prepare in advance.

Small tomato tarts with some rocket and balsamic?

Breaded cheese and cranberry jelly, soup (vegetarian) with nice baked bread, pate and toast (plenty of veggie and non veggie choices, and you can even buy the toast ready).

parma ham and melon (or smoked salmon and melon) - has to be really light before the main event

Op if you ate hosting, you can do it how you like, never mind what your mil does, as long as no one has allergies or anything!

If you are doing a full on Christmas dinner with all the trimmings; I agree with PPS that you really don't think you need a proper starter. I'd also go with a glass of champagne and some home made canapes. There's a vast selection [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/party_food
here]]

We tend to not bother with a starter at all but Christmas dinner is usually just the 4 of us, it will be 3 this year if DS isn't allowed home from Uni.

Our routine when DSs were small was yoghurt drink and piece of fruit while upstairs opening stockings - breakfasty lunch thing depending on what time they'd got up, so something like french toast or rolls with bacon. If they were up really early then they'd have either a bowl of cereal or a breakfast pastry with milk and a lighter "brunch". We'd have dinner at 3ish, just a massive main, and then dessert later when watching a movie.

Now we are all adults, it's usually bucks fizz and croissants, walk to pub, have a couple and then walk back, have big main course and dessert later watching a movie.

Sometimes I'll make soup (turkey broth) and we'll have that before the pub.

So, I say ditch the starter :o

More veggie ideas here

Pâté with toast, a layered three coloured vegetable pâté for the vegetarians, (or for everyone). Can be plated up beforehand and looks very interesting.

Parma ham and figs or melon on salad leaves, or goats cheese on toast with salad.

Asparagus or avocado vinaigrette.

Waldorf salad with flaked smoked mackerel to trout. (Only if you have no serious wine drinkers, as mackerel can give a very metallic taste to wine.)

Personally, I wouldn't do soup, as soup and bread is quite filling, and you have all the faff of serving something hot to several people all at the same time.

A little baked camembert each with some fresh bread and cranberry sauce. So yummy.

We do baked camembert, mainly because it is quick and everyone can eat it.

Small mushrooms, take the stalk out , fill the cavity with Garlic&Herb Philly , dip in egg/breadcrumbs
Can be kept chilled till needed then deep fry .
Delicious

I'd keep things light with a blood orange, fennel and walnut salad, or else have smoked salmon and Anna Jones' smokey carrots with rye bread.

What I actually do is have vast quantities of canapés at noon and then the actual meal with no starter a couple of hours later.

Not soup. Too heavy.
I like pate with melba toast (cut into Christmas trees)
Or an antipasti board (handy for getting the main out hot!)
Or sweet chilli prawns

Ooh or baked camembert with crusty bread and cranberry sauce

We have our starter about an hour before the main!!

I do pate and melba toast, and some little cranberry and Brie filo parcels

We have fizz and canapés ( usually smoked salmon) at about noon, and then we dont need a starter with lunch which is about 2-3.