If you dont eat Christmas dinner until the evening what do you have for lunch?

[DrMadelineMaxwell]

Our usual routine of bacon butties for breakfast (pastries for me), christmas dinner at muns at lunchtime and a buffet affair in the evening is changing to make it easier for mum who still wants to host but wants more time to prepare and cook - and a lie in!

So it will be me and my DH and 2 dc and possibly my sister and niece at lunchtime.

What can we have that is sufficiently festive but really easy to do without spoiling our dinner later?

We tend to do some bread and pate, maybe some cold meats like salami and perhaps some carrots and hummous.

Doesn't take any effort! Pate is my once a year Christmas treat.

@raviolo

Bacon baps for breakfast then starters for lunch- prawn cocktail, avocados scampi, breaded prawns, blinis, salad, smoked salmon etc then Roast at 5 ish

Starters for lunch is a great idea @raviolo 😊

Breakfast: Bacon rolls/pastries usually pretty early as we’re all early risers in this house.

Then I have a big pot of homemade soup in the slow cooker and some homemade sausage rolls (made using the sausage meat with cranberry from Morrison’s 🤤), crisps/dips maybe a few wee nibbles from M&S that are available to whoever wants them at any time over lunch etc.

Main turkey roast is usually served around 4.30/5pm and we just have main and dessert, no starter.

Something that is really delicious but not too filling that it spoils the main evening event! A retro prawn cocktail sounds just the ticket!

We have normal breakfast, followed by dog walk and present opening. Open the Champagne around 11 (!), then maybe smoked salmon on brown bread or bits from M&S for lunch. We have dinner at 8 but DH hates turkey and has beef, whereas I don't eat red meat so cook turkey for myself! He will be eating chocolates and jellies whenever he can and I will indulge in a few I expect!

We usually do early dinner like 3/4 and brunch like 11am so not hungry until then.

French toast with bacon and maple syrup after opening presents. I find cooking takes away my appetite so I don't get hungry, but if the kids do they can help themselves to a snack, but we don't do anything like sit down together. Then the main Christmas meal about 4-4.30. A later on picking at the leftovers!

For brunch we have freshly baked croissants (cooked from frozen) and coffee, German grain bread with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, champagne/Prosecco/Asti (as is or with orange juice, according to preference).

For lunch it’s usually a modest cheese and charcuterie board, along with pork pies/sausage rolls/the Christmas ham that we cook on the 23rd or 24th. Mince pies and other treats are available for grazing throughout the day.

We have coffee / mince pies / cake / toast when opening the presents.

Then brunch at about 11.30 - a full cooked breakfast, or waffles with crispy bacon & maple syrup or bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese, served with champagne and more coffee.

There's a steady supply of nuts, chocolate, crisps for anyone who fancies it throughout the day. Last year dd got a velvetizer so she made hot chocolates mid afternoon.

We eat out dinner at about 7pm and we have a traditional turkey dinner with lots of sides. And more champagne. And wine.

We have always have a selection of desserts and a cheeseboard but often they don't get touched until the following day.

I do the cooking and my favourite part of the whole thing is my breakfast next morning. Dh makes me a turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwich on very fresh white bread with real butter, and lots of salt and pepper. With a mug of fresh coffee and a serving of sherry trifle. I eat it in bed and read new books - that's my moment of bliss and it's been like that for 22 years now!

our not out - we eat at home

Late brunch/Breakfast with bread, cheese, jams etc (DP is Dutch). Evening traditional meal. Don’t need food in between tbh!

Substantial breakfast.
Bring out the nibbles at 12.
Main meal at 4:00
Then cheese and port in the evening.

Sigh I should’ve said we don’t always have both meals although we have done that once or twice! Usually one or the other - brunch OR a cheese and charcuterie board. Depending on how early the household wakes on the day.

I love baking so made a wreath of little flavoured bread rolls, with a brie baked in the middle, with we had that with pickles & and some nibbles at lunchtime. Then had a turkey dinner about 5.30pm.

Healthyish breakfast after opening stockings then graze all day on chocolate and anything else we fancy, then we eat late afternoon at about 4ish. We are 2 adults and kids aged 10 and 13

Drinks when we get up. Brunch of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. If we want something else before our meal there are mince pies to have with a cuppa.

@Fruitinator I love baking too, especially bread 😊 we do something similar on Boxing Day or the 27th - a baked Camembert set into a boule loaf, baked with garlic, honey and thyme and served with roasted nuts and dried cranberries. So good. I want some now!! This year I’m making pickled figs which should go nicely with it too.

Party food because that’s what the kids like and see as special ( so mini sausage rolls, mini beef burgers, cheese sticks etc) plus we can just pick at it. My two don’t particularly love the main roast dinnner so I see the lunch as their treat and then we have the main dinner with candles etc in the evening ( it’s just me and them so possibly easier!)

Bagels for breakfast whilst opening pressies and then a walk/stomp around outside (small children with boundless energy and a significantly lazier dog!) then get showered and properly dressed for the day. We then have canapés and fizz from about midday while opening more presents/playing with new toys/cooking the roast. We tend to have the main meal around 4:30pm which usually works well and we don’t have a starter as the canapés double up for that too. We usually do sticky sausages on sticks, blinis with smoked salmon or Parma ham and goats cheese, some kind of pinwheel thing and stuffed dates. I’m feeling hungry now!

Big brunch with pastries, scrambled eggs and bacon late morning then a few canapés when we meet friends for a drink early afternoon. Sit down for turkey around 5pm

We don’t tend to have lunch, fill up at breakfast, sausage egg and bacon rolls about 11am Then tend to graze on nibbles and chocolate. Dinner anywhere between 4 and 5pm so not not massively late.

When dcs were younger we would eat our main meal at 1.30- 2pm. So would do a mini buffet later on in the evening for them.

But all adults now so they can just help themselves if they’re a bit peckish.

I'd do the bug breakfast/brunch then evening meal but my sister is coming at lunch time as that suits her and us.

I think it's going to be no breakfast for us.
Bacon and sausages (maybe pigs in blankets) to make sandwiches with. And mince pies or pastries.

@raviolo the lunch starters idea is a hit here as my big DCs reckon it will enable them to eat giant prawn cocktails, and dinner 😃

Chocolate

I'd have Xmas nibbles from Aldi M&S