Anyone do Christmas Day brunch & dinner?

[immoreexcitedthanthekids]

Since the kids were born we have always done breakfast/lunch/evening buffet on Christmas Day.

However they are now all older teens and likely to be out or working on Christmas Eve. Last year none of them got up in time for breakfast! And we would all prefer to have the main meal in the evening now.

Was thinking of doing a brunch at 11ish and then dinner at 5. That is earlier than we usually eat dinner but it will be 3 courses and we often have a break after the main meal with puddings an hour or so later. I will put a cheeseboard out too.

Does anyone else do this? Does it work well? Is it too long a gap in between meals?

We do that and it works really well. By the time you've finished all 3 courses, with gaps in between, it works out at about 7ish anyway.

Yes that’s exactly what we do. “Kids” all in their twenties now.
We do stockings first thing then pastries/ scrambled egg and bacon/Buck’s Fizz for brunch. Dinner about 5.

We always had canapés and nibbles at about 12.30, when my mother in law arrived, and then I aimed to get the turkey out of the oven for 5, so we would eat any time between 5.30 and 6. It always worked well for us. This is only the second year of us being on our own for xmas day so I will probably cut right back on the party food, but we will still have our turkey at the same time.

We have always done this. DH's (local) family come at about 10 (or we go to them), we have ham and eggs/salmon/bacon bagels and Buck's Fizz. Clear away whilst some walk dogs.
Then we have opening presents with fizz and (as it usually takes ages) some M&S nibbles.
Then we eat the main meal by candlelight between 5 and 6
Works well.

We do exactly that.

Brunch at whatever time we're all up.

Dinner served anywhere between 4.30 and 6.30 - whenever it's ready - which takes away all stress on timings.

Chocolates, mince pies, snacks, etc are available if anyone gets hungry in the meantime.

It's fab and has always worked really well for us.

Yes, that is how we have always done it. It makes for a more relaxing day.

Sounds great.

Yes, mainly because I've never figured out how it's physically possible to spend the morning opening and setting up kids toys, then being able to dish up lunch for 1-2pm. How? I want to be there enjoying the morning, so food is at 5-6.

We do it too. There's no set timings, no stress, and we all muck in with the food prep. As other posters have said, there's more than enough food around if anyone needs a snack.

Always have done this since I was a child. I didn’t realise people ate their Christmas/Sunday lunch type meal at lunchtimes until I was an adult!

We do this roughly-

• quick breakfast for early risers
• walk + church
• brunch 11-12
• presents in the afternoon with champagne and canapés
• dinner from about 6

it works well for all sorts of reasons. You don’t get the afternoon slump following a big lunch, you don’t open your presents too early and then feel it’s all over, you can go straight from champagne and presents into dinner into after dinner games rather than having a lull, you can turn the lights off to admire the pudding.

Yes we have always done this as I find if I eat breakfast and lunch I'm not hungry enough for a big dinner and I like to feel really hungry before eating our massive Christmas dinner!

Yep we've done that since the kids were small so they had their main meal at a sensible time. They are adults now and have taken this to their own households.

Always done this. Late breakfast and then dinner around 4/5pm.

That's what we do. Kids 14 and 9 but we always eat late normally so nobody wants a Christmas lunch. We have brunch about 11/11.30 then dinner about 5.30 so there's time for dessert

We do it differently in our house, we have 'Christmas Dinner' on Christmas Eve. All the family sit down at 7pm, Christmas tree with lights on in the background, candles on the table, it's a lovely atmosphere. Spend the evening together, taking our time and everything was prepared on a day when we had no other commitments. Then we have a lazy Christmas morning, croissants and Bucks Fizz when we all surface followed by an ongoing buffet from about 2-3pm into the early evening. It means everyone is fed but no-one has to spend Christmas Day in the kitchen. We've done that since our girls were young teenagers and now there is only the two of us for Christmas Day this year we still plan to do this. It started because I got fed up of never seeing my husband due to him being in the kitchen all day cooking and then being tired later. This way everyone benefits and enjoys the day.

Exactly this in our house too.

Less pressure to get everything done in the morning and I don't mind spending a bit of time pottering in the kitchen in the afternoon with a glass of fizz and a few willing helpers.

I love having Christmas dinner when it's dark outside, candles on the table and it can last for a few hours.

This is also an excellent option, and I highly approve of Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve since that's the way it's done at home! 🎄

We do this! However have a small snack about 2pm. Especially if having Mumsnet disapproving amounts of alcohol . And I find if I'm too hungry I find the main meal a bit of a challenge

Yes we do brunch between 10-11 and dinner is between 5-6pm. I have Christmassy snacks out all afternoon though.

We did that last year so DH’s family could get together in the morning, but then all go to different places for dinner while his dps stayed with us.

I left out a platter of veg and pickle type nibbles for picking at.

We do, if people aren't visiting us. Parkrun first thing, then bacon sarnies and pancakes at about 10.30. We have the roast dinner at about 4.30-5pm. It makes for a relaxing day, as we can all watch TV, enjoy our presents etc while the dinner's on.

We might have pancakes with syrup and DH will have scrambled eggs and toast .
Dinner after dark , used to be before Dr Who but that tradition was only in the era before Capaldi , DH and DS don't watch it now.
I try not to eat too late or I get heartburn

Boxing Day is Big Cooked Breakfast Day .
Croissants on Christmas Eve as they're best eaten fresh

We did this for the first time last year, and it worked so well we are going to do it again this year. DS is a teen now, so the days of him being up ridiculously early on Christmas day are over.

We had "posh things on posh toast" for brunch - smoked salmon, poached eggs and avocado on toasted sourdough. And then Christmas dinner around 6ish.