what's an alternative to the soup/bread/cheese type lunch - for Christmas guests

[hatwoman]

we've got quite a few guests who'll be fed nice dinners but what about easy - all hands on deck type family lunches? just feel we might need a bit of variety.

Quiche, cold meats (think parma ham, chorizo, bresala rather than shite wafer thin crappy ham etc) beetroot, feta and mint salad, radishes, olives, breads, baked potatoes, pates - a very nice buffet and very simple to just bung on the table. mmmmmmmmm

sausages, french bread, caramelised onions and salad

I was going to say homemade soup and warm crusty bread...

big spanish omelette and salad

agree with twiglett - DIY sausage sarnies v nice

Big bowl of pasta, bread and salad.
Chilli and rice,

Faijatias (sp?) is one of our favourites.
Chicken in spicy sauce with onions and peppers,
Chicken in a less spicy sauce for kids and granny,
Grated cheese,
warmed tortillias,
shredded lettuce,
salsa,
sour cream or creme fresh
raw carrot batons (kids),
any cold meats or other stuff that needs used up.
All on table to help yourself and make your own combinations of faitas.

Baked potatoes, scooped out, stuffed with cheese and lightly sauteed leeks, and then baked again; served with sausages and onions cooked at same time as potatoes.

Do a brunch one day instead of lunch? Egg and bacon rolls, big fruit salad, croissants, good bread, nice jams etc.

Homemade pizza and salad.

Pitta bread, houmus, tsatziki etc etc. for what dd1 calls a "picky meal".

thanks people - some good ideas. part of the problem is that dh loves buying cold meats, cheeses, fish, dips, pie, of all shapes and sizes - and then gets it all out at once. so very difficult to do variety over several meals - he likes variety at every meal, so they all end up the same iyswim. I'll probably do a pasta of some sort one day and maybe omlette too.