I HAVE done a survey among my friends and have discovered that Christmas dinners and Christmas Day lunches are, on the whole, very disappointing and not value for money.

To quote but a few – meals were cold, meat was tasteless, service was bad and waiters were rude. Mostly the hotels and restaurants insist on payment in advance, so when you are unhappy with your meal you cannot withhold payment.

It has become obvious to me that Christmas dinners are far better in January when you are not packed in the establishment like sardines and the food is far superior and often the cost is often one third of what you would pay pre-Christmas.

It is no wonder my husband refuses to attend any pre-Christmas dinners as during his working life he was dragged to corporate dinners all over the country which were, in the majority, eminently forgettable.

Jenny Hilton, Holgate Lodge Drive, York.