If someone invites you for 'nibbles' what would you think was being offered?

[Makemineacosmo]

I was invited, along with some others, to 'nibbles and drinks' at a fairly recent friend's house last night.

Everyone did the usual and asked if they could bring anything and everyone took a bottle and a little gift for the host.

The 'nibbles' was a small ramekin handed to each of us with peanuts in it. So a nibble if you will. What would you serve if you invited people for nibbles?

Little bits of stuff to soak up the booze.
I would have my dinner beforehand.

was there an alternative for her guests with peanut allergies?!

This would have been my assumption too.

Surely the point (as with any of these threads) is that these are your friends, who you presumably like and talk to, and you therefore have an idea of what to expect or will ask if you are not sure.

With my friends "drinks and nibbles" means a couple of packets of crisps which will be put into a bowl if you are very lucky. The host will provide some drinks, but people will generally bring their own. The point of the evening is to catch up.

If more food was on offer the host would say something like "I'm going to organise some snacks such as sausage rolls, cheese and biscuits and some crisps and olives. Not a lot, so I suggest you eat beforehand. Please feel free to bring anything else you fancy". Everyone knows where they are. If the OP didn't know the host well enough to understand what "nibbles" might mean, why did she not ask?

I think a disproportionate number of Mners struggle with friendships, and seem so reluctant to host even a playdate for five year olds without doing a deep clean and steeling themselves, that they’re probably not really used to the idea that you might issue very casual invitations that don’t involve elaborate preparations, scouring the house, posting on Mn about what to serve as ‘nibbles’, and massively over catering.

Olives, crackers and cheese, nuts, Pringles and crudetetes with dips.

TBH I doubt that anyone I’d want to be friends with, would be so excessively hygiene-conscious. Or germophobic, in true MN hygiene-freak fashion.

Nothing requiring too much prep, but definitely more than one type of snack. Crisps, bread sticks, dips, olives kind of thing. Maybe a few fancy biscuits.

This sort of thing. Not a lot of food, but a variety, and not handed to me as a portion

Crisps, nuts, olives, hummus and breadsticks.

In our circle we have nibbles which is as above (for before a night out)

or substantial nibbles which is the above plus cheese and crackers, charcuterie, blinis, cheese straws etc. for an evening in

More than peanuts!
But still something equally non hassle like crisps/breadsticks and dips, olives, nuts, all just put into bowls and dotted about.

A few bowls of crisps, nuts, olives, sweets etc. Seems a bit tight!

Well yes, but you wouldn't invite them if you didn't, would you.

If I’m invited for drinks and nibbles then I assume I need to eat first. Nibbles could mean anything from a bowl of crisps to fancy canapés but to me the food is not the point, it’s more about catching up with friends.

Having said that I would be a bit 👀at being handed a ramekin of peanuts that’s a bit odd.

You said a buffet is as easy to do as nibbles and I explained why it's not...

Wine, a fuckton of cheese, crackers, nuts and olives.

Nibbles I would expect to be things like nuts, crisps, olives, cheese straws….maybe mini sausage rolls at a push. But on a table/side tables rather than portioned out per person, that’s weird.

I am lol-ing at you all carrying a little ramekin and your glass of wine, trying to figure out how you're supposed to eat the five peanuts you've each been given.

@redskydelight I agree with your simplified more spontaneous get together but still would ask in this situation )referring back to the OP) surely you would not gift a bottle of alcohol and something else to the host? Wouldn’t you show up with what you like to drink maybe a enought to share and grab a bag of crisps and say hello?

@Makemineacosmo I hosted over Christmas, with the invite saying drinks and nibbles and this is what I provided.

Drinks: Booze, soft drinks, juice, tea, coffee, non alcoholic beer, and mulled wine.

Nibbles: nuts, crisps, sausage rolls, mini pizzas, chicken wings and goujons, dips and crudites, French stick with butter, cheese and deli meats.

I may have gone slightly overboard, but that's because I'd never hosted these people before so I didn't know their likes or dislikes, and wanted to cover all bases, but I'd certainly expect more than 1 ramekin of nuts per person.

ETA; also provided sweet stuff, so a gateaux, a cheesecake, French fancies, and mini brownies.

Nibbles - I would think little snack eg nuts crisps sausages on sticks olives - maybe even a vol au vent 🤣- but certainly something stopping short of a full finger buffet. I would not expect it to replace my lunch/dinner.

Anything that you would use for dips. More than nuts anyway.

Bit cannibalistic?

I would serve tortilla crisps with a couple of dips, cheese and crackers, grapes, olives and some little cakes.

Also forgot to add crackers and green and red grapes to my list.