Nibbles. Buffet or Snacks? Help!

[Christmasmunchies]

I've invited about 20 family and friends around Christmas Eve. Pretty casual invite - "drop in anytime between 12-2 for a Christmas drink and nibbles if you're free" (type of text sent).
One of my friends yesterday was grilling me on what I class as nibbles, in a slightly condescending tone. I explained its only a pretty casual drop in affair, so won't be a buffet. She then asked me to be more precise about what food will be served (I found it a bit rude tbh!)
I said, crisps, chocs, nuts, cheeseboard- that type of thing. She looked disappointed! Now I'm concerned that everyone else will be expecting a Delia Smith Buffet and I'll have to up my game and get more food in.
If someone sent you the above invite- what would you be expecting?

On Christmas Eve most plan food quite carefully. I don’t see how or why the friend was rude for checking whether she’d need to either eat a big breakfast or a late lunch on Christmas Eve of all days.

I came to say exactly the same. Everything that you have already said you are doing plus a couple of continental meat selections and baguettes from the supermarket. That's plenty! Especially on Christmas Eve when you have lots more to do as the day goes on.

What about the invitation means she can’t plan her meals carefully? It goes something like this… ‘we’ve been invited to pop in for drinks and nibbles at x’s between 12 and 2 so if we aim to be there for 12 we can leave at 1 after a drink and some nibbles then have lunch at home afterwards’. Honestly I’d hate to live so rigidly. And I would be really questioning myself if I found myself referring to someone as ‘rude’ for not supplying what I deemed to be appropriate refreshments after being invited to their house.

As PPs have said - you set the expectation of something substantially more than crisps, nuts etc if the timing is 12-2.

By planning I meant if you are that worried about going hungry you’d just eat beforehand, not interrogate the person who has been kind enough to extend an invitation in the first place!

If you're going to invite guests over the hours that are a meal time, you should feed them that meal.

Better to move the whole shebang forward an hour, so it's not smack on lunchtime, and then it'll be clear that it's just appetiser-type nibbles

Can’t believe how many people agree with the friend, unless she is Santa and she desperately needs to eat before a journey around the world she’s rude for asking.

The OP didn’t say she asked if she should eat a big breakfast, she said she questioned which type of food would be served, for me that’s rude!

The Op isn’t being a good host by doing an event over a meal time and not serving said meal.

I think I'm actually only here for entertainment purposes now 🤣

She is clear on the invitation that it’s ’nibbles’, not a meal. If that isn’t good enough for the person invited, they can decline.

I'm another saying that as it's between 12-2, I'd expect "nibbles" to mean something akin to a light buffet - sausage rolls, sandwiches, cheeseboard, bread, cold meats etc as well as crisps, nuts, quality street and a mince pie.

If it was held at 3-5, I'd probably expect "nibbles" just to be the crisps, nuts, quality street and mince pie, maybe a sausage roll or two. But honestly, if I was only providing crisps, nuts etc, I probably wouldn't have specified "nibbles" on the invitation at all, I'd probably have said "pop in for a drink", or maybe "join us for a glass of wine and a mince pie". I mean chucking a bowl of crisps/nuts out is a given really, and I wouldn't think it needed to be specified on the invitation.

But nibbles can mean a wide variety of things, especially if hosted over lunch time.

Jesus christ

Honestly let’s just agree to disagree 😂. It wouldn’t matter to me what ‘nibbles’ meant, I would be more than capable as an adult of planning around it. I realise (mainly from reading this thread) that some people need to know exactly what they’re eating and at exactly what time… fine, everyone is different. I will never be that person though.

Omg, are these people children? If I’m taking the children out I would make sure they’re fed before or bring something for them to eat. If you’re an adult that can’t cope with not eating for 2hrs, even if it’s over ‘lunch’, then eat before, after , or bring something with you that will stop you from being ‘hangry’. Nibbles are small bits of food served with drinks. The OP said she was serving nibbles, not lunch. Is it really that difficult?!

Be careful, you can’t say the word planning without being accused of agreeing that grown adults need to know what food will be available at any given time!

Who knew the word nibbles in an invitation could be so controversial!

Precisely. OP should just say she’s inviting people for drinks and then they’ll not have any expectation of food. Whatever’s chucked in will be a bonus.

Adults don't need a full blow meal and lunch, nibbles will fill them up. She's rude and doesn't have to come

I love how everything on MN becomes an analysis of the minutiae 🤣

It’s lunchtime so I’d expect more than nuts and crisps tbh. Just whack some pizzas in the oven!

You must be joking! crisps and nuts are good enough it seems.

rip open some packets, empty them into a bowl and that will keep people happy.

They would keep people happy…. Those who are popping in for 30mins - 1 hour for a quick drink to wish merry Christmas. Then they can have lunch at home or whatever.

why does the OP need to provide a full lunch?! Bizarre!

If you do this, you really need to put ‘naice ham’ on your shopping list. The normal packets just won’t do.

Ah lovely, a bonkers MN food thread.
Just waiting for someone to say that surely no one could possibly manage a mini sausage roll/teaspoon full of winter pasta salad (WTF?), and one quality street on the same day.

"You could buy a decent fresh ready made soup (mushroom or potato?) and serve in small bowls with bread and some cheese etc."

🤣 I can just imagine this. "Alright Dave. Can I get you a beer? Little bowl of mushroom soup to go with it? Cheese? Merry Christmas and a happy peak lunch"

Except some people don't want to get pissed at high noon with just 'nibbles' to counteract the drink i.e. nibbles = a bag of nuts. Then you will say to me who said anything about getting pissed. Fair enough. I've enough to be doing Christmas Eve to not want to waste time on bag of peanuts and 1 glass of wine or beer. It just all sounds so unappealing. 😂😂