Christmas party / open house - food ideas?

[CassieStuart]

We are having a party / open house / drop in if you are around type thing between Christmas and new year and I'm struggling to decide what food to serve.

About 20 adults and 10 children have said they will pop in at some point.

Should I do bowl food with rice and salads or is that too much and finger food / canapés are better idea? I don't want to spend all evening heating things up in the oven if I can avoid it. But worried a big casserole may be too much for a casual drop in and it will go to waste.

For sweet tooth's I am planning on brownies or fairy cakes.

Really appreciate people's thoughts.

Beg and borrow slow cookers and then go to Stephanie O’Dea’s website.

Canapes, definitely.

Sausage rolls
Cocktail sausages
Crisps
Nuts
Blinis
Vol-au-vents
Mini mince pies
Cheese & crackers
Christmas cake

If doing canapes,
Take a few wraps (sundried tomato ones are nice for this), smooth over a layer of Philadelphia other brands are available cheese and gently top with sliced ham. Roll tightly, wrap in cling film, place in fridge for at least an hour. They are then very easy to unroll and slice when you are ready to serve them as lovely pinwheels, and should stay rolled if you have done them tightly and let them settle in the fridge.

Veg sticks (can also have these pre-prepped and cut, just keep in airtight tub in fridge) and hummus are also great to have - carrot and sweet peppers (red or yellow ones) and maybe cucumber or celery if you like those.

I tend to do a lot of M&S party food things for those kinds of events, but the numbers would be spread over a good few hours.

If there will be a good few at the same time, would lasagna work? You can have that made ahead, and it does mean using the oven but not in and out all afternoon. Pop in the trays, and maybe add some garlic bread for the last few minutes (or even a few extra minutes when you take out lasagna while you finish taking out salads from fridge and cutting lasagna portions).

Green salad, coleslaw, bowl of cherry tomatoes, bowl of olives, on the side.
Some desert nibbly bits (brownies etc as you mentioned).
Job done.

Do a ham the day before or else a pork shoulder. Then serve cold with breads, cheeses, crackers, chutney etc. You won’t hav to worry about heating stuff

I find that finger food buffets work better when you've got children coming, and are usually better for open-house style catering. Also, if you're serving salads and bowl food, it often requires a knife and fork which means guests need somewhere to sit.

I'd do a cold finger-food buffet with the following:
Feta and tomato skewers recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/recipes/snacks/vittoria-tomato-and-feta-skewers
Scotch eggs
Cheese straws
Cocktail sausages
Crudités
Mini pizzas
Mini stuffed pitta bread

I came looking for this exact thread, am also hosting and wanted some ideas.

I’m doing bowl food: chilli and rice. I’m serving it with baked nachos and accompaniments of salsa, jalapeños, cheese etc.

Making pizza dough and going to make simple pizza squares (just sauce, cheese, maybe one of pepperoni).

Making a quiche.

A lot of my guests have asked what they can bring, and because I have no idea of how many to expect, I’ve said maybe a small plate for the table - a pot of olives or crisps. Two friends have offered to do a cheeseboard.

Debating making mini cup cakes. Going to make a huge batch of Xmas rocky road.
Have a panettone too.

Thanks for suggestions. In the end I went with a beef casserole with rice, plates of cold meats and cheeses with biscuits, a couple of salads (rice based and tomato based) and then lots of cupcakes. Went down well and was easy to prep in the end.