Christmas snacks

[Cravey]

I'm hosting this year. 11 adults and 2 children. Xmas eve through day after boxing day. Menus sorted for all three days, but suddenly I'm thinking of snacks. We have lots of fruit anyway, but I know chocs and such like maybe go down well. Crisps ? Pringles ? I can ask people to bring these with them so no hassle, we just aren't a snack family. Ideas much appreciated please.

I love canapés at Christmas and Iceland are brilliant for these.

Make loads of mince pies and freeze them so you can take out as and when you need.
Also things like houmous/other dips and bread sticks are good.
I make loads of palmiers too (Delia recipe) some with just cheese, some with parma ham and some with anchovies. They freeze well and warm in the oven.

If you're looking for easy options for people to bring along:
Nice crisps, chip and dips
Mixed nuts (essential at Christmas!)
Mince pies
Cheese twists (easy enough to make with puff pastry and cheese) or to buy.
Crackers & cheese
Florentines
Tapas bits or canapes?

@Swifey40 how well do sausage rolls freeze? Can I make them and then let them defrost and be tasty cold or do they need a reheat?

Snacks are my area of expertise!

Savoury - Pringles are a must. Also, Walkers Stackers are very nice. Salted and roasted peanuts (in the tubs for freshness after they’ve been opened). Popcorn, SnackaJacks, mini cheddars. Sainsbury’s do mini beef pasties and egg bites which are nice, sausage rolls, pork pies, DH is obsessed with cheese and pineapple at the moment. Cheese scones (Sainsbury’s are really nice).

Sweet - tubs of Roses/Celebrations (Quality Street used to be a Christmas essential in our house but they’ve really gone downhill and I won’t be bothering this year), After Eights, Match Makers, Lindt, Ferrero Rocher, Toblerone, Elizabeth Shaw Amaretto Flutes, Sainsburys Frangipane mince pies are beyond delicious.

The list is neverending!

We don't snack too much at Christmas but the things we absolutely love are:

Florentines - either home made or Fudge's .
Really crumbly cheesey biscuits - again Fudges or home made.
Chocolate covered marzipan.
Really nice Turkish delight.
Mince pies
Crisps, crudities and dips.

@Sn0tnose

Snacks are my area of expertise!

Savoury - Pringles are a must. Also, Walkers Stackers are very nice. Salted and roasted peanuts (in the tubs for freshness after they’ve been opened). Popcorn, SnackaJacks, mini cheddars. Sainsbury’s do mini beef pasties and egg bites which are nice, sausage rolls, pork pies, DH is obsessed with cheese and pineapple at the moment. Cheese scones (Sainsbury’s are really nice).

Sweet - tubs of Roses/Celebrations (Quality Street used to be a Christmas essential in our house but they’ve really gone downhill and I won’t be bothering this year), After Eights, Match Makers, Lindt, Ferrero Rocher, Toblerone, Elizabeth Shaw Amaretto Flutes, Sainsburys Frangipane mince pies are beyond delicious.

The list is neverending!

This is amazing ! Thankyou

I think Aldi Stackers are nicer than Pringles.
Shortbread, chocolate covered biscuits, individual slices of Christmas cake - think Mr Kipling do them.
Kids and some adults may not like Xmas pud, Xmas cake or mince pies (I don’t myself) so a chocolately alternative, a cheesecake/mini cheesecakes, apple pie/mini apple pies, or iced Madeira cake as alternatives for main meals or snacks.
And, oh god, how could I forget chocolate log?!

Things I like to have in for snacks at Christmas are:

Jacobs cracker crisps.....these are so moreish they get eaten in minutes by my lot.

Florentines. Aldi usually do some lovely ones dipped in chocolate.

After Eights, we only ever have them at Christmas.

Honey roasted or salted nuts. Particularly cashews and peanuts.

Christmas cake.

Cheese and crackers, the more varieties the better!

Sensations chicken and thyme crisps.

A cheeseboard is for life, not just for Christmas 🤣
Cheese, crackers, oatcakes, pate, grapes, olives and chutney galore….

I hate them both but Twiglets and cheese footballs (Jacobs the cracker company make them) seem to appear on lots of snack tables around about Christmas time.

Fab ideas Thankyou. Felt a tad grinch like with just a bowl of fruit 😅

If you don't have Aldi florentines then you'll be missing a trick

What's your secret for not eating snacks? I could live on snacks & canapés .....

small last year I though the cheese footballs tasted totally different to usual and I've been eating them for about 50 years , did you notice any difference?

You can make lots of sausage rolls with one pack of sausage meat and ready rolled puff pastry. I mix the sausage meat with some added nutmeg and some chopped dried apricots/cranberries. Make them really teeny and don't over fill. Brush with milk, and freeze raw on baking trays, then pop in freezer bags. Then you can just grab however many you need and pop, frozen straight in the oven on some baking paper.
They are delicious as canapés, and go really well with a whisky mac 😋

@Ragwort

What's your secret for not eating snacks? I could live on snacks & canapés .....

Think it's because I grew up with a diabetic mum. We rarely had snacks, I didnt have chocolate until I was around 7. Plus my boys loved fruit growing up.

I always make some cheese straws using shop bought pastry and cheddar cheese. V easy and delicious. I also like devils on horseback. Bombay mix might also be a good one to have some bowls of. Leave a cheeseboard out on the kitchen counter under a dome also might be a handy way for people to help themselves to things.

I live for snacks at Christmas! I could happily miss all meals and just eat a steady stream of party food. We usually do the M&S nibbles but they were a bit disappointing last year. Things like duck spring rolls, tempura king prawns, mini Indian snacks, sausage rolls, smoked salmon and cream cheese blinis, cheese and marmite puffs. Those tiny bite size frozen pizzas always go down well.

Aldi's Florentines are the best thing ever

My mum always put out Bombay mix and these weird little garlicky twigs called sesame sticks. No idea if you can still get them, she probably went to some new age dealer for her annual stash. Tortilla chips as well (probably just Doritos these days) and dips.

She always had nuts and raisins in bowls as well, which went down surprisingly well despite the lack of added salt or sugar. Salted pistaschios in their shells and dates and dried figs... it's all sounding a bit old school but these are the nibbles I associate with Christmas. And chocs although of course roses are nothing but a bland disappointment these days. Toblerone pieces might be nice, you can get mixed bags these days. Minty chocs might be nice although not a huge fan and don't know what they are - Benedick's or something? Matchmakers as well.

I'm just having a bit of a nostalgic fest now - these days we just rip through a tub of celebrations.

I'm more impressed you've already sorted your menu!
May I ask what you are planning please? so I can copy you

Nuts
Dried fruit
Cocktail sausages
Cheese and pineapple hedgehogs
Crackers with cream cheese
Frosted grapes

Doesn't all have to be sweet stuff but they will love it:
Party rings
Flying saucers
Chocolate buttons
Fondant fancies

Snacks; we always have pringles, honey roasted cashews from M&S or Aldi, home made sausage rolls, cheeses fruits and crackers, Aldi or M&S luxury chocolates, cheese straws, florentines, home made cookies, obligatory mince pies.

I could skip the actual meals and be happy with just the snacks at Christmas .

The olives always get devoured with our family . You can never buy too many.

Crudités and dips, cheese and crackers, olives, pickles, pickled vegetables, anything with warm cheese.