With these three easy party food suggestions, you can relax this Christmas, we are taking the stress right out of being the host with the most! What’s more, we have paired each food idea with a fantastic gin cocktail so that you can really wow your guests with the greatest of ease.

With minimal effort needed for each of these suggestions, they are easy to make in bulk, ahead of time, no matter how many guests you have invited to your festive soirée!

3 simple food and cocktail suggestions for a stress-free Christmas party (from easiest to hardest):

Snacks, nibbles and picky bits

By far the easiest way to feed the masses as they saunter around your home this Christmas is with a fantastic array of snacks for them to pick at while they enjoy the festivities. Placed around the place in big bowls, they can be a real game-changer and will keep everyone satisfied until they head home.

Our first snack suggestion is Cheesies Jingle Bites. We included them in our December 2021 Gin of the Month box because we think they are just so perfect for Christmas! What are they? Well, Cheesies make crunchy cheese bites that are made with 100% cheese. Their Jingle Bites are a mix of Gouda, Cheddar and Emmental - it’s like having a cheeseboard in snack form! They are unique and pack a deliciously cheesy punch that is sure to turn a few heads.

Next, let’s talk crisps. No Christmas party would be complete without some exciting crisps. Give Mackies of Scotland’s Turkey & Stuffing Potato Crisps (also in our December box) a go over the festive season and you will not be disappointed. That mix of turkey and stuffing flavours makes every bite full of Christmas cheer. Your guests will certainly be impressed.

Last but not least, we come to healthy snacks. Because during the season of gloriously rich foods it can be oh-so-refreshing to have something a little lighter, fresh and vibrant. Why not surprise them with a lavish fruit or veg bowl this Christmas? A selection of crudités (chopped, raw vegetables) with hummus, tzatziki and any number of your favourite dips is also an easy way to win their hearts.

Which cocktail should I serve with these bites?
We recommend a classic Negroni because its delectably bitter-sweet profile creates a wonderful contrast to the powerful flavours of the Cheesies and crisps and the refreshing bite of the fruit and vegetables!

This gin cocktail is particularly great for parties because you can make it way ahead of time and the recipe is really simple: it’s just equal parts craft gin (London Dry preferably), Campari and red vermouth (one of our favourites is Punt E Mes). You could mix up a jug and keep it in the fridge until your guests arrive. Find our full Negroni recipe here!

2. Canapes

Requiring a little more effort than simply putting snacks in a bowl, canapes are still a very easy way to satisfy your guest’s hunger. To make sure you are not over-worked this Christmas, we have brought together three suggestions that require you to do nothing but assemble them.

We’ll start with a classic: smoked salmon and cream cheese on blinis. Smoked salmon is synonymous with celebrations of any kind and for good reason, it’s so complex and rich and soft! To make this canape, simply spread a hearty helping of cream cheese on a blini and place a generous slice of smoked salmon on top. Finished with a sprig of dill, we are salivating!

For the meat-eaters, we recommend duck or chicken liver pate with onion marmalade on a circle of toast. First, toast your bread, then add a wedge of pate to each piece and a small spoonful of onion marmalade (or vice versa). The sweet-savoury marmalade is the perfect partner to the rich pate to give you an utterly sumptuous bite!

For a great vegetarian canape idea, we recommend adding blue cheese (or ricotta if you don’t like blue cheese) to bread or a cracker with a slice of fig and a drizzle of honey over the top. And you can remove the cheese for a vegan-friendly version of this canape. Honey and fig are a beautiful pairing and the cheese adds a mouthwateringly creamy yet powerful base - especially if you go for the blue cheese.

Which cocktail should I serve with these canapes?
The classic French 75 is a fantastic cocktail to serve with canapes of any kind. It’s light and bubbly and citrusy in all the right places, making it a great match of decadent morsels of deliciousness. What’s more, it’s easy to make for lots of people in quick succession. Simply get your flute glasses all lined up and filled with gin and lemon juice before your guests arrive then pour the champagne as you hand out each one. Find our classic French 75 recipe here!

3. Grazing board or buffet

So, this option does require the most effort of the three, but not by much, and it’s certainly a lot less effort than doing a full-on sit-down meal. With these suggestions, you will still have plenty of time and energy to simply enjoy the festive moment.

Let’s start with the easiest option - it’s kind of a cheat! Our first suggestion here is to combine the snack and canape ideas into a huge grazing board for people to enjoy. With the addition of some nice nuts, pickles, olives and charcuterie there will be more than enough for all, with plenty of leftovers for you to enjoy later.

Our second suggestion for a festive buffet is to do a fondue! Cheese fondue is a great way to let people help themselves and it can really set a fabulously wintery alpine tone to your evening. A drool-worthy mix of swiss cheeses like gruyére and Emmental mixed with white wine, the classic fondue is impressive yet simple to create. All you then need to do is put out some edible delights like boiled new potatoes and crusty bread with skewers for your guests to get stuck in.

Our last and possibly favourite Christmas party food idea is…a chocolate fountain! That’s right, let’s through caution to the wind and delve into Christmas covered in melting chocolate. Just set up the fountain (preferable as far away from any white or cream carpets as possible) with a selection of fruit and marshmallows and you are good to go. They will be talking about your party for years to come!

Which cocktail should I serve with these grazing board and buffet ideas?
Here, it has to be a punch cocktail and, as it’s Christmas, that can only mean one thing: Eggnog! All you need is a big punch bowl and a ladle and you can leave this cocktail on the table with the food suggestions above for people to help themselves. Find our gin-laced Eggnog recipe at this link - luxurious, creamy and festive, it’s always an easy crowd-pleaser!