The menu

At big parties you won’t have the space for guests to sit down and eat. So a buffet and finger food is the way to go. We’ve picked three dishes and a drink for you to base your menu on. They can all be made ahead of time and are simple enough that you won’t be slaving away in the kitchen.

Don’t forget your picky food too. We’ve got Pringles and Co-op Irresistible crisps on offer to help you pad out your buffet. For dessert, follow it up with Fox's Chocolatey biscuits or your favourite Christmas chocolates.

Starter: Pigs in blankets

A smash-hit, crowd-pleasing classic- it’s not Christmas without pigs in blankets. Got vegan or vegetarian guests? Check out our plant-based swap.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 16 chipolata sausages or another type of skinny sausage
• 8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon (streaky bacon wraps much better than bacon medallions)
• 16 cocktail sticks

Method

Step 1.

Heat your oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.

Cut each bacon rasher in half widthways so you have two short and chunky strips.

Step 2.

Wrap a rasher of bacon around a sausage. Make sure the bacon isn’t curling at the ends and sits flat against the sausage. 

Step 3.

Put them on a baking tray with the edges of the bacon laying against the tray. This will prevent it from unfurling as it cooks.

Cook for 30 to 35 minutes until golden. Stick a cocktail stick in each and serve.

 

Main: Sliders

For your meat-eating guests, these mini beef burger sliders are easy to eat one-handed standing up, so perfect for your party.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 400g minced beef
• 20g parmesan cheese
• 8 mini burger buns
• 2 cream crackers
• 1 egg
• 1 red onion
• ½ tbsp parsley

 

Method

Step 1.

Heat your oven to 220c/200 fan/gas mark 7.

Lightly oil a baking tray and put to one side.

Step 2.

Put the crackers in a sandwich bag, squeeze out the air and seal.

Bash the crackers into crumbs with a rolling pin and tip into a mixing bowl.

Step 3.

Peel and chop the onion in half. 

Grate the onion and parmesan into the mixing bowl. Add the parsley and mix.

Step 4.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg then add it to the mixture.

Break up and add the mince to the bowl. 

Season with black pepper.

Step 5.

Wet your hands and then split the mixture into eight equal pieces. Start by splitting it in half, then both halves into four.

Take one of the pieces and roll it into a ball. Then gently pat it flat into a burger patty roughly 2cm thick. You should have eight burgers.

Step 6.

Cover the tray in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

At this point, you can freeze the patties for up to two weeks. If you do freeze them, lay them flat with baking paper in between each patty in a box.

Step 7.

After chilling, cook the patties in the oven for 15 minutes until cooked through.

If cooking from frozen, let them defrost first before popping in the oven.

Step 8.

Prepare your burger buns and serve with toppings of your choice.

We like a classic cheeseburger!

 

Main: Sliders

And then for vegetarian guests, these cheesy bean burgers are excellently indulgent and moist, perfect for all that extra Christmas cheese.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 400g can butter bean
• 75g your favourite cheese (use a vegan alternative if necessary)
• 50g white breadcrumbs
• 8 mini burger buns
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp plain flour

 

Method

Step 1.

Heat your oven to 190c/170 fan/gas mark 5.

Prepare your ingredients. Drain and rinse the butter beans, crumble up the cheese, beat the egg, finely chop the onion and crush the garlic clove.

Step 2.

Put the butter beans into a bowl and use a fork to mash them up. Place to one side.

Step 3.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a small frying pan and cook the onion and garlic.

Cook on a low heat until softened. This could take up to 10 minutes.

Step 4.

Add the onion and garlic into the butter beans. Combine with the cheese and then season.

Step 5.

Split the mixture into eight and roll into balls. Gently pat flat into 2cm thick patties.

Step 6.

Put the flour, egg and breadcrumbs on three separate plates.

Take your patties and dredge them in the flour, egg and then breadcrumbs.

Top tip: Avoid getting sticky hands caked with flour and egg by saving one hand for dry ingredients and one hand for wet.

Step 7.

Heat the rest of the oil in the frying pan and cook each patty for eight to 10 minutes. Flip halfway through and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Serve the patties in a mini burger bun with your favourite toppings. To cut through the sweetness of the cheese, these work perfectly with thin slices of tomato and peppery rocket. Delicious!

Dessert: Black forest Christmas cake

These quick and easy mini desserts are small pots of decadence, perfect for a big Christmas party.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 500ml double cream
• 390g black cherries in kirsch
• 250g Christmas cake or fruitcake
• 50g dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

 

Method

Step 1.

Drain the cherries but keep a small bit of liquid to one side for later.

Roughly chop the dark chocolate.

Step 2.

Quickly whisk the cream, vanilla and icing sugar together until the mixture is slightly stiff and holds its shape.

Step 3.

Crumble the cake into six glasses. 

Top with cherries, a dollop of cream and drizzle over the kirsch liquid.

Scatter the chopped chocolate over the top.

Serve

 

Drink: Boozy Christmas punch

This punch is guaranteed to get the party started. This big bowl of festive spices is absolutely delicious and a fantastic alternative to mulled wine.

You need to freeze some of the ingredients for eight hours first, so make ahead of the day of the party.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Serves: 15

Ingredients

• 1 litre cloudy apple juice
• 750ml prosecco
• 250ml sloe gin
• 50ml herbal liqueur (we like Jagermeister)
• 3 or 4 sprigs rosemary
• 1 clementine
• 1 ball of stem ginger plus 2 tbsp syrup
• A bunch of grapes
• Ice

 

Method

Step 1.

Wash and dry the grapes then freeze them for around 8 to 12 hours or until frozen.

Chill the prosecco and apple juice in the fridge.

Step 2.

When it’s time to serve the punch, put the grapes and plenty of ice in a big three-litre punchbowl.

Pour all of the remaining ingredients into the bowl. Gently stir and serve.

The punch will last nicely for up to three hours before more ice needs adding.

 

The Decor

First of all, you need to make space. Designate areas of your home that are out of bounds to guests and use those rooms to store furniture out the way to make room.

Turn your home into a festive grotto with tonnes of tinsel, a fully decked out tree and streamers. Set the tone as soon as guests arrive with a festive front door and maybe even fairy lights.

And of course, you can’t have a Christmas party without Christmas music. Throw together a playlist of your favourites interspersed with some party classics because let’s face it, there’s only a finite number of Christmas songs and nobody wants to hear them on repeat!

For a dress code choose either your gaudiest Christmas jumper or your glitziest party dress.

And most importantly, have fun! Make sure the food is topped up, the drinks are flowing and have a good catch up with your guests.

 

The Activities

Big parties don’t really need games as your guests will spend the time eating, drinking, chatting and dancing.

But if you want to give your guests something fun, try a festive-themed homemade photobooth with props. 

Or for a real party atmosphere, set up a beer pong table and get competitive. Remember though to always drink responsibly!