THE festive party season is here, so if you’re looking to impress some guests this Christmas, we’ve lined up the best party food out there.
Whether you’re serving canapés, a bulging buffet or a big family feast, there are plenty of classic favourites and indulgent new offerings to choose from.
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Supermarket options include cute festive bao buns, delicious tacos, cheesy Christmas tree breads and indulgent crab crumpets.
A lot of the best buffet food options are frozen, too, so you can plan ahead and fill up your freezer ahead of this year’s festivities.
And, lots of supermarkets will still have delivery and collection slots left, but you might have to visit the stores if you can’t secure a one.
Here’s our pick of supermarket’s festive offerings this year…
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Tesco
This Christmas, Tesco has unveiled mini Wellingtons with trendy nduja – a kind of spicy tomato sauce – and a hot honey drizzle.
The golden puff pastry treats combine pork shoulder with a spicy edge of nduja and the sweet warmth of honey for a deliciously indulgent mouthful.
The treats will make the perfect canapé, with eight available for £5.50.
Best of all, they’re suitable for freezing, so you can get stocked up ahead of the big day.
Tesco’s party range also includes plenty of vegetarian options including a dim sum selection of colourful vegetarian dumplings as well as mushroom steamed buns with a sweet-savoury hoisin sauce.
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Morrisons
Morrisons’ tear-and-share Christmas tree is the perfect festive treat for your guests.
It brings three cheeses and onion chutney together with hand twisted cheese pastry and tops it with a parsley and beetroot crumb.
The tree will serve six and is available for £7.50 – not the cheapest snack on offer, but they are indulgent.
Morrisons party food range also includes fondue cheese bites, prawn bao buns and vegetable tempura nests with a sweet chilli dip.
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Iceland
Iceland’s quirky Christmas offerings include a mini fish, chip and ketchup sarnies.
The breadcrumbed canapés are a fun twist on the nation’s favourite dish and cost just £2.50 for eight, making them around 30p each.
Other party favourites include Iceland’s ultimate XL black tiger prawns, a dough-ball Christmas tree and mini lemon meringue pies.
And this year, all the supermarket’s canapés include air fryer instructions to make entertaining even easier.
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Co-op
The Co-op has launched prawn toast tacos with mango and sweet chilli salsa as part of its festive Irresistible range.
The canapés see king prawns, basa and vegetables folded in a pastry shell edged with sesame seeds.
The treats come with a mango and sweet chilli salsa and are £5 for a 206g box.
The Co-op’s festive party range also includes carbonara croquettes, mini cheeseburger sliders, kat-su bites and mini toad in the holes.
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Aldi
Aldi’s festive bao buns will make an adorable and delicious addition to any party this Christmas.
The buns are available stuffed with either hoisin duck or sweet and sour vegetables, in cute reindeer and present designs, priced at £3.99 for six.
Aldi’s festive range also includes mini wagyu cheeseburgers, pork belly bits and a garlic doughball tree.
The supermarket’s range of sweet treats includes mini doughnuts in chocolate and hazelnut or raspberry flavour.
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Waitrose
Waitrose mini crab and brown butter crumpets are a sure-fire show stopper.
The mini crumpets are topped with a rich crab gratin of spiced brown butter, crème fraîche, cheese, lemon juice, chives, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne and smoked paprika.
Waitrose festive party food selection also includes crispy bacon carbonara cups, Santa bao buns and chocolate brownie bites.
M&S
M&S has created the ultimate centre piece with its build-your-own Christmas charcuter-tree.
The £25 set comes with a cardboard tree, cheese star salchichon slices, chorizo slices, Manzanilla olives, Kalamata olives, gouda cheese cubes and cocktail sticks.
Assembled it’s a delicious Christmas platter, that your guests can pick nibbles off through the night.
M&S’ party offerings also include turkey feast bites, halloumi in blankets with hot honey and extra mature cheddar and ham scones.
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Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s 2024 party food range includes sophisticated mini scallop and chorizo shells.
The shells are topped with cheesy breadcrumbs and accompanied by a tomato and smoked paprika relish.
Packs of eight are available for £6.
And vegan guests will be equally impressed by Sainsbury’s dinky vegetable dim sum, which look like mini vegetables and are filled with either carrot and orange, tomato and basil or pea and mint.
You can buy a pack of 12 for £5.25.
How to save money on your supermarket shop
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you’ll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
This means ditching “finest” or “luxury” products and instead going for “own” or value” type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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