Christmas Snacks: What to Put Out Before Lunch

Christmas lunch is never on time. Guests arrive hungry, the ham needs another half an hour, and someone has opened the bubbles. A few bowls of good snacks keep everyone happy without spoiling their appetite.

The rule is simple: salty, crunchy and easy to eat with one hand.

Chips worth putting in a bowl

Hand-cooked chips are thicker and crunchier than standard chips, and they hold up to a dip. Hunter's Gourmet come in canisters that look the part on a table:

• Black Truffle and Black Truffle and Parmesan, for a bit of luxury.
• Pesto Parmesan and Quattro Formaggi, for the cheese lovers.
• Smokehouse BBQ and Wasabi and Turmeric, for something bolder.

We put truffle chips to work in truffle chips on the grazing table.

Flavoured nuts

Nuts are the most filling snack, so a small bowl goes a long way. Nutworks macadamias come in flavours from roast and salt to wasabi; our guide to the Nutworks range covers them all. For something richer, Mr Filbert's Italian Black Truffle Mixed Nuts are made for a glass of something cold.

Crackers and something to dip

A board of crackers with one or two dips feels generous with very little work.

• La Panzanella Mini Croccantini are thin, crisp and good for scooping.
• Mini Artisan Crackers with Cheese are good on their own.
• Belazu Black Olive Tapenade is a dip straight from the jar. Our guide to what tapenade is has more ideas.

A few sweet things

Put out one sweet bowl to balance the salt, but keep it small before lunch.

• Candy Cane Pretzels: festive, salty and sweet.
• Danny's Milk Chocolate Toffee Thins with Peanuts and Sea Salt, broken into shards.
• A plate of gingerbread men for the children.

Browse our gourmet popcorn too. Popcorn is light enough to snack on without spoiling lunch.

How much to buy

Before a big lunch, allow roughly 50 to 75g of snacks per adult in total, across everything. If people are arriving more than two hours before lunch, or if the snacks are the main event at drinks, double it.

• One 150g canister of chips serves about 4 to 6 people as a starter.
• A 75g pouch of nuts fills a small bowl for 4 to 6 people.
• One box of crackers and one dip serves about 6.

Setting it out

Use several small bowls rather than one big one, so people can reach from anywhere. Keep salty snacks near the drinks and the sweets near the coffee. Top bowls up rather than filling them high at the start, so the chips stay crunchy. On a hot day, keep anything with cheese or chocolate out of the sun. Our guide to how long Christmas food can sit out covers the rest.

Snacks as a gift

A box of good snacks is an easy gift for a host. The Gourmet Snack Box Hamper is the snack bowl in a box. See what is inside the Gourmet Snack Box Hamper, or browse our full gourmet snacks and our Christmas finger food ideas.