Christmas is fast approaching and with Thanksgiving over it’s time to start thinking about the things you will need to do in preparation for your Christmas gatherings. Do you host the family Christmas Eve party or do you just attend and bring something yummy to share with others? Instead of going all out for your Christmas get together why not serve a nice buffet instead. Here are a few ideas for buffet foods to have on hand during your holiday parties.
Doing a buffet for your holiday party is so much easier than doing an all out fancy dinner. You don’t have to spend days preparing and then rush around making sure every single item is cooked perfectly the day of the party. This can stress anyone out in an instant. My family always does a buffet during our Christmas Eve get together. Everyone munches and snacks around while we talk, goof off and joke around. Then we all gather around and open presents and giggle about who got what. There’s no heavy dinner to deal with. No rushing around afterwards because we took so much time for the dinner. The kids don’t have to whine about being hungry because they can just run to the buffet table and grab a handful of this or a plate of that and then get back to the family fun.
Sure, we have a big Christmas meal on Christmas Day but on Christmas Eve it’s all about fun, excitment, being with the ones we love and enjoying that time together. Who wants to worry about cooking a big meal? Not I! So with that being said, here are a few holiday buffet ideas for you to consider if you decide to have a holiday buffet this year.
Finger sandwiches are always a main staple during our Christmas Eve buffet every year. Finger sandwiches are cheap and super easy to make and if you run out you can always run to the kitchen and whip up some more quick as a wink. We always do 3-4 types of finger sandwiches. Ham, turkey, chicken salad and tuna salad. Simply make a ham (or whatever kind you are making) sandwich and cut it in halves or quarters. We like to cut our’s in half, diagonally, creating two triangles. The kids love these. I like to leave off any condiments so that our guests can add whatever they would like to their own finger sandwiches. Do this with all of the finger sandwiches that you want to make and then line them up nicely on a big party platter. There’s your center piece for your buffet table.
For condiments you can simply set our the condiments and provide utensils for the guests. Or you can pour the condiments out into pretty little serving dishes for a more festive look. If you would like, you could also set out things like cheese, lettuce, pickles and any other toppings that you can thing of.
Chips and dip are great with a holiday buffet. Especially if you are serving finger sandwiches. Some people like to get a simple bag of chips at the grocery store and other’s like tortilla chips instead. We like plain potato chips with homemade french onion dip.
A veggie tray is another great buffet idea. You can buy these premade at your local supermarket or you can make your own. Add vegetables like carrot sticks, celery sticks, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers, etc. Any vegetable that you would like to put out will work. Be sure to add some dips and/or dressings for your guests to enjoy with their veggies. I like Ranch dressing for this purpose.
Speaking of party trays. You can get a variety of party trays consisting of almost any food that you can think of. There are of course the previously stated, veggie trays and there are fruit trays (which are great with yogurt for dipping). Places like Chick-fil-a and Subway offer party trays with the foods they serve on a daily basis. Things like chicken nuggets, buffalo wings and even wraps are very popular buffet choices.
You can even throw out some desserts on your holiday buffet table. You can have your guests bring a special dessert or you can just make some simple desserts yourself. I am actually making some very yummy miniature cheesecakes. I prepare these ahead of time and just freeze them until the big day arrives. You just make a simple no-bake cheesecake but instead of putting it all into a big graham cracker pie crust you make it in cupcake cups. This way everyone can enjoy cheesecake as a finger food and it helps me get to enjoy it without having a big slice of cheesecake. You can bake a batch of cookies or make a cake or even just buy a frozen pie at your grocery store. A buffet is meant to be easy so just keep that in mind.
For drinks you can set out all of the usual bottles drinks. You can even make a big bowl of punch for everyone to enjoy. Just set out a variety of drinks so that everyone will have their choice of items.
Holiday buffets are so much more simple and less stressful than a whole big meal when it comes to a festive get together. You are only limited by the foods you want to serve. Almost anything will work for a buffet. Just remember that the whole purpose of a buffet is to spend less time in your kitchen and more time having fun with your friends and family. So don’t go spending 4 hours cooking and preparing for your buffet or you will be defeating the purpose of having a holiday buffet.
Happy Holidays!
