Crisps and peanuts are always a firm party favourite, particularly over the festive season but this year, some seasonal alternatives have been released which is why we thought we would show you some of the best Christmas party snacks for 2014. We were kindly sent these to review.
Kettle Chips have released three new seasonal variants of their crisps for the festive season. The flavours include Stilton and Port, Cheshire Cheese with Red Wine & Cranberry and Salsa & Mesquite.
Cheese? Wine? Port? Cranberry? All of those are lovely but together, we were a little bit doubtful as to how they would taste. In fact, they all taste quite cheesy with just a hint of the other flavours. Thankfully none of them are overwhelmingly strong. We did a taste test in the office and the Cheese, Red Wine & Cranberry came out on top as not only do they taste delicious they look great with their colouring from the red wine and cranberry. The Stilton & Port is full of wintery flavouring’s with creamy Stilton cheese and hints of fruity port which is not overpowering in taste.
Taking a quick break away from the crisps, we also love some alternatives like these ‘Wonderful Pistachio’s‘. Available in a range of flavours including Sweet Chilli and Salt & Pepper, these are not only healthy alternatives to salted peanuts or crisps but they also taste delicious.
We particularly enjoyed the sweet chilli variety which had a kick of spice without being overly hot. The flavours are rich and tasty which makes these perfect for any party or festive occasion.
Popcorn is something we always associate with the cinema or watching television, but why not use popcorn as a tasty Christmas Party snack?
‘Love Popcorn‘ is popcorn with a twist. Whether you like sweet or savoury snacks, they’ve got it covered with unique flavours such as Fiery Salsa and Cocoa Chips, there really is something to suit everyone’s tastes. Our favourites include Sweet Vanilla and Salty Sweet, the vanilla popcorn literally just melts in your mouth (we’re drooling as we type!)
LovePopcorn are all made with 100% ‘proper’ ingredients and these are not high in calorie so you can enjoy them – guilt free! Each of these packs of popcorn pack in a lot of flavour and whether you like sweet or savoury there is a flavour to suit everyone!
Tyrells Merry ‘Crisp-Mas’ have had a festive make-over as these have been made with Christmas in mind as they have both red and white crisps in the pack. They are ready salted in flavour and are quite crunchy to taste but not too crunchy. Made with both red and white potatoes these crisps would be perfect on any Christmas party table!
Quorn’s party food range is perfect for those who are vegetarian. Thanks to Quorn those who don’t eat meat can still have things like sausage rolls, pasties, scotch eggs, cheese, pickle & sausage (a firm favourite in the office) and more.
Quorns Sausage rolls look exactly like the meat-alternative and taste delicious, they are made using Quorn’s meat-free sausage recipe and covered in puff pastry these are simply stunning and smell delicious when they are cooking in the oven. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy these as those who eat meat would enjoy these just as much as the meat version.
Tesco have also got a range of different and unique party food available. Tesco’s Vegetable Samosas are packed full of flavour, vegetables and have hints of spice through them. Tesco’s Cheese & Pineapple Bites are made with red Leicester, pineapple and full fat cheese and have been encased in a puffed rice breadcrumb.
Why not try Tesco’s own vegetarian bacon which you can wrap around vegetarian sausages to make meat-free ‘pigs in blankets’.
UTCT have tried all of the products we have mentioned here and we can safely say that Tesco’s have got it spot on with their vegetarian range, packed full of flavour and with a wide range of different food available these will definitely make our party food table!
When setting up a party table the decorations, table covers, crackers etc can be quite costly but this year Poundland have got it covered.
Get table cover’s which are festive themed with snowflakes, their Christmas crackers which contain the traditional hat & joke, Christmas paper plates (these are really handy at the end of the night when the clean up commences), charger plates – so if you have anything hot to serve you can dish on these, napkins, Christmas bowls to put crisps etc into and of course some festive decorations such as Christmas candle holders, Christmas foil decoration and some Christmas confetti to place around the table.
All of these cost just £1 each so you don’t need to spend a fortune to have a festive party table!
Christmas party snacks don’t need to be just a bag of cheese and onion with these festive releases. We’re looking forward to munching our way through them over Christmas.
What snacks will you be putting out this Christmas? Feel free to let us know in the comments below.
