At a Glance: Christmas party catering menu ideas come down to guest count and service style, which decide whether hors d’oeuvres, a buffet, a plated dinner, or a holiday brunch fits your event. Different entrées, sides, desserts, and beverage options work well for different types of events. December dates fill early, so booking ahead helps you get the format that fits your needs.
The food is what people talk about after a Christmas party. Guests may not remember the playlist or the décor, but they remember whether the roast beef was still warm, whether there was enough of the good appetizer, and whether the vegetarian at the table had more than a side salad to work with. Building a festive menu that actually fits your event takes a little planning around three things: how many people are coming, how you want them to eat, and how much time you want to spend managing any of it.
A cocktail-style Christmas party gives you the most flexibility on room layout and guest arrival times. People come and go, refill plates, and keep conversations moving.
Strong choices for a holiday hors d’oeuvres spread include carved turkey on Hawaiian rolls with cranberry aioli, miniature beef Wellingtons, petite crab cakes with lemon aioli, bacon wrapped chicken bites, and caprese skewers with balsamic drizzle. Round the table out with imported and domestic cheeses with fresh fruit garnish and assorted crackers, plus a warm dip like roasted red pepper chicken dip served with crispy crostini and pita points.
For a larger celebration, a carving station gives the room a centerpiece and a natural gathering point. A prime rib carving station with soft yeast rolls handles that job well. Cocktail shrimp with tangy cocktail sauce is another reliable upgrade when the party leans more formal.
Catering By Design’s holiday menu has a full hors d’oeuvres lineup, including the dessert station options that pair with it.
A buffet is a great format for a company party or a large family gathering. It handles a wide guest count, accommodates different appetites, and gives people a second trip if they want one.
A traditional Christmas dinner buffet usually starts with a salad course. A l salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots in house vinaigrette is the safe pick. A salad with a seasonal spin, such as baby greens with fresh strawberries, feta cheese, and candied walnuts, dresses up the table.
For entrées, the options that anchor a holiday menu well include:
Sides are where a holiday meal earns its reputation. Cornbread stuffing, redskin mashed potatoes, green beans with roasted red peppers, homemade mac and cheese, and green bean casserole all belong on the traditional end. Roasted sweet potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts with bacon and balsamic glaze, and hot grilled marinated vegetables bring color to the table and give lighter eaters something to build a plate around. Dinner rolls with butter are a classic offering.
Finish with dessert that travels well on a buffet. Pecan pie, red velvet cake squares with cream cheese frosting and red sugar crystals, holiday Oreo chocolate mousse, and assorted holiday miniature desserts all work. Miniature desserts are worth considering for a mingling crowd since guests can grab one without needing a fork and a seat.
An office Christmas party has constraints a social event does not. It happens during or right after the workday, and the budget is usually fixed well in advance.
A holiday buffet at lunch pricing tends to be the practical answer. Keep the entrée count to one or two, pick sides that hold well for an extended service window, and make sure there is a vegetarian plate that stands on its own rather than a plate of sides.
For an evening party, hors d’oeuvres plus a carving station gives the event a festive feel without locking everyone into assigned seats. If the agenda includes speeches or awards, a sit-down meal keeps the room settled and makes the program easier to run.
A holiday brunch is the most underused format for a corporate event. Sausage egg and cheese casserole, country ham on garlic cheddar biscuit with brown sugar, maple pepper bacon, fresh fruit salad, and assorted scones make a memorable morning spread. Coffee carafes and juice round it out.
Teams that regularly book corporate lunch catering often find the brunch format a welcome change for the annual party. Additionally, if you need a venue for your event, a morning slot is far easier to schedule in December than an evening one.
A small gathering or intimate dinner does not need a scaled-down version of a company party menu. It needs food that feels homemade and arrives ready to serve.
For these events, one entrée is plenty. Baked ham or roasted turkey with two or three sides covers a family gathering without leaving a refrigerator full of leftovers nobody claims. Delivery or pickup service fits this size of event well, since the value is getting the cooking off your plate rather than staffing the room.
Nonalcoholic beverage options like lemonade and sweetened or unsweetened tea come with many holiday menus. Holiday punch is another easy addition that gives the table a seasonal anchor and works for guests of every age.
For a corporate holiday party or a larger christmas celebration, licensed bartending services handle the bar properly, which matters for both guest experience and liability at a company event.
Most guest lists have vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, and allergy considerations somewhere in it. The cleanest approach is collecting those details when you place the catering order rather than the week of the party, then building a custom menu where substitutions are planned rather than improvised.Clear labeling on a buffet line saves guests from having to ask, which is a small detail that guests with dietary restrictions notice and appreciate.
Before picking a single dish, settle two questions. The first is your guest count, because it determines what meal type makes more sense. The second is what you want guests doing during the event. A holiday celebration built around mingling and networking calls for food people can eat standing up. A holiday gathering built around a program, awards, or a toast calls for seated service so everyone is facing the same direction at the same time.
Once those two decisions are made, the menu items fall into place quickly. A buffet gives a wide range of choices and moves a large celebration through the line efficiently. A plated dinner feels more formal and controls pacing. Passed appetizers keep the room moving and work well when the party runs two or three hours without a defined dinner hour.
December calendars fill faster than any other month. Dates in the first three weeks of December, especially Thursday and Friday evenings, get claimed early by companies booking their annual parties. Confirming your date, guest count, and menu well ahead gives you the format you actually want instead of the one still available.
Catering By Design has catered holiday events across Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and the surrounding Triangle for more than 20 years, with menus built for brunch, lunch, dinner, and hors d’oeuvres service. As a member of the Leading Caterers of America, the team handles corporate events, social gatherings, and celebrations of every size with professional staff managing preparation, setup, service, and cleanup.
Browse the holiday menu or get in touch to start planning your Christmas party catering. Call (919) 481-2366 to talk through dates and menu options.
Book as early as you can, ideally by early fall for a December date. Prime evening dates in the first three weeks of December are the first to go, and booking early also gives you time for menu customization and a tasting rather than picking from what is left.
For a midday office party, a buffet moves people through quickly and gives everyone choices. For an evening corporate holiday party with a program or awards, a plated sit-down meal keeps the room seated and the schedule on track. Passed hors d’oeuvres work best for a mingling-focused event with no set dinner hour.
For a buffet dinner, plan on one entrée, two sides, a salad, and a dessert per guest. For a cocktail-style party running two to three hours with no seated meal, plan six to eight pieces of hors d’oeuvres per guest. Your caterer will size portions to your final guest count.
Yes. Holiday menus are customizable for vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, lactose intolerant, and specific allergy requirements. Submit those details with your catering order so substitutions are built into the plan rather than handled on the day of the event.
Yes. Full-service catering includes professional staff for preparation, setup, buffet or plated service, and cleanup. Licensed bar service and beverage packages are available separately for holiday parties that want a full bar.
Slow roasted turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce and Virginia baked ham with brown sugar glaze are the most requested traditional options. Roasted pork loin with fig and port wine sauce and rosemary roast beef with mushroom demi glaze are common picks when the event calls for something more formal.
