Christmas Tree Snack Board Ideas – Tasty Appetizers for the Festive Table

With a few weeks remaining until Christmas, it is time to start planning the festive menu that will bring the whole family together. Yes, there are traditional meals like turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, pies and pudding, etc.

Christmas cookie baking is another tradition and decorating homemade cookies is a fun activity for children and adults. Christmas holidays provide the perfect opportunity to be creative and surprise your loved ones with an unusual and delicious dish! Why don’t you arrange a beautiful snack platter shaped as a tree? We will give you fantastic Christmas tree snack board ideas and a list of ingredients that you can combine!

Christmas Tree Snack Board Ideas – What Ingredients Do You Need And How to Combine Them?

Food gathers family and friends around the table on every holiday. Sitting around the dinner table surrounded by your loved ones on Christmas Day is one of the best moments of the year. Every housewife plans the menu and prepares delicious meals but if you are tired of serving the same food every year, it is time to start thinking outside the box! On the first place, these easy Christmas appetizer ideas will save time on preparation. In addition, a Christmas tree snack board will be e beautiful and delicious edible decoration, right? Whether you prefer a charcuterie board, a cheese platter or a selection of antipasti, one thing is certain – everyone will enjoy it!

Christmas tree snack board ideas are very easy to prepare and if you are looking for the easiest Christmas party recipes, find our suggestions below. One of the biggest advantages of snack boards in general, is that you can customize it to your liking. You do not need any special tools except a chopping board, a knife and optionally, a star cookie cutter.

What ingredients to use for your Christmas tree snack board? The simple answer is – whatever you like. It is only you who knows the preferences of your family and friends. You can make a simple platter with four or five ingredients or combine products from different groups – meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, nuts, spreads, bread, crackers, etc. Here is a list of products from the different groups:

• Dairy – Havarti, Gouda, Cheddar, feta, Brie, blue cheese, camembert, roquefort cheese, goat cheese, Parmesan, Monterey Jack, Manchego, mozzarella, Goat Cheese, etc.
• Meats – prosciutto, salami, capocollo, pepperoni, sausages, turkey meat, ham, pate, etc.
• Fruits – grapes, berries, pomegranate arils, olives, apples, etc.
• Vegetables – pickled okra, cocktail onions, bell peppers, carrot sticks, cucumber rounds, olives, broccoli, celery, etc.
• Nuts – pecans, walnuts, pistachios, etc.
• Spreads and toppings – mustard, fruit preserves, honey, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar or other sauces of your choice.
• Bread and crackers – baguette rounds, crackers, pretzel sticks, breadsticks, rye bread, rice crackers, etc.
• Fresh herbs – rosemary, parsley, basil, etc.

Christmas Tree Snack Board Ideas – Colorful Cheese Board Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces(120 grams) Red Cheddar Cheese , cut into bite-size cubes
• 3 ounces (90 grams)White Cheddar , cut into bite-size cubes
• 2 ounces (60 grams) blue cheese, cut into smaller pieces
• ½ Cucumber, sliced
• ½ cup (80 grams)Fresh Blueberries
• 1 cup Grapes
• 6-8 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
• 4 Pretzel Sticks, broken in half
• A handful of Dried Cranberries
• A handful of Pomegranate Seeds
• 1 slice of Cheese, for the star

Instructions:

Arrange the cheeses, cucumber slices, blueberries and grapes on a large tray (platter or cutting board) to form a tree shape. Use the rosemary sprigs to divide the sections.

For the tree trunk use pretzels sticks. Using a star cookie cutter, cut out one star out of the cheese and arrange it on top of the tree.

Fill the gaps with dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds or nuts.

Serve with pretzel sticks, crackers, celery sticks or crostini.

Christmas Tree Cheese Platter Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces (220g) cheddar cheese
• 8 ounces (220g) Marble cheese
• 6 ounces (170g) Havarti cheese
• 3.5 ounces (100g) Habanero cheese
• 1.5 cup Red grapes
• 1.5 cup Green grapes
• Basil, parsley, rosemary (optional garnish)

Instructions:

Cut cheese into 1-inch (2,5cm) triangular wedges.

Remove grapes from the vines.

Starting at the top, begin with one grape. We also cut thin slices into one grape to fan it out below the top grape.

Build the tree by working your way downward with a layer of cheese, then grapes, alternating colors as you go.

Garnish the tree with fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, and/or rosemary.

Finish off the tree with a 4-inch piece of tree branch for the trunk. A piece of celery works too!

Serve with a variety of crackers.

Mexican Style Broccoli and Cheese Christmas Tree Platter

Ingredients:

For Dill Dip:

• ¾ cup sour cream
• 1 Tbsp. green onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp. dill, chopped
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ⅛ tsp. ground black pepper

For the tree:

• 8 oz. (220g) Queso Chihuahua Cheese with Jalapeño
• ½ lb (220g) broccoli, cut into florets
• 4.5 oz. (130g) Cotija Cheese, cut into cubes
• 8 oz. (220g) Queso Enchilado Cheese, cut into cubes
• 10-12 grape tomatoes
• 5 Spanish olives, cut in half
• 4 dipping pretzel sticks

Instructions:

Prepare the dill dip: In a small bowl, add sour cream, green onion, dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Using a star shaped cookie cutter, cut out a star from the jalapeño Chihuahua cheese. Cut the remaining piece of cheese into cubes and set aside.

On a large serving platter, place the star on top and arrange half of the cheese and veggies to shape a tree in this order: broccoli, Cotija cheese, broccoli, Queso Enchilado, broccoli, and Jalapeño Chihuahua cheese.

Lay the pretzel sticks vertically on the bottom center of the tree, to create the ‘tree trunk’.

On the bottom of the tree, place additional cheese cubes to represent the ‘presents’.

Place the grape tomatoes and olives on the tree to garnish and represent the Christmas ‘ornaments’. Serve with dipping sauce on the side and enjoy!

Italian Antipasto Christmas Tree Platter

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. (110g) mini peperoni, sliced
• 1 (4.3-oz./120g jar) sweet and tangy pepper drops, drained
• 10 oz (280g) pitted olives, drained
• 4 oz (110g) dry cured sausage, sliced
• ½ lb. (225g) Provolone, cubed
• 10 oz. (280g) pepperazzi, drained
• ½ lb. (225g) pepper-jack cheese, cubed
• ½ lb. (225g) pitted calamata olives
• 6 oz. (170g) sweet sopressata, sliced
• 1 pkg. crostini toasts
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary

Instructions:

Layer tree on a platter or board, beginning at the top with the pepperoni and continuing on to the Sopressata.

Create the base or “trunk” of the tree with halved crostini toasts.

Stamp provolone with the cookie cutter to create a star. Place provolone star at the top of the tree.

Cut rosemary into small sprigs and garnish tree.

Serve with your favorite toasts, spreads, dried fruits and nuts.

Christmas Tree Antipasto board

Ingredients:

• 1 Soppressata and 1 Genoa salami, sliced
• 2-3 cheese of your choice, cut into cubes
• 1 jar of kalamata olives
• 1 jar of mixed whole sweet peppers
• 1 jar of roasted red peppers

Optional:

• 1 jar of pickled spicy cauliflower
• fresh thyme for garnish
• fresh rosemary for garnish
• assorted crackers/bread
• stone ground mustard
• jam or preserves or your choice

Instructions:

On a large serving platter or board, create the bottom layer of the tree with one long thin layer of salami.

Next add the pickled cauliflower layer, making it just slighter shorter on each side than the bottom layer.

Repeat the process with olive, then cheese, then sweet peppers, another cheese, salami, red peppers, and finally salami again.

Create the top of the tree by using a few sprigs of rosemary and a star cheese cutout.

Garnish the entire “tree” by adding sprigs of thyme throughout.

Use a cracker to create the tree trunk!

Add a couple of dipping/sauce options to your board in small bowls.

Serve with sliced bread and crackers.

Christmas tree charcuterie board

Ingredients:

• Sharp Cheddar, cut into cubes
• Havarti cheese, cut into cubes
• Colby Jack cheese, cut into cubes
• Provolone Slices, for the snowflakes and stars
• Calabrese Salami
• Italian Dry Salami
• Peppered Salami
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• pretzel sticks for the tree bark
• crackers
• Castelvetrano Olives
• Rosemary
• Chocolate Covered Shortbread Stars

Instructions:

Prep your salami by making salami folds and piling 3-4 pieces on a decorative toothpick.

Start your tree from the bottom, with cheese, then continue arranging layers, making sure each layer was slightly less wide than the last.

Create a tree trunk using pretzels at the bottom of the tree.

Add the rosemary sprigs to evoke the tree branch feeling.

Finish with star-shaped cookies and provolone stars cut-outs to act like decorative tree ordainments.

Christmas Tree Cheese and Cracker Board

Ingredients:

• 12 oz (340g) Smoked Turkey Meat, thinly sliced
• 16 oz (450g) Summer Sausage, thinly sliced
• 16 oz (450g) Pepperoni Slices
• 8 oz (220g) Colby Jack Cheese, cubed
• 8 oz (220g) Sharp White Cheese, cubed
• 24 Baby Spinach Leaves
• 1 Cup Radishes, quartered
• 24 Butter Crackers
• 24 Table Water Crackers
• ½ Cup Grape Tomatoes
• ½ Cup Green Olives with Pimentos
• 4 Rosemary Sprigs
• ½ inch Mozzarella Slice
• ¼ cup Pomegranate Arils

Instructions:

On a large wood board, layer spinach leaves in a row overlapping a little at the bottom of the tray.

Over lapping the spinach a bit, spread a layer of table water crackers in a row just shorter than the row of spinach.

Next, place the quartered radishes slightly over the table water crackers.

Sprinkle the Colby jack cheese right above the radishes making them just short on either side.

Ruffle up the sliced turkey and alternate it with the sliced pepperoni across the top of the Colby cheese.

Place a layer of butter crackers next.

Lay a few sprigs of rosemary above the butter crackers.

Next add the sharp white cheddar cheese cubes.

Place the green olives above the cheese cubes.

Above the green olives pile up the grape tomatoes.

With a small star cookie cutter, cut a star shape out of the slice of mozzarella cheese and place on top of the grape tomatoes.

Sprinkle the cheese with a few pomegranate arils to complete it.

Christmas Tree Cheese Board

Ingredients:

• 8 oz (220 g) Cheddar Cheese, cut into cubes
• 8 oz (220 g) marble cheddar cheese, cut cubes
• 8 oz (220 g) Monterey Jack Cheese, cut into cubes
• 8 oz (220 g) Havarti Cheese, cut into cubes
• 4 oz (110 g) Mozzarella Cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 lb. (450 g) each seedless green and red grapes
• fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 Tbsp. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 piece celery

Instructions:

Arrange cheese cubes and grapes in rows on platter or cutting board to resemble a Christmas tree shape, ending with a row of mozzarella at the top.

Add thyme sprigs between rows.

Roll cream cheese into ball, then coat with parsley and place at top of tree.

Place celery at bottom for the tree trunk.