It just wouldn’t be Christmas without all your normal dinners being squashed down into teeny tiny portions and whacked on a buffet table – that’s right, it’s time for this year’s M&S Christmas party food round-up.
The fancy supermarket giant always goes big on picky bits, with elaborate creations that seem to get more odd every year.
Last year there was the obsession with making everything into festive shapes (like clementine-shaped pate, the antipasti wreath, and the garlic doughball Christmas tree).
This year, I think M&S has been on the wine.
You’ll find fridges full of street food style party food, including several creations that have definitely been inspired by a 3am takeaway.
That’s alongside all their usual fancy favourites, with truffle, tiger prawns, and melty cheese all over the place.
While all the supermarkets have loads of space dedicated to their party food selections, we all know M&S is king when it comes to completely excessive creations for the festive season.
And the best bit? It’s all priced on a 4-for-3 offer, so yThe ultimate booze tour around the bars of the Manchester Christmas Marketsou can get a free extra when you buy three items.
Here’s our pick of the best M&S Christmas party food for 2023.
British favourites… but really small
A selection of mini M&S pies this ChristmasMini Kyivs are in the M&S Christmas party food dealTiny quiche bites at M&S
We all know Aunty Sheila loves a quiche – just imagine how her eyes will light up at the sight of a teeny weeny quiche bite.
M&S has got Christmas butternut, sage and and feta mini quiche bites, as well as cheese and bacon bitesize tarts.
Marks and Spencer is also championing the best British food of all time – pie – with a platter of mini pies, filled with chicken leek and bacon, or beef and ale.
And of course there are tiny chicken kyivs too, because who doesn’t want a mouthful of garlic butter and breadcrumbs before their Christmas dinner?
The takeaway-inspired, one-too-many-wines snacks
M&S Christmas range includes mini loaded fries and salt and pepper chicken spring rollsM&S also has southern fried chicken for Christmas, obviously
This section right here is definitive proof, if we ever needed it, that whoever is in charge of M&S’s party food is drunk.
This person has walked into work and slurred ‘I KNOW. Kebab. In pastry. And then salt and pepper chicken… Also in pastry. Yeeeah!’
The result is the sort of party food you’ll actually want to be faced with after hitting it too hard in the pub over Christmas.
There are weeny portions of pulled beef-loaded fries, spring rolls filled with salt and pepper chicken and a dipping pot of Chinese-style curry sauce, Chicken shawarma parcels, and southern fried chicken.
You can also grab M&S’s best-ever prawn toast with a ponzu dipping sauce.
Tiny meats on tiny carbs
Mini steak sandwiches and ragu sourdough breadsMini M&S buttermilk chicken burgersPulled beef and potato rosti towers from M&S
Nothing soaks up one too many brandies like a too-big-mouthful of red meat and literally any form of carbohydrate.
So M&S’s Christmas party range has got that covered too, with all sorts of sandwich-inspired meals condensed into nibble-sized buffet snacks.
Do you want pulled beef on top of a potato rosti? They’ve got it. A tiny buttermilk chicken burger? Yep, that’s here too.
What about a very fancy-sounding Italian style meaty Ragu bread with a creamy cheese sauce dolloped on top? Or a mini steak sandwich with caramelised onion and mustard?
The ‘ohh someone’s doing well’
Truffle arancini at M&SThe tiger prawn assortment at M&S
If you’re hosting any sort of gathering over Christmas, you’re probably frantically hoovering the carpets and rearranging your bookshelves to hide the Prince Harry autobiography in favour for something more high-brow.
But if you really want to impress your guests, the answer is surely truffles.
And for some reason when you make party food jet black, you look extra fancy. Enter the truffle arancini from M&S’s collection range, which are filled with mushrooms, vintage cheddar, and finished in a black breadcrumb.
M&S’s three-for-four party food range also has a selection of tiger prawn bites, each one wrapped in a different handmade filling.
There are prawn baguette toasts, prawn and coconut bites, and prawn and potato lattice balls. Very posh.
Say cheeeeeeese
Cheesy pigs in blankets at M&SFondue bites
European winters seem to not exist without a huge vat of molten cheese fondue, but that’s not exactly conducive to a stand-up Christmas party buffet.
So, in true Marks & Spencer style, they’ve wrapped a rich blend of cheeses into a crispy coating to create fried fondue bites, which are all melty and delicious in the middle.
And if you just wish your pigs in blankets were a little less oink and a little more fromage, try the cheesy pigs in blankets, where a blend of three cheeses are shaped into sausages and then wrapped in bacon. Because why not?
There’s always one
Snowmen bao at M&S. Credit: The Manc Group
I don’t know how it happened but these days you’ll find bao all over the damn place.
You can get brunch bao, takeaway bao, dessert bao, and Christmas bao.
For the second year in a row, M&S’s Christmas party range includes a special festive-shaped fluffy bun.
Last year it was reindeer, this year they’ve gone even fancier with snowmen, complete with little red and green beanie hats and orange carrot noses.
Viral cosmetics brand P. Louise to bring exclusive pop-up to Trafford Centre this Christmas
Thomas Melia
Huge cosmetics and beauty brand P.Louise has announced an exclusive pop-up set to take place in Trafford Centre this Christmas.
Greater Manchester makeup artist turned business woman, Paige Louise, gained lots of traction online for her baby pink-packaged makeup products, branded after her nickname, P.Louise, and now the company has announced its bringing an exclusive pop-up to Manchester’s Trafford Centre just in time for Christmas.
After such a success last year, the pop-up event, aptly-titled ‘Pinkmas’, will be returning to Manchester, and its bringing P.Louise’s much-loved makeup brand to life through an interactive display at the Trafford Centre.
Visitors can expect to explore the magical world of ‘Pinkmas’ through three different immersive winter zones.
P.Louise Pinkmas is coming to the Trafford Centre this festive season / Credit: Publicity Picture (via Supplied)
Much like her P.Louise Empire site over in Stockport, Pinkmas elevates this experience by sprinkling a little bit of Christmas magic over the baby pink brand and its festive-themed makeup products.
Each of the interactive zones will serve their own purpose, encouraging you to get stuck in with a variety of activities all relating to the festive season.
You can enjoy decorating your own gingerbread treats in Mrs Claus’ Kitchen, personalising and making a keepsake of best-selling product ‘Bad B*tch’, all before writing a letter to Santa at the ‘Post Me Pretty Room’.
Each person who attends can expect to spend up to three hours travelling through each pretty pink zone, guided by the P.Louise elves on a story-led tour.
After all that wonderland wonderfulness, there’s only one thing missing from this festive extravaganza, and what screams Christmas more than a pantomime? A P.Louise Pantomime though, of course, with a guest appearance from Santa himself.
As you venture through the Pinkmas pop-up, there’ll be moments for you to get your hands on some P.Louise goodies and gift sets, as well as sampling the tasty treats from the food and drink stalls.
Get ready to deck the halls with blush, gloss and glamour this festive season, as P.Louise Pinkmas is residing in Trafford Centre for the entire Christmas period.
Visitors can expect to step into a world of glitz and glam when P.Louise Pinkmas visits Trafford Centre / Credit: Publicity Picture (via Supplied)
“I wanted to create the memories I never had, and above all else, give others the chance to make those magical moments,” commented Paige Williams, who is the dynamic founder and CEO of P.Louise.
Simon Layton, Centre Director at Trafford Centre, added: “We’re thrilled to welcome Paige Williams, a brilliant local success story, and her hugely popular brand for a festive experience that’s full of sparkle and surprises.”
P.Louise Pinkmas is returning to Manchester’s Trafford Centre from 1 December to 4 January, and you can find tickets and more information HERE.
Featured Images – Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
Christmas
Disney On Ice is bringing its ‘Find Your Hero’ tour to Manchester this Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Disney On Ice is returning to Manchester with a brand-new magical adventure for the whole family this festive season.
I know June has only just begun and that officially means summer is here, but do you fancy just casting your minds forward to Christmas for a second?
That’s because Disney On Ice has announced today that it’ll be heading out on a tour of the UK once the festive season rolls around, and of course, the tour’ll be making a stop here in Manchester.
Audiences will get to discover what it truly means to be a hero, as Mickey and Minnie Mouse and all their friends from the Disney Kingdom come together to take families on a journey of unforgettable moments as they bring timeless tales to life on ice.
The production will travel throughout the UK, visiting places like Birmingham, Nottingham, Newcastle, Aberdeen, and Belfast, all before arriving at Manchester’s AO Arena.
This is your chance to re-live famous Disney stories with all of your favourite characters, alongside the magic of classic Disney songs and world-class ice skating.
Disney On Ice is bringing its ‘Find Your Hero’ tour to Manchester this Christmas / Credit: Supplied
The talented Disney On Ice cast rehearse for more than 550 hours to perfect each performance and encapsulate the characters, while a team of choreographers, and set and costume designers, create more than 200 props and more than 200 different costumes.
Encanto, Moana, Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, and Tangled are just some of the legendary Disney tales you can see reimagined when Disney On Icepresents Find Your Hero arrives in Manchester this December.
Disney On Ice presents Find Your Hero 2025/26 tour dates
bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham: 29 October – 9 November 2025
Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham: 12 – 16 November 2025
Utilita Arena, Newcastle: 19 – 23 November 2025
P&J Live, Aberdeen: 27 – 30 November 2025
SSE Arena, Belfast: 5 – 7 December 2025
AO Arena, Manchester: 10 – 14 December 2025
Utilita Arena, Sheffield: 17 – 21 December 2025
O2 Arena, London: 26 December 2025 – 4 January 2026
The magical production is arriving at the AO Arena this December / Credit: Supplied
The production brings beloved characters to life through cutting-edge figure skating, eye-catching costumes, and stunning set designs, with innovative lighting and thrilling special effects, making it an experience the whole family will treasure forever.
Disney On Icepresents Find Your Hero arrives at Manchester’s AO Arena from 10-14 December 2025, and tickets go on Three+ presale on Monday 9 June and AO Arena presale on Thursday 12 June, both at 9am.
All before they then go on general sale next Friday 13 June, again at 9am.