Can some scientist please explain why us Brits have such a compulsion to roll out the picky bits and party food (ESPECIALLY if it comes from M&S) as soon as there’s a vague sense of occasion?
Birthday party? Picky bits. BBQ season? Picky bits. Had a long day at work and can’t decide what to have for tea but definitely don’t want a Pot Noodle? Picky bits.
And when Christmas or New Year’s Eve rolls around, the urge to consume random little morsels of food intensifies.
Whether it’s British classics squashed down into tiny portions and jammed on a buffet table or fancy little appetisers you hand around a party, we just can’t get enough.
Which is why we’ve raided the shelves at M&S once again to bring you all the best picky bits and party food available for Christmas 2024.
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As for prices, the more premium M&S Collection party food items are generally priced at £7.50, with the more standard range coming in at £5.50 each, and all available on a four-for-three offer.
And yes, you might end up spending an obscene amount of money on miniature food items that won’t do a single thing to quell an appetite, but my gosh, won’t you feel like a prim and proper princess when you slide those teeny weeny fish and chips in front of your guests.
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Let’s begin.
Brits abroad
M&S party food 2024 – chicken shawarma and Middle Eastern flatbreadsM&S party food 2024 – patatas bravas stacks
M&S might be the most staunchly British institution of modern times, but us Brits also love nothing more than to lift the culinary expertise of other countries onto our own plates.
And this year is no exception – M&S has whipped up a whole host of party food inspired by international favourites.
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From little potato stacks that pay homage to everyone’s favourite tapas dish, patatas bravas, to tiny chicken shawarma kebabs to Middle Eastern Flatbreads, if you want a little spice on your Christmas buffet, they’ve got it.
Well aren’t you a fancy pants?!
‘Ooooh, someone’s doing well’ comes the chorus of praise as you hand around your mini prawn thermidor (these tiny gold trays even have a cheddar cheese crumb on top).
‘Wow, that must’ve been a good Christmas bonus’ they say as they accept a mini coquille St Jacques, complete with extra-small shell.
If upper middle class was a nibble, it would probably look like these guys.
Little Britain
Mini scampi and chips, and miniature pies at M&SMini Yorkshire puddings and cheese and ham scones from M&S party food range
Imagine all your classic British dishes, pub food, Sunday dinners, comfort meals cooked by your mum – you picturing them? Okay, now imagine them again but really, really small.
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Now you’ve got a good idea of the items in our next M&S party food category.
There are mini Yorkshire puddings filled with slow-cooked beef, red wine and mushroom jus, and a garlic and herb crumb.
There are neat little cheddar and ham scones, miniature pies filled with beef and ale or chicken and leek, and even picky bit-sized scampi and chips portions, complete with newspaper wrapping. Cute!
The classics
M&S prawn selectionM&S pigs in blankets and halloumi in blanketsM&S Smoked salmon appetisers
These are not just buffet food items, these are M&S buffet food items, and that means they come with a bit of pizzazz.
Yes, there are pigs in blankets, but there are also halloumi pigs in blankets (which they weirdly haven’t made vegetarian) served with a hot honey drizzle.
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We love a battered prawn on a party food selection and M&S has done a selection of tiger prawn nibbles – prawn baguette toasts, prawn and coconut bites, and prawn and potato lattice balls. The word prawn is starting to look weird.
There are also smoked salmon appetisers, where smoked salmon strips are rolled around a honey roast salmon mousse. Hope ya like very small fish!
I’d love to be a fly on the wall when the M&S party food is discussed, because I’m pretty sure no one around that boardroom table is telling them ‘No, Arabella, that’s a silly idea’. Arabella does what she wants.
This year, she’s heard all the ‘girl dinner’ trends and gone ‘WE SHOULD MAKE A CHRISTMAS DIP’ – the result is a turkey feast dip topped with shredded turkey and bacon, cranberry sauce, cranberries and a stuffing crumb. WHY, ARABELLA?!
They’ve also brought back the novelty-shaped bao, this year in two festive shapes – penguins and polar bears.
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And of course you can still get miniature steak sandwiches and I don’t know why that makes me so uncomfortable, but it does.
A very yeehaw Christmas
M&S Mini beef burgersBuffalo chicken croquettes and New York deli spring rolls at M&S
Giddy up, cowboy, it’s time for the rootin’-tootin’ M&S party food show!
Everyone’s favourite fancy supermarket has gone stateside this year, drawing inspiration from the healthiest of nations… America.
There are Buffalo chicken croquettes, served with an extra Buffalo sauce dip, mini beef burgers (always the hardest thing to eat), and, weirdly, spring rolls inspired by a New York deli?
They’ve shoved salt beef and sauerkraut into a spring roll and then served it with a mustard and gherkin dip. You do you, M&S.
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Now you’re just showing off
M&S party food 2024 – the charcuter-tree. Credit: The Manc Group
You’re presenting your charcuterie on a flat board? Peasant.
Real fancy people present their cured meat and cheese selection in the shape of a Christmas tree (obviously) and M&S have got a build-you-own kit available for £25.
An extra shout-out to the security-locked Serrano ham joint, which came with its own block and knife, for another statuesque meat buffet option.
Gavin and Stacey Christmas special on course to break UK TV viewing figures record
Danny Jones
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Gavin and Stacey is set to break yet another TV record as this year’s Christmas special and definitive series finale has become one of the UK’s most-watched scripted shows ever.
The iconic British comedy returned after a long hiatus to finally conclude the series with its first new episode in five years.
Delighting die-hard fans and comedy fans in general all over the country, millions tuned in to watch the last-ever Gavin and Stacey chapter – over 19 million, in fact.
With 12.3m watching the finale on Christmas Day alone and even more in the week following, the tally has now reached approximately 19.3m and counting.
📢 Gavin & Stacey: The Finale has become the UK’s highest rating scripted show with 19.3 million viewers and counting
Not only did this smash their own previous record of more than 18m set by the last Christmas special back in 2019 but it is well on course to cruise past the 20m mark when the official seven-day viewing figures are released, which is standard practice for assessing final ratings and viewing figures in the UK.
Almost a quarter of the viewers who helped achieve the feat were aged 16-34 as well, making it the largest young audience ever, according to the BBC.
The emotional reunion of the beloved cast looks set to see them surpass Coronation Street‘s record of 19.4m set in 2003 and could even see them beat the legendary British sitcom, Only Fools & Horses, which saw 21.3m viewers gather around the box for their 2001 Christmas day episode.
So, although the BBC states that it is the “most-watched scripted show across all broadcasters and streamers since current records began in 2002”, it still technically has a little way to go in order to match/surpass the biggest-ever tally.
That being said, when factoring in the stats from all live views and digital streams, the final numbers should see them over the line.
We had to be together to watch it go out tonight!Gavin and Stacey is a show about friendship and family. Tonight’s show has been a labour of love from start to finish and we hope you enjoy it.Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing.Happy Christmas from us both #GavinandStaceypic.twitter.com/kUKMiXUEyL
Regardless of whatever seven or indeed 28-day figure they end up on, co-creators, writers and stars James Corden and Ruth Jones have been blown away by the success of the one-off comeback.
Writing by way of recognition and as a thank you to the fans, they said: “We are completely overwhelmed by the audience response to our show and to these astonishing viewing figures.
“Gavin & Stacey really does belong to the audience and we are beyond thrilled that so many people enjoyed watching it this Christmas. A huge thank you to Charlotte Moore and the BBC for backing us these past 17 years.”
The ratings and overall reaction to the show have also been overwhelmingly positive, with millions tearing up over the long-awaited storyline – even if some of those watching pointed out one little problem…
Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer, went on to add: “The numbers are truly outstanding, unprecedented even! It’s the show the entire nation has been talking about over the last week so it’s no surprise that it’s not only smashed its own record but has become the UK’s biggest scripted show.
“Ruth and James’ creation is a true homegrown success story, and their finale is a comedy masterpiece. It’s made us laugh and cry together in a way that only Gavin & Stacey can.”
The final viewership for the 2024 special will be published on Monday, 6 January and take into account viewings across all platforms up to Thursday, 2 Jan – they already look destined for another entry in the history books.
The lyrics to Auld Lang Syne for New Year’s Eve, and what the song means
Daisy Jackson
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The clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, the confetti is thrown, the kisses are exchanged, and then up starts Auld Lang Syne and you realise, once again, that you don’t know the lyrics to the iconic song.
This classic song is traditionally sung as we welcome in a new year, but you may (like us) find yourself singing the words as ‘dah daaah dah dah daaah dah dah, dah dah daaah dah Auld Lang Syne.”
Well it’s time to stop that behaviour and learn yourselves the Auld Lang Syne lyrics, quick time, before we hit 2025.
The text of the song is actually from a Robert Burns poem, penned way back in 1788 and based on an old Scottish folk song.
It was set to a tune a decade later, and since then has been recorded by dozens of different artists.
Auld Lang Syne can loosely translate as ‘old long since’, or ‘days gone by’ or ‘old times’.
So its meaning roughly is ‘for the sale of old times’.
There are longer versions of the song, but the lyrics to the most commonly-played version of Auld Lang Syne are below.
So hold hands with your loved ones, crack open the champers, and ring in a very happy new year.
What are the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne?
Fireworks on New Year’s Eve, when the song Auld Lang Syne is traditionally sung
Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot And the days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear For auld lang syne We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet For the sake of auld lang syne
And surely you will buy your cup And surely I’ll buy mine! We’ll take a cup of kindness yet For the sake of auld lang syne
We two have paddled in the stream From morning sun till night The seas between us Lord and swell Since the days of auld lang syne
For old acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind Should old acquaintance be forgot For the sake of auld lang syne?
For old acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind Should old acquaintance be forgot In the days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear For auld lang syne We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet For the sake of auld lang syne
Daisy Jackson -
21st December 2024 
