Christmas kids’ savoury party pieces

Mini reindeer sandwiches

Wholemeal bread is high in fibre, but use white bread or a mix of the two if preferred. You could also use the filling of your choice: tuna and sweetcorn, salad mix, or ham and cheese are all popular with kids. To avoid food waste, make the bread trimmings into breadcrumbs, which can be used straight away or frozen for another time. 

• Using a 6.5cm cutter, stamp out two discs from each slice of bread, then spread with butter, mayonnaise or tomato relish. Arrange the turkey on half of the discs, then top with the remaining discs.
• Place two dots of mayonnaise on the top slice with a piece of olive in the centre of each dot to create the eyes. Insert the pretzel pieces into the bread as antlers. Finally, sit a tomato half, cut side down, onto the top as the reindeer’s nose.

Festive ham and cheese crackers

Use up your ham and cheese trimmings in toasted sandwiches, an omelette or in a pasta dish. These crackers are best made to order, as the crackers may go soggy if stored in the fridge.

• Spread the crackers with the mayonnaise or tomato relish.
• Using a 6cm round, straight-sided cutter, stamp out six discs from the ham. Sit each one onto a cracker.
• Using star- or snowflake-shaped cutters, stamp out the shapes from the cheese slices. Dab a little mayo or tomato relish underneath the cheese, then sit it on top of the ham to stick.

Cream cheese and tomato Santas

Add the tomato off-cuts to a soup or pasta sauce to use them up.

• Using a small, sharp knife, slice a small bit off the bottom of each cherry tomato so that it sits upright without wobbling. Cut a slice from the top of the tomato (this will be Santa’s hat). Using a teaspoon, scoop out the flesh from the inside of each cherry tomato to create an empty bowl.
• Spoon the cream cheese into a disposable piping bag and cut a 5mm opening. Pipe the cream cheese into each tomato to come about 1cm out over the top. Pipe a small dot on the Santa hats too.
• Arrange the olive pieces on the cream cheese as Santa’s eyes. Place the hat on top to serve.

Edible Christmas trees

Chop up the red pepper trimmings to use in pasta or rice dishes, a noodle stir-fry or an omelette. Use carrot pieces instead of the red pepper if preferred. 

• Cut the pepper into 12 x 2cm squares and stack them in twos. Using a small star cutter, stamp out six stars and set aside.
• Using a mandolin or vegetable peeler, shave the cucumber down its length to give thin ribbons. Weave the cucumber ribbons onto six cocktail sticks in the shape of a Christmas tree.
• Stick the cocktail stick into the red pepper squares to stand upright. Place the red pepper stars upright on the top of the stick to complete the tree.

Cheesy reindeers

Use up any cheese trimmings in a pasta dish, a toasted sandwich or an omelette.

• Unwrap or cut the cheese. Place the halved cherry tomatoes cut side down on the triangle tip of each cheese slice. Stick two pretzels into the two opposite corners, cutting a slit in the cheese to help if necessary. Add two olive pieces as eyes to complete the reindeer look.