Christmas Aperitif: Ideas, Quantities and a Festive Board

The Christmas aperitif is the moment when the whole family is finally together, before the meal begins. It has to last an hour, sometimes two, without spoiling appetites, and please children and grandparents alike. Here is how to put it together, with quantities and the festive board.

Quantities for a Christmas aperitif

If a meal follows, stick to 60 to 80 g of charcuterie per person and 4 to 6 bites. If the aperitif is the Christmas Eve meal, go up to 120 to 150 g and 8 to 10 bites. For a table of 10, the Box XXL Conviviale (5 cured meats and a quarter of Serrano ham) covers the aperitif. Details: how much charcuterie per person.

The festive board

At Christmas, trade up on one or two pieces and keep reliable favourites around them.

• The showpiece: a whole boneless ham carved at the table (Auvergne PGI ham, Serrano TSG aged 18 to 24 months, or jamón Bellota aged 36 months). It is the gesture that makes the evening. For carving: how to carve a boneless ham.
• The melt-in-the-mouth: Iberian lomo in very thin slices.
• The rustic: Auvergne saucisson sec and the award-winning dry sausage, cut thick.
• For the children: Catalan fuet, mild and thin, and mild PGI chorizo.
• Around them: dried figs, walnuts, grapes, fig chutney, walnut bread, salted butter.

If you give or receive a box, the Box Signature (7 cured meats) makes a complete board on its own. To choose: Christmas charcuterie gift box, which one to give.

Six Christmas bites

1. Gingerbread toasts with cream cheese and lomo.
2. Serrano-wrapped dates: dates stuffed with Auvergne blue cheese, wrapped in Serrano, 8 minutes in the oven.
3. Saucisson puff pastries cut into stars with a cookie cutter.
4. Lomo roll-ups with goat's cheese and honey.
5. Chorizo in red wine with bay leaf, served hot.
6. Mini tartiflettes in small glasses with diced Auvergne ham.

What to drink

A crémant or brut champagne with lomo and Bellota, a red from the Loire with Auvergne saucisson, a fruity Spanish red with chorizo. And sparkling apple juice for the children. All our pairings: which wine with charcuterie.

The holiday timeline

• Early December: order the charcuterie. It is dry-cured, vacuum-packed and dated, and keeps for several weeks in a cool place.
• Before 18 December: last recommended order date for delivery in France before the 24th (shipping within 24 to 48 working hours).
• The 23rd: cold bites and small glasses.
• The 24th, two hours before: take the charcuterie out of the fridge, build the board, start carving the ham.

And after Christmas?

What is left of the whole ham can be carved until January. Opened saucissons keep for ten days in the fridge. Chorizo can be cooked in a raclette or with lentils. Our tips: how to store saucisson sec.

Frequently asked questions

Which charcuterie for an elegant Christmas aperitif?
Bellota ham or Serrano aged 24 months, thinly sliced, Iberian lomo, and an award-winning saucisson for a rustic touch.

How much charcuterie for 12 people at Christmas?
About 800 g to 1 kg if a meal follows, 1.5 to 1.8 kg if the aperitif is the meal.

Can I order Christmas charcuterie in November?
Yes, it keeps for several weeks unopened in a cool place. The best-before date is on each piece.

All our aperitif ideas, season by season: finger-food dinner, 25 easy ideas.