Christmas Snacks

Food from Christmas past. Ah, the kitschy nibbles I miss so much, the party food that made Sixties and Seventies Yuletides swing.

Here are a few of my festive favorites.

Vol-au-Vents. Yes, those flaky cups of gooey goodness, vol-au-vents were the fanciest horses doofers around. Puff or choux or flaky - who knows - but oh, was that baked beaker so damn good when it was chock-full of creamy mushrooms, topped with a pastry disc like a school cap. Good God they were tasty. I haven't had one since 1976 and miss them every day.

Celery sticks with cream cheese. My, these simple batons of chlorophyll were mightily snackable when ladened with philly or primula. A flick of salt and white pepper ( we didn't know black existed ) and it was grand to be a vegetarian for those two minutes. How I miss those stringy sticks of green.

Quartered pork pies. The stuff champions are made of, these little slices of sausage pie where always a tasty salty treat on the Christmas paper plate. Packed with processed pork and delicious pig jelly, they could only be improved by a chutney dip or squirt of mustard. Heaven in pastry form.

Crisps, twiglets and nuts. Scattered throughout the house, plastic dishes and steel trays of salted peanuts, marmite-flavoured sticks and plain salted crisps were de-rigeur in our festivities. Always there when you needed a boost in any room including the bathroom, crisps, twigs and nuts weren't just for Rudolph and Santa. For the adults who liked a tipple, there were dry-roasted planets in little ring-pull tubes too. I thought they tasted like carpet.

Mixed Nuts with a nutcracker. For the more serious feeder, larger plastic wood-effect bowls were provided filled with rock-hard Brazils, Walnuts, Hazelnuts and Almonds. The biggest issue facing such earnest grippers was what to do with the empty shells? Ash tray, open fire? Grandma's handbag? Nah, just chuck 'em back in the bowl! 

And finally, the ultimate seasonal treat, a taste of the exotic, from darkest Morocco: a polystyrene canoe of dates stuck together in a long tacky block with a small plastic fork plastered to the top with date glue. Each one had a lethal stone within, which could only be removed by astute tongue action. I really adored dates when Mum decided we were ready.

What were your favourite Xmas snacks readers?