I Rated 2021 Christmas Food – Here's What I Thought

The Christmas eating has begun.

Hi! I'm Jess, and if there's one thing I look forward to every Christmas (apart from spending time with my friends and family and spoiling my little fur baby!) it's Christmas food. I decided to try out some of 2021's festive goodies so you know what we think is worth your coin. Alexa, skip to snack time!

Jessica Brunt

Okay, so before I talk about whether these "Jingly Bells" from Cadbury passed taste test, I should say that I didn't read the packaging properly and assumed they were orange flavoured. I can confirm that they aren't, and they are in fact, chocolate noisettes (a hazelnut chocolate).

Jess Brunt / BuzzFeed

Listen, I've never really met a chocolate I didn't like. I like the fact that these are individually wrapped, as that makes it feel a bit more *fancy* when I have one with my afternoon cuppa. I can't say they were super festive, but they were good.

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test Score: 🤤🤤🤤🤤

Would I try them again? I mean, duh!

The next stop was Aldi for their brie and spiced cranberry chutney sandwich. Now, when I worked in an office I was a Christmas sandwich connoisseur – a habit that cost me far more money than I care to think about.

Jess Brunt / BuzzFeed

This brie and spiced cranberry chutney sandwich sounds like a Christmas classic. I will say that the sauce could have had a bit more festive *spice* but overall this was a satisfying lunch. Aldi are generous with the Brie which is a must IMO, as there's very little that's more upsetting than a sad, limp, little sandwich.

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test: 🤤🤤🤤🤤

Is it worthy of iconic Christmas status? I'd have it again, yep.

I should say at this point that I'm a crisp girl through and through. Give me savoury over sweet any day. When I saw these Aldi Turkey and Stuffing Bites I was unsure what to think, and here's why. Ask yourself how often you've tried a savoury snack that claims to be an unusual flavour and it tastes absolutely *nothing* like what it claims to be? Exactly. However, both you and I are about to be surprised...

BuzzFeed/ / Jess Brunt

These were unreal. They tasted exactly like the flavour they're supposed to be – bravo Aldi! I'd say that the stuffing is definitely the more prominent flavour, but they pretty much melt in the mouth. And, I can vouch for the fact they're pretty moreish (oops!), plus I reckon they'd go pretty well with a glass of Prosecco too – cheers!

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test: 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤

Will these earn a place round the table on Christmas Day? BRB, just making space.

OoOoH! Next, I bring you Asda's Christmas bake. You get two in a pack and they contain chicken, smoked bacon pieces, and pork and cranberry stuffing, among other delicious things.

Jess Brunt / BuzzFeed

Right, so the worst bit about these is that you have to wait half an hour for the bakes to cook. By the time it was ready, I could have eaten both TBH because I was feeling super hangry after a gym session. However, I resisted, and when I say it was worth the wait, I'm not lying. They certainly cheer up dark, cold, lunch breaks that's for sure.

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test: 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤

Will the bake make it back on the lunch menu again? It's a yes from me!

This frozen Asda plant based Christmas trimmings selection contains meat-free pigs in blankets and sage and caramelised onion stuffing balls.

Jess Brunt / BuzzFeed

OMG, these were super tasty. The pigs in blankets tasted very similar to their meaty counterpart, and they looked pretty good too. The stuffing wasn't too dry, and was also packed full of flavour.

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test: 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤

Would I try these again? I'm adding them to my basket as we speak.

Firstly, I have a question. Why do we not have snacks in tins all year round? This needs to be a thing. Secondly, the person who decided to change the name of these treats to 'Treeselets' should probably get a pay rise.

Jess Brunt / BuzzFeed

If there's one thing you should probably know about me, it's that I'm a sucker for cute things. This means that snacks that look like trees would have to taste pretty awful to get in my bad books. However, I'm pleased to confirm that while these adorable snacks are nothing new, they are pretty tasty. I'm a big fan of the generous cheesy dusting on top.

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test: 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤

Are these elite Christmas snacks? Cheese flavouring and tree shaped? It's a no-brainer if you ask me.

Speaking of tree shaped things, as soon as I saw these chicken nugget Christmas trees in Asda I knew they were coming home with me.

Jess Brunt / BuzzFeed

These nuggets were pretty delish. There wasn't anything especially festive about them other than the tree shape, but they were decent and I'm okay with that. They could have done with a festive dip for extra points, but at £1 I don't think you can complain.

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test: 🤤🤤🤤🤤

Are these an iconic Christmas food? Yes, and I'd imagine even more so if you need something to soak up the Christmas party drinks.

Coffee fans, listen up! As someone with a penchant for a festive blend, these Starbucks Toffee Nut Latte capsules caught my eye. They're compatible with a Dulce Gusto coffee machine, FYI.

Jess Brunt / BuzzFeed

Erm hello barista style coffee in my kitchen! Since buying festive coffees while out and about can get pricey, these are a great alternative. They're pretty sweet so maybe not a brekkie option, but as an afternoon treat I'm there with jingle bells on.

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test: 🤤🤤🤤🤤

Are they a festive fave or a festive fail? Definitely a festive fave, and extra points for saving me some money on my spendy coffee shop addiction.

Festive packaging aside, these may look like your standard cheeses, but they're actually rather *fancy* sounding Christmassy cheeses from Asda. This festive cheese selection was the food I was most intrigued by, so here goes...

Jess Brunt / BuzzFeed

Firstly, the cheeses come in the following flavours: cheddar with pickled onion, wensleydale with mince pie flavours, smoky chipotle cheddar, and cheddar with apple, sage, and onion.

Since I'm not a mince pie fan, I roped my other half into trying the cheeses with me, in the interest of fairness. I liked the cheddar and pickled onion and the cheddar with apple, sage, and onion, both of which tasted like their description. Whilst I tried the other two cheeses, I can't say I'd have them again. However, if you do like mince pies, then the mince pie cheese tastes surprisingly like the sweet treat. Interestingly, my other half had completely the opposite opinion and preferred the mince pie and chipotle options.

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test: 🤤🤤🤤

Was it a Merry Cheesemas? I'd get these for a bit of fun at a party, but owing to my love of more goo-ey cheese options, I think I'll stick to a baked camembert.

Winter wouldn't be winter without hot chocolate IMO, and can you really imagine one much better than a Maltesers one? Me neither.

Jess Brunt / BuzzFeed

This did have a hint of Malteser goodness, but it was subtle. This meant the hot choc wasn't too sickly which I liked. Was it worlds apart from your usual hot choccie? Probably not IMO, but if you're partial to one then you'll almost certainly like it.

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test: 🤤🤤🤤

Will this be a regular winter warmer? Probably, as long as no-one scrimps on the mallows!

Finally, my pup decided to try out Wilko's doggy pigs in blanket-style treats...

Jess Brunt / BuzzFeed

Obvs she can't speak, but my pup and I are BFFs so I can practically read her mind. Judging by the way she ran off to devour her little treat, I think we can safely say I was barking right up her street with this one!

Festive Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Taste Test: 🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

Did these tickle her little doggy tastebuds? WOOF!