Charcuterie is all the rage these days and such an easy way to wow your guests. During the Christmas Season there tends to be a lot of parties to attend or host. A Simple Holiday Charcuterie board is a beautiful way to present delicious eats and tap into your creative side at the same time.
I recently hosted my annual Favourite Things party and wanted to create a Simple Holiday Charcuterie for my guests. I was thrilled to partner with some local shops to create a few beautiful charcuterie platters. I’m going to share the basic elements that every charcuterie board should have and from there you will have the basic tools you need to create your very own Simple Holiday Charcuterie for your festive parties!
Cheese
- A mix of cheese textures – soft cheese (brie, camembert) hard cheese (like an aged cheddar or parmesan), and crumbly cheese (blue cheese etc.)
- A mix of strengths – mix some mild flavours and stronger varieties
- Mix up colours and shapes for visual interest
For a beautiful visual, leave the cheese whole on the platter and provide cheese knives and servers. I find that pre sliced cheese will give more of that old school deli tray which we are trying to avoid.
Savoury
- A mix of meats
- A few varieties of nuts
- Olives (these can be piled on the tray or placed in little bowls)
Sweets
- Dried fruit such as apricots or mangos
- Fresh fruit (grapes, pomegranate)
- Jujubes (anyone who knows me knows that no party is complete without them)
Crackers and Bread
Make little piles of crackers in between the other elements. A few varieties and sizes of crackers gives a nice assortment for the various meats and cheese.
Bread is also a nice addition giving more texture and variety. A fresh hearty loaf of bread or baguette is perfect for spreads and gives another nice options for mixing the different elements.
Condiments
Condiments are a great addition. I love adding honey, grainy mustard, red pepper jelly, fig spread, jams and more. Mix up the size and colour of ramekins or use simple basic white for a classic look. A slice of bread with a drizzle of honey is my new favourite!
Garnish
The finishing touch is to add garnishes. I love using fresh sprigs of rosemary or sage. The smell is amazing and its just so pretty. Even a few fresh cranberries scattered around the board to add some colour. Off course this year is the year of dried oranges, so we had to add that in and it looked so pretty might I add:)
We feel so blessed to have the opportunity to support local Businesses and would always encourage you to try and do the same. For this Simple Holiday Charcuterie board we worked with Honey Grove Bakery, The Butcher’s Block, Natural Pastures Cheese and Big D’s Bees. Here is a little bit of info on each of these fantastic Local shops!
Honey Grove Bakery
Natural Pastures Cheese
The Butcher’s Block
Big D’s Bees Honey:





I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Season and enjoy all the festive parties that you both attend and host!
Until Next Time,
Photos by Karin U Living, Post written by Karin Usipuik and Melissa Coulter
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