Celebrate the Holidays and Feed Your App-etite

When you think of “holiday food” you might think of turkey dinners, platters of ham, and mashed potatoes, but there’s also the smaller bites—and moments—to enjoy, too. I’m talking about cozy nights in with friends watching holiday movies while eating an overflowing cheese plate. Or throwing a holiday party in early December where you make your grandmother’s famous cocktail meatballs. Or hosting “Munchie Hour” like Allrecipes Allstar Jessica Formicola the night before Thanksgiving (more on that soon).

In this spotlight, join Allrecipes as we celebrate everything the holiday season has to offer. Because if you wait until the “big” moments to enjoy the holiday season, it always goes by too fast. It’s the days in between the major holidays—the smaller moments that go with the appetizers—that will help you savor the next couple of months. I hope you find some holiday magic this year, and feed your app-etite along the way.

Allrecipes Allstar Jessica Formicola hosts “Munchie Hour” the day before Thanksgiving as a way to bring her friends and family together before the Big Day. “It’s like when you were in college: You would go home and everybody would go out the night before Thanksgiving. But now it’s at our house,” she explains. Stephanie Ganz talked to her about how it started and what her favorite appetizers are for the occasion.

Read the Story: How This Allrecipes Allstar Wins Thanksgiving With Her “Munchie Hour”

If you love classic ham and cheese sliders, just wait until you meet their rich aunt, the Million Dollar Holiday Party Slider from Izy Hossack. Made with three kinds of cheese, turkey, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato fries, this appetizer will certainly steal the show wherever it shows up.

Get the Recipe: Million Dollar Holiday Party Sliders

Who says that eggs are the only thing that can be deviled? In this fun twist on the classic, Izy Hossack created crispy potato cups using frozen hash browns. The cups are loaded up with all the traditional flavors of a deviled egg. It’s the perfect crispy, creamy appetizer to pass around this holiday season.

Get the Recipe: Deviled Potato Bites

You might be familiar with rice paper in the form of Vietnamese Spring Rolls, traditionally served cold. But in this rice paper application, we’re going hot for the holidays. “If you fry those rice paper rolls in a little oil, the outer layer becomes crispy with a satisfying chew beneath,” Izy Hossack explains. Make these crispy, cheesy bites and watch them disappear at your next holiday party!

Get the Recipe: Crispy Brie & Cranberry Rice Paper Bites

Ever since she was a kid, Jenny Martinez has made tamales with her family for the holidays. “My mom liked to prepare them the day before Christmas Eve because Christmas Eve is the big day for our celebration,” the cookbook author and TikTok star explains. Stephanie Ganz talked with her about this tradition and how she has turns it into a party (with more food!) today.

Read the Story: How TikTok’s Jenny Martinez Throws a Holiday Tamale Night With Her Family

You’ve seen cheese boards, you’ve seen butter boards, and you’ve maybe even seen buttercream boards. But have you ever seen a “melting” buttercream snowman? The idea is simple: As guests add the buttercream to their cookies and fruits, the snowman “melts” away. It’s easy to see why this dessert board from Jessica Furniss is just about the sweetest thing you could make this holiday season.

Read the Story: Meet the Melting Snowman Board, the Best Holiday Appetizer You’ll Make All Season

If the idea of hosting a holiday party makes you feel completely overwhelmed, I’ve got you. I asked the Allrecipes Allstars—our super users—to share their best tips for holiday entertaining. The most popular tip? Plan and prep ahead as far as possible.

Read the Story: The Allrecipes Allstars Share Their 8 Best Tips for Holiday Entertaining

Writer Megan Harrington gathered up some of Allrecipes’ most classic holiday appetizers. From a Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip with over 2,200 reviews from our community, to a stuffed mushroom someone said they’ve been making for over a decade, these 10 recipes are guaranteed winners.

Read the Story: 10 Classic Holiday Appetizers 

In Molly Adam’s family, she referred to her great-grandmother as Faddy. “It’s a name that came to be when my oldest uncle was a toddler and Faddy was his best attempt at Grandma,” she explains. Faddy was known for these irresistible cocktail meatballs made in a port wine sauce, and they’ve become a party staple for Adams and her family today.

Read the Story: Meet Faddy’s Meatballs, the Easy Appetizer My Grandma Was Famous For

In this ultra-easy party dip inspired by her mom, writer Molly Adams sautés fresh leeks down with a little butter and then combines them with sour cream. Think of it as the cousin of your favorite onion dip. Don’t forget to serve it with plenty of crunchy vegetables and crackers!

Read the Story: I Make My Mom’s 3-Ingredient Dip for Every Holiday Party 

Need an appetizer in a hurry? Writer Patty Lee has just the thing: Dumpling wrapper scallion pancakes. She describes them as her “go-to entertaining recipe” when she’s short on time. All you need are leftover dumpling wrappers, scallions, some oil, and a few minutes of your time.

Read the Story: This 3-Ingredient Snack Is My Favorite Recipe for Last-Minute Parties

Turn watching your favorite holiday movie into a party by pairing it with a great appetizer! Here, writer Nicholas DeRenzo paired some of the most classic holiday movies like White Christmas and Home Alone with recipes from the Allrecipes community. “We won’t judge if you want to pour yourself a little spiked eggnog for added merriment,” he writes.

Read the Story: The 9 Best Appetizer Recipes to Pair With Holiday Movies