Easy Holiday Appetizers to Kick Off Any Celebration

Start the Party With a Bite

One of the easiest ways to set the tone for a holiday gathering is with a standout snack. Think of these little bites as an edible welcome — they wake up everyone’s appetite and help get the conversation flowing before the main dishes arrive. To pull that off, it helps to follow a few simple rules.

Ground Rules for Great Party Snacks

Rule 1: Keep it fork-free. Guests should be able to grab everything with their fingers.
Rule 2: Avoid extremes — nothing overwhelmingly salty or dessert-sweet.
Rule 3: Offer variety so there’s at least one option for every palate.

The three snacks below do all of that, and each brings its own personality to the table.

Gúgúrú àti Epà: Popcorn and Peanuts From Lagos

The first snack is a joyful mix of popped corn and roasted peanuts. Called gúgúrú àti epà in Yorùbá (literally “maize and groundnuts”), it’s a beloved street snack in Lagos and widely enjoyed across West Africa.

Lightly spiced, just a touch sweet and wonderfully crunchy, it marries fluffy popcorn with crisp nuts for a bowl that disappears fast. Every handful offers that satisfying “crunch-crunch-crunch” that keeps people coming back for more.

Citrus-Herb Spiced Nuts for the Snack Bowl

The second option tilts savory and a little more grown-up. Here, mixed nuts are scented with citrus, sage, fennel and cumin, then gently bound with whipped egg whites so the seasonings cling to every curve and crevice.

Big, meaty nuts — pecans, walnuts, cashews — shine in this recipe, while seeds like pumpkin, sesame or flax can slip into the gaps for extra texture. Baked slowly at a low temperature, the mixture perfumes the kitchen as it toasts, the aroma drifting through the house like the promise of a good night.

“Chukchuk” Coconut Clusters

The final snack leans into coconut. Affectionately nicknamed chukchuk or shukshuk in Lagos for its prickly, shredded texture, it will appeal to anyone who loves the chew of fresh grated coconut.

Here, large flakes of unsweetened dried coconut are tumbled in a caramel infused with nutmeg, allspice and cloves, then pressed into little mounds and baked. The clusters resemble a lighter, less tooth-threatening brittle — firm enough to hold in your hand or pass around in a shared bowl, but not so hard that you worry for your molars.

Perfect for Parties or Presents

Any of these bites can serve as a welcoming first taste when relatives or friends walk through the door. They’re also ideal for gifting: pack them into jars or tins, tie on a ribbon, and you’ve turned a simple snack into a holiday present.

In the end, these treats do more than fill time before dinner — they carry a bit of the warmth and togetherness of the season in every handful.