Christmas comes but once a year, and it’s our one shot to taste all the festive flavours before it’s over. The cinnamon, chocolate, cranberry, ginger and more, all in the space of a month. Maybe six weeks at most.

Enter: my dessert charcuterie board, a saccharine smørgasbørd filled with every festive sweet you can possibly imagine.

The beauty of the board is you can have a doughnut one minute and a piece of fruit the next. And whether it’s shop-bought or homemade, what you fill it with is up to you. This is a judgment-free zone. There really are no rules.

Unless you’re the kind of person who likes rules, then here are some that I made up.

Rule #1

Raid your cupboards. Wafers? Party rings? Mini candy canes? Posh chocolate covered shortbreads you were saving? As Harry Potter once said, “we’ll take the lot.”

Rule #2

Make it healthy-ish. If you can find strawberries, then use them but really any fruit dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with toasted coconut will fit the festive vibe. For a festive touch, dig out your snowflake and Christmas tree cutters for pineapple and melon. Then for flavour and crunch, mixed nuts will never go amiss.

Rule #3

Christmas popcorn. This couldn’t be easier. Mix your favourite popcorn (salty or sweet) with red and green sprinkles. Voila.

Rule #4

Gingerbread isn’t just for making houses. Get creative and make some fun biscuits with or without cookie cutters. Check out our recipe listed below.

Rule #5

If chocolate sauce is a faff, grab a Gu pud instead. They’re already perfectly portioned in fancy glass pots – so just peel off the foil and serve.

Rule #6

Cranberry-glazed mini donuts. Got extra cranberry sauce hanging about? Mix a dollop with icing sugar, and glaze mini shop-bought donuts.

What is Gousto?

Dinner, but not as you know it. Our big red recipe boxes will help you whip up wholesome, impressive meals no matter your skill level, with all the flavour and none of the fuss.

From everyday favourites and ten minute meals, to global cuisines and healthy choices, you’ll have over 60 recipes to choose from each week from our menu. We’ll send you step-by-step recipes and all the fresh ingredients you need too. Just pick what you fancy for dinner, and leave the planning to us.