Making An Antipasto Christmas Tree
31st December 2024 - New Experience Number 48
Pinterest can be a great source of inspiration for new things to try, and it’s where I got the idea to try making an antipasto christmas tree.
As has been tradition since I began the challenge of trying fifty-two new things a year back in 2018, I left too many new things to try between Christmas and New Year. This means that there are some very random things happening in our house, and often an intriguing collection of snacks and meals being made. 2024 was no exception.
A Showstopper Of A Challenge
The image on Pinterest looked impressive. A selection of deliciously colourful and appetising small bites and nibbles, arranged in the shape of a Christmas tree. I was really looking forward to presenting this festive feast to the Other Half as a tasty treat.
However, it ended up looking more like a sparsely populated cactus than the lush tree I’d hoped for.
The Ingredients For Making An Antipasto Christmas Tree
It looked really straight forward to make. In terms of the edible ingredients, I picked up some pickled onions, gherkins, olives, sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella balls.
You could easily add any other small bites that you like.
The Kit
To make the Christmas tree shape I used a polystyrene cone which I’d picked up from Yorkshire Trading Co.
I wrapped it in cling film, and then used lots of cocktail sticks to attach all the treats.
The Make
I began by putting one of the olives onto a cocktail stick, and then pushing it into the polystyrene cone. Yet, as I completed the first row something wasn’t quite right.
I’d used a lot of cocktail sticks. The instructions had suggested I’d need around 100 for the total make, but I’d used over 20 already, just on the bottom row!
Comparing my work in progress with the polished Pinterest picture on my phone screen, mine looked like some sort of prickly mess with the spiky wooden ends sticking out.
This is where I discovered I should have read the instructions properly rather than try and figure it out from the picture. They had put the tooth picks into the foam cone first, and then, stuck the antipasto onto the ends, which meant the spiny ends were no longer visible.
Assembly
After the mess of my first row, I changed my method and followed the directions in the instructions. Taking care not to pierce myself, I pushed the sharp ends into the polystyrene on an angle.
Standing back after inserting the final cocktail stick, I laughed out loud. I appeared to have made some sort of implement of torture. Not really the look I was aiming for as a Christmas centre piece.
With the cocktail sticks in position, next was the tricky task of pushing the antipasto onto the spiked ends. This took a bit of care and attention not to push the pieces all the way onto the stick. Oil from the antipasto made my fingers slip on more than one occasion, narrowly avoiding piercing my skin several times.
The Finished Masterpiece
Masterpiece is definitely over-egging my version of this creation.
Looking like a very poor attempt at making the neatly arranged tree from Pinterest, it didn’t have the desired ‘wow’ affect I’d hoped for. No, the Other Half, merely raised his eyebrow as I presented the snacking delight for us, and questioned what it was meant to be!
With the cocktail sticks in position, next was the tricky task of pushing the antipasto onto the spiked ends. This took a bit of care and attention not to push the pieces all the way onto the stick. Oil from the antipasto made my fingers slip on more than one occasion, narrowly avoiding piercing my skin several times.
Would I Try Making An Antipasto Christmas Tree Again?
After the initial debacle of using too many cocktail sticks, it did become easier to assemble.
I think I’d do a better job if I had another go at making it, but then I think I could arrange a good antipasto plate in a festive arrangement, without needing all of the extra bits and pieces.
Perhaps if I’m looking to do something a bit different, and I’ve got the time, I’ll make this again, but I don’t think it will become a traditional festive staple in our house any time soon.
Want To Try It Yourself?
- You can follow the instructions that I used from xoxo Bella
- It’s very easy to adapt the ingredients used and make a snacking Christmas tree with other items.
Cost Of Experience
- It will depend what you use and where you buy the items from.
- The 27cm polystyrene cone cost £4.99 from Yorkshire Trading Co
- All of the other items should be easily available in a supermarket.
- If you need to buy cling film, cocktail sticks, and all of the different antipasto nibbles, it should cost around £12.50, and it will easily provide enough for 4 people to enjoy.
Recommendations
- Pop on a pinny. Whilst this wasn’t a particularly messy make, a lot of the antipasto I used were in oils so it’s best to protect your clothes.
- Be careful. Those tooth picks can be annoyingly sharp.
- Fill the gaps. The more nibbles you can attach, the more tree-like it will look. I think mine looked a little bit too gappy.
- Push into the shape first. Don’t do what I did and put the antipasto onto the tooth pick, and then push it into the polystyrene, as you’ll end up with a cactus.
- Get creative. You can easily use this technique for other snacking show stoppers. Use different polystyrene shapes for different occasions. Get experimental with what you attach; perhaps you could make a cheese selection, or cover it with sweets, or have it full of pieces of fruit?
- Get a picture. If you do decide to try making an antipasto Christmas tree, let me know how you get on. I’d love to see how your creations turn out.
ha!!! you know what? I love this idea!! I would never thought of it but your challenges are always so cool and unique! one of my friends used a plastic little skeleton for Halloween and put jamon serrano and salami all over it with pickle hands hahaha. I think those are fun ideas for gatherings! Thanks for sharing I enjoyed this!
:o) Thanks so much, Andrea! Oh my days, that sounds like an incredibly brilliant (and slightly creepy), Halloween idea!! I bet that went down well!
Thank you so much for reading, and taking the time to comment too, I always appreciate it.
Sally x
Although this sounds like a food idea to not only display food in a festive way, but doubles as a nice center piece, that fact that it uses polystyrene would put me off. If I remember rightly, there been links between polystyrene and health issues, so having food stuck into that would be a no for me. But I imagine an alternative could be found for the polystyrene cone
Ah, that’s a really interesting point. I’ve not heard about that connection before, I’ll have to look into it. Thankfully the snacks weren’t on it for too long, and it’s the only time I’ve used polystyrene with my food so hopefully it’s ok. I’ll definitely look into alternatives if I’m trying anything like this again.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. It’s always appreciated.
Sally :o)