Best-ever Christmas: trends and timelines
Go classic (with a twist)
Comfort and nostalgia dominated Christmas menus in 2025. But that doesn’t mean customers want the ‘same old, same old’. Classics with a twist and festive fusions are a great way to showcase the influences of global flavour, as well as your menu’s quality, value and creativity.
Why not add some chai spices to your mince pies, add some cranberry or blackcurrant jam to your gravy, or switch up the classic Christmas pud for a chocolate orange variety?
Indulgent treats
Well, it is Christmas after all! December is a month full of delights, with desserts and hot drinks coming top of the menu. This means layered flavours and textures, plus some crossover from summer beverage and dessert trends. Premium ice cream, soft-serve and cold foam will feature alongside warm, nostalgic puddings and seasonal desserts to create elevated hot-and-cold experiences. Just like with this Mulled Winter Pavlova and Chocolate Orange Christmas Pudding.
Steps to top festive prep
If you haven’t already, you need to…
• Work out your menus and their margins
• Set up and open your booking software
• Start early-bird promotions via socials and email
• Lock in your supplier orders and delivery schedules
• Get staff availability for the busy season
September
• Push your promotions hard
• Finalise staff rotas and hire to fill any gaps
• Run staff training so everyone’s prepared
October
• Collect pre-orders (including any dietary requirements) and deposits for bookings
• Stock up on non-food items, e.g. napkins and decorations
• Decorate and prep table settings
November
• Get your bar stocked up for the December rush
• Start any food prep you can freeze or store
• Run smaller ‘warm-up’ events to polish your service
December
• Confirm all orders and finalise delivery dates
• Run final kitchen and front-of-house prep, like stock checks and set up
• Add in special or surprise touches for customers and staff
January
• Run a deep clean and restock
• Debrief your team
• Run through customer feedback
Think texture and temperature
Looking ahead, the Lumina Intelligence team expects customers to look for more texture and temperature contrasts. This is a great way to add depth and sensory appeal to dishes. One example is the growing popularity of variations on French toast. This dish combines a soft interior with a crisp exterior, and is likely to appear across festive brunch and dessert menus. Similarly, a Christmas Dinner Pie combines all the flavours a customer would expect, but switches up the standard textures.
Run premium specials
‘Christmas special’ burgers were big last year, so add festive touches to your standard menu items or elevate them with premium ingredients such as truffle and speciality cheeses.
Having go-to ingredients in your pantry makes this easier.
This includes MAGGI® Truffle Flavour Seasoning, which you can sprinkle over fries, season your roasties or use in a festive mac and cheese.
