How to Build a Christmas Charcuterie Board

A charcuterie board is the easiest thing to put out at a Christmas party: no oven, no timing, and it can sit on the table while people arrive. With a few red and green touches it also looks like the season without much extra work. Here is how to plan one, what to buy and how to put it together.

How much to buy

• As an appetizer before dinner: about 2 oz of cheese and 2 oz of meat per person.
• As the main spread at a party: about 3 to 4 oz of cheese and 3 to 4 oz of meat per person, plus more crackers and fruit.
• Three or four cheeses and two or three meats are plenty, even for a crowd. More variety only makes the board harder to fill.

1. Choose the board

Pick the board by the number of guests, and leave room to fill every gap.

• For four to six people, a Large Olive Wood Cutting and Serving Board (15.5 by 10 inches) holds a full spread, and the juice groove around the edge catches the drips from fruit and soft cheese.
• For a bigger crowd, the Large Acacia Wood Serving Tray with Handles gives you 18 by 14 inches with raised edges, and the handles make it easy to carry from the kitchen.
• If you like jam, honey or olives on the board, the Acacia Wood Charcuterie Tray with 3 Ceramic Bowls keeps the wet things in their own bowls.
• For a small get-together, the Swiveling Bamboo Cheese Board comes with four cheese knives in a drawer under the top.

2. Start with the cheeses

Mix textures and flavors so there is something for everyone:

• Soft: a wheel of brie or camembert. Ring it with rosemary sprigs and it becomes a small wreath in the middle of the board.
• Aged: a sharp cheddar or an aged gouda, cut into cubes or thin slices.
• Something bold: a blue cheese or a manchego.
• Something fun: a log of goat cheese rolled in chopped dried cranberries and parsley.

3. Add the meats

Salami folded into "roses", prosciutto in loose ribbons and a spicy soppressata are enough. Fold or roll them instead of laying them flat, so they take up space and are easy to pick up.

4. Bring in the Christmas colors

Red and green do most of the work:

• Red: sugared cranberries, pomegranate seeds, red grapes, raspberries, cherry tomatoes.
• Green: green grapes, Castelvetrano olives, sliced kiwi, small sprigs of rosemary and thyme tucked between the food.
• Sugared cranberries are easy: roll fresh cranberries in a little maple syrup, then in granulated sugar, and let them dry for an hour.

5. Add crunch and something sweet

• Two kinds of crackers and a few slices of baguette or crostini.
• Candied pecans or walnuts, and marcona almonds.
• Fig jam or honey for the cheese, in a small bowl so it does not spread across the board.
• A few squares of dark chocolate, gingerbread cookies or chocolate-covered pretzels.

6. Easy festive touches

• Cheese stars: cut slices of cheddar or gouda with a small star cookie cutter.
• A salami tree: layer folded salami in a triangle, with a rosemary sprig as the trunk.
• A brie wreath: rosemary around the edge of the brie and a few pomegranate seeds or cranberries on top.

7. Build it in this order

1. Small bowls first: jam, honey, olives and anything wet.
2. Cheeses next, spaced out across the board. Cut a few pieces of each so guests know how to start.
3. Meats in the larger gaps, folded or rolled.
4. Crackers along the edges, fanned out.
5. Fruit and nuts in every remaining gap.
6. Herbs and the festive touches last.

Timing and food safety

Take hard cheeses out of the fridge about 30 to 60 minutes before serving so they have their full flavor. You can build the board up to two hours ahead and keep it covered in the fridge, adding the crackers just before guests arrive so they stay crisp. Do not leave meat and cheese out for more than about two hours. Refill a smaller board from the kitchen instead.

Clean up

Wash wooden boards by hand in warm, soapy water and dry them right away; never soak them or put them in the dishwasher. A little food-safe mineral oil every so often keeps the grain rich. More in our guides on how to care for olive wood and how to care for acacia wood.

A board as a gift

A good serving board is also one of the easiest gifts for the person who always hosts. Bring one as a hostess gift with a wedge of cheese and a jar of fig jam. For more ideas, see gift ideas for people who love to host or browse Gift Ideas.

Shipping is free anywhere in the US, and every product page shows its delivery time, so check it before you order for Christmas. For Thanksgiving, see our guide to a Thanksgiving charcuterie board.