There are times, especially now in holiday season, when you have people coming over for a drink in the evening. Nights where you get off work and have just enought time to swing by the corner store on your way home and then frantically clean your house before people show up. These are the nights that you don’t want to have to cook snacks for your guests, but you realize that if you just give them wine, they will be too wobbly when they leave your house.

Last night I had some girlfriends over and not only did not have time to cook cute little appetizers, I didn’t feel like it. I wanted something easy. So I ran by the corner store on my way home and I grabbed the things I needed to make a basic party platter. Maybe this post is too obvious. It isn’t complicated to throw some snacks on a tray for people. But, I thought I would write about it anyways, because when you are without ideas and people are on their way, it is good to have a standard.

Not only is this a standard for easy party nights, I usually do a similar cheese/meat platter for all my parties in addition to whatever else I’m making. Because really, who doesn’t like some salami and cheese?

So the picture above is what I threw together for my ladies. I like to serve on a cutting board and I put a few of the items on/in cute plates and bowls. Presentation is everything. When my boyfriend got home before the ladies showed up and saw the set up he said, “You like your girlfriends better than me!” I replied, “I feed you every day.” Though perhaps it means I could work more on my daily presentation.

For the platter, I included the following items:

salami
brie
crackers
premade artichoke dip
grapes
and a bowl of milano cookies

This covers people’s general snacking needs. Sweet, salty, creamy, and some fruit to cleanse the palette. When in doubt, artfully assembling these items will look like you worked really hard to feed people and it will keep hungry, wine-filled tummies happy.

Other easy items to consider adding:
hummus
baguette slices
mixed nuts
other fruits like sliced apples or strawberries
sugar snap peas
various other italian meats like procuitto
various cheeses

You can make it your own, just be sure to make it easy. Not every hosting event has to be work. I hope this helps next time you have people heading your way and need some snack ideas!