A short Christmas menu is one of the easiest ways to lift December sales. A few festive drinks, a mince pie and a seasonal toastie give regulars something new to try and give passers-by a reason to come in. This page gives you a free printable Christmas menu template, plus ideas for what to put on it, how to price it and how to handle allergens on seasonal dishes.
Download the free Christmas menu template (PDF)
The template is two A4 pages in portrait. Page 1 is in deep green and gold. Page 2 is the same menu in plain black and white, for cheap printing on any office printer. Write on it by hand, or print it and fill it in neatly in pen.
What is on the template
Each page has:
- A "Christmas menu" heading with a line underneath for your café's name.
- "Served from" and "until" lines, so customers know when the festive menu starts and ends.
- Three sections: Festive drinks, Something sweet, and Savoury and lunch.
- 5 lines in each section, each with room for the dish name, a short description underneath, and a price box on the right.
- An allergen line at the bottom: "Please ask staff about allergens before you order."
The decoration is kept simple: a thin double border, small stars and snowflakes. There is no red on the colour version, so it sits well next to most café colour schemes and is not too heavy on ink.
How to fill it in and print it
- Pick your dishes first. Decide on your list before you write anything. Pencil it on the black and white page if you want a rough draft.
- Use a fine black or dark green pen. A 0.5 mm fineliner fits the lines. Gold or silver pens look festive but are harder to read from a distance.
- Keep descriptions short. Four to six words is plenty, such as "with whipped cream and nutmeg".
- Write prices the same way every time. Either £3.80 or 3.80, not a mix.
- Print at actual size. In the print settings choose "Actual size" or "100%", not "Fit to page".
Some practical tips:
- Use thicker paper for the counter. Paper of 160 gsm or more stands up better in a menu holder or a frame.
- Laminate it, or put it in a clear sleeve, if it is going on tables. Christmas menus get a lot of handling and the odd spilt hot chocolate.
- Print the black and white page for takeaway copies. It is cheaper, and it photocopies cleanly.
- Leave a line or two empty. If a special sells out early or you add one in mid-December, you have room for it.
Christmas menu ideas for cafés
You do not need a long list. Five drinks, a few sweet things and a few savoury things is plenty for most cafés. The ideas below use ingredients you probably already stock, plus one or two seasonal extras.
Festive drinks
- Gingerbread latte. Your usual latte with gingerbread syrup, topped with whipped cream and a pinch of cinnamon.
- Spiced hot chocolate. Hot chocolate with cinnamon, nutmeg and a little orange zest or orange syrup.
- Toffee nut or salted caramel latte. A familiar flavour that sells well when it is cold.
- Chai latte with a festive spice dusting. Easy to make with oat milk for vegan customers.
- Hot spiced apple. Warmed apple juice with cinnamon and clove. A good alcohol-free choice for families and drivers.
Something sweet
- Mince pies, warm, with cream or brandy butter on the side.
- Christmas brownie with cranberries or white chocolate.
- Gingerbread biscuits by the till, which sell on impulse.
- A slice of Christmas cake or stollen.
- A vegan sweet option, such as a vegan mince pie or a spiced orange cake made without eggs or dairy.
Savoury and lunch
- Turkey and cranberry toastie, with stuffing if you have it.
- Pigs in blankets roll, in a soft roll with a little cranberry or onion chutney.
- Brie and cranberry panini.
- Leftover-style sandwich with turkey, stuffing and a smear of bread sauce.
- A vegan festive wrap or soup, such as roasted root vegetable soup, or a stuffing and roast vegetable wrap with cranberry.
Simple Christmas deals
A deal often sells better than a new dish:
- Mince pie with any hot drink, for a small extra charge.
- Festive lunch deal: a toastie or panini, a hot drink and a mince pie.
- A gingerbread biscuit with every kids' hot chocolate.
Prices on any deal should still leave you a margin. The next section shows how to check.
Pricing your Christmas specials
Seasonal items can be some of your most profitable, or they can quietly lose money because the extras were never costed.
Work out the cost of each item
For each special, add up what goes into one serving: the base drink or dish, plus syrup, cream, toppings, a festive sleeve or box, and any wastage. Then compare it with your price before VAT.
Here is an illustrative example. Swap in your own costs and prices.
- Your usual latte sells at £3.40 and costs you about 70p in coffee, milk and cup.
- A gingerbread latte adds syrup, whipped cream and a sprinkle on top, perhaps another 30p.
- So it costs you about £1. Charging £3.95 rather than £3.40 covers the extras and makes the drink worth the time it takes to make.
Do the same for food. A turkey and cranberry toastie might use more expensive bread and a cranberry sauce you buy in only for December, so its cost can be higher than your usual cheese toastie.
Keep the list short
A long Christmas menu sounds generous, but every extra item means another ingredient to buy, store and possibly throw away in January. A short list:
- Cuts waste. Seasonal syrups, cranberry sauce and stuffing do not sell well after Christmas.
- Keeps service fast. Staff learn five specials quickly. Fifteen slow the queue.
- Makes ordering easier. Customers choose faster from a short list.
A good rule is to share ingredients across items. Cranberry sauce can go in the toastie, the panini and the brownie. Gingerbread syrup can go in a latte and a hot chocolate.
Show prices clearly
Write the full price customers pay, including VAT, next to each item. If a deal is cheaper than buying the items separately, say what is in it so nobody is surprised at the till.
Allergens on seasonal items
Christmas food brings in ingredients your team does not handle the rest of the year, and many of them contain allergens. Before you put a dish on the menu, check every ingredient against the 14 allergens, including bought-in items.
A few that often catch cafés out:
- Mince pies and Christmas cake often contain cereals containing gluten, milk and eggs, and sulphites in the dried fruit. Some contain nuts.
- Stollen and marzipan contain tree nuts, usually almonds.
- Stuffing often contains cereals containing gluten, and sometimes celery or sulphites.
- Sausages and pigs in blankets can contain sulphites and cereals containing gluten.
- Seasonal syrups and sauces, such as toffee nut or gingerbread, are worth checking. A syrup with "nut" in its name may or may not contain nuts.
- Brandy butter and bread sauce contain milk, and bread sauce usually contains gluten.
Add every new item to your allergen chart before it goes on sale. If you do not have one, use our free allergen chart template. The menu template already says "Please ask staff about allergens before you order", so make sure whoever is on shift knows where the chart is.
This is a general guide, not legal advice. For the rules on allergen information, see the Food Standards Agency's allergen guidance for food businesses.
How it works in Café QR
A paper menu is fine for December, but it has to be rewritten every time something sells out or a price changes. In Café QR, your Christmas specials live in the same menu as everything else.
- Add a special in a minute. Add the item and its price from the dashboard. Every printed QR code already points at your live menu, so guests see it straight away and there is nothing to reprint.
- Mark it sold out when it runs out. When the mince pies are gone, mark them sold out and they disappear from the QR menu, the till and your online page together.
- Show the festive section only when you want it. Put your Christmas dishes on their own menu and set it to run on a schedule, or choose When I switch it on and turn it on for December. See how to set up menus for different times.
- Put it on a TV. TV menu boards show your live menu on any smart TV in the shop, with sold-out dishes dropping off by themselves.
If you keep recipes in Café QR, profit per dish shows what each item earns after VAT and food cost, which helps you price specials. Read more about a digital menu you never reprint.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Christmas menu template really free?
Yes. Download the PDF, print as many copies as you need and use them in your café. You do not need to sign up for anything.
Can I edit the template on my computer?
The template is designed to be filled in by hand. If you want typed text, you can add text boxes in a PDF editor before printing, or print it and write on it in pen.
How many items should a café Christmas menu have?
For most cafés, 3 to 5 festive drinks and a few sweet and savoury items is enough. The template has 5 lines in each section, and you do not need to fill them all.
When should a café start its Christmas menu?
Many cafés start in mid to late November and run until Christmas Eve or New Year. Pick dates that suit your customers, and write them on the "Served from" and "until" lines so everyone knows.
Do I need to list allergens on my Christmas menu?
You must be able to tell customers which of the 14 allergens are in the food and drink you serve. You can do this in writing, or verbally with a clear written notice telling customers to ask staff. The template includes that notice. Keep an up-to-date allergen chart so staff give the right answer.
What are good vegan Christmas options for a café?
A chai or spiced hot chocolate made with oat milk, a vegan mince pie, a spiced orange cake made without eggs or dairy, and a roast vegetable soup or wrap with cranberry. Check that syrups, pastry and breads are suitable before you call them vegan.