CHRISTMAS and New Year are when everyone has a party - and if you’re hosting, getting the catering right can be tricky.

Always eager to help our readers, the reporters at the Gazette and Herald/Wiltshire Times set out to discover how easy and affordable it actually is to lay on a party spread.

We scoured the supermarkets of Trowbridge for the makings for sandwiches, fresh and frozen party snacks, including some suitable for vegetarians, vegans and gluten free guests, for a taste test. Here’s what we found.

Tops were the mini steak and chicken pies. Comments included: “I was very impressed with them both”; “You can’t go wrong with a pie no matter how small it is”; “Packed full of flavour with soft pastry and plenty of filling: 9/10”

Surprising everyone were the cauliflower bites, which drew praise like: “I was expecting this to be my least favourite due to the fact they contain vegetables, but they were so good! They had an unexpected spice to them as well”; “The best for me, really tasty with a very cheesy taste and crunchy on the outside. I thought my favourite would be a meat snack but I could have eaten the whole plate: 9/10”

The duck and no duck spring rolls were another crowdpleaser, with several of us unable to taste the difference. Comments ranged from “I am always a fan of a duck spring roll and really enjoyed them. I also thoroughly enjoyed the vegan version which I would never have thought were vegan. It tasted just as nice, possibly even nicer” through “The best by far were the duck spring rolls, which in my opinion should be a staple of any Christmas do. Someone tried to sneak some vegan spring rolls in - there was something off about the texture, but they would definitely work in a pinch” to “The duck spring roll had a very fruity taste but was lacking a bit of filling. The vegan alternative hit the mark as well. I couldn’t really tell the difference, which is unusual for a meat snack and wouldn’t put me off getting them instead: both 7/10”.

Bottom of the list with everyone were the chilli cheese bites, which drew comments including: “They had an odd texture, and didn’t seem very cheesy or chilli-y: disappointing”; “In dead last were the horrific chilli cheese bites and the vegetable samosa. I couldn’t finish either of them” (and both were only two-bite snacks at most!); “An odd jelly-like texture and weren’t very spicy: 2/10”.

We set ourselves a £25 budget and managed to buy enough food to feed at least 20 people for £25.63. While you might not want to trek round every supermarket to duplicate our choices, we felt we’d proved that partying on a budget doesn’t have to mean tasteless treats this festive season.

We sampled:

12 Mini Thai Salmon Fishcakes, GF £2.00 Sainsburys

32 Tuna Mayonnaise Sandwiches (home-made) £1.96 Tesco

10 Vegetables Gyozas VG £1.99 Lidl

12 Mini Steak/Chicken Pies, £3.50 (reduced) Marks & Spencer

40 Sausage Rolls £2.00 Budgens

10 No Duck Spring Rolls VG £1.99 Aldi

12 Chilli Cheese Bites V £2.25 Co-op

26 Southern Fried Chicken Bites £1.00 Tesco

8 Onion Bahjis VG GF £1.00 Iceland

12 Duck Spring Rolls £2.00 Asda

8 Vegetable Samosas VG £1.00 Iceland

12 Bubble & Squeak Bites VG GF £1.00 Tesco

10 Cauliflower Bites VG £1.99 Aldi

10 No Duck Spring Rolls VG £1.99 Aldi

32 Egg Mayonnaise Sandwiches (home-made) £1.97 Tesco

Key: V vegetarian VG vegan GF gluten free