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When you think of Christmas day, the real star of the show each year is the Christmas dinner. The incredible, mouth-watering festive spread, but also the huge amount of stress it takes to bring it all together. You toil away for hours, making sure:
- the turkey fits in the oven (and goes in there early enough)
- little Tommy has peas instead of sprouts
- you have wine to match each course
- there are enough chairs to accommodate a bunch of great aunts and uncles you forgot you even had!
It’s no wonder that there was a 251% rise in reservations for Christmas day bookings between 2011-2015. With options ranging from classic pubs to chain restaurants, this also means there loads of choice for consumers – and, therefore, loads of competition for your business.
So, how do you stand out from the crowd at Christmas? By making sure you’ve got a cracking Christmas menu design that takes your café or restaurant to the next level. Using our free Christmas menu design templates for inspiration, here are our tops tips to creating a winning Christmas menu design.
- Create an Easy-to-Read Layout
At Christmas, the only thing you should be stuffing is a turkey. But, we know how easy it is to overstuff a menu – I mean, you have so many enticing dishes, the excitement of filling your Christmas menu to the brim is just too tempting!
Choosing your top dishes as specials for your seasonal menu is key to avoiding overstuffing. As long as you make sure there’s something for everyone (i.e. take dietary requirements/choices into account), picking a few allows for both a much clearer menu and also makes it easier on your chefs. You’ll also save money as you’ll not be buying as many ingredients!
If you would like to add more than, say, 10 dishes to your menu, use boxes, spotlights and categories to create a sense of organisation – and also consider using separate dessert and drinks menus!
- Match Your Brand Style
The best way to design your Christmas menu is to take your usual branding and add a seasonal twist. If you normally use warm, inviting colours, then keep with that theme for your Christmas menu. Our Snowflake design template is extremely versatile and would work well for both restaurants and pubs.
(Our free Snowflake Christmas Menu Design Template)
We’ve used a wintery snow white to stand out nice and clearly from the wood effect of the background. The design aims to remind your customers of the cosy table setting of homestyle Christmas dinners – just without the hassle of having to cook everything from scratch!
- Vary Your Fonts
Cursive fonts that look like handwriting are great for Christmas designing – they’re reminiscent of personal, handwritten cards. That’s why you’ll see this style of font everywhere over the festive period. Take another look at our Christmas Menu template – we’ve even used it right at the top to say ‘Christmas’ and ‘Starters’.
Try mixing it up with non-cursive, easy-to-read fonts for your dishes. That way, guests will be able to read exactly what you’re serving up!
- Be Descriptive
The trick to creating a mouth-watering menu? Create powerful descriptions for your dishes. As well as making your dishes extra enticing, it’s a great way of differentiating yourself from the competition. Think about it – if the restaurant up the road are also offering a traditional turkey dinner, you need to let customers know why yours is better!
(The reverse side of our Christmas Menu design template)
Take a look at our Christmas Menu design template. We aren’t just offering a bog-standard Christmas pudding for dessert – we’re serving it with “lashings of homemade brandy sauce”. Sounds great right? And if you’re making something from scratch, there’s nothing wrong with shouting about it (in fact, we encourage it!).
- Try a Unique Shape
If your regular menu uses a classic half-fold style, why not mix it up? A3 posters double up as both menus and placemats if you’re after something that’s a little different (and a lot easier to clean up afterwards!).
Or why not offer your festive drinks in a sleek DL size? This slim, tall style is on-trend and so easy to get creative with. It’ll also fit well into any on-table menu holders.
Using a shape that other restaurants might not think to use shows your business’ attention to detail – and the care you take with your menu design will also translate to customers the care you take in preparing their meal.
However you design your Christmas menu this year, it’s important to consider all the details, like the dish descriptions and layout. Everyone dreams of the perfect Christmas, and this level of attention to detail lets customers know that you’re the best option for their family!
