The 25 Best Hanukkah and Christmas Snacks, Ranked

In the immortal words of John Lennon, so this is Christmas, and what have you eaten?

OK, maybe that’s not what the Beatle said, but he may as well have, because between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, you’re probably going to stuff enough holiday snacks into your maw to get you back to the gym for at least a solid month. Parties, family gatherings, the inevitable day after it’s all over when the candy canes go from from five dollars to 50 cents a box …

And while holiday snacks are great, we say it’s all about prioritizing. Know which snacks are good, make a plan. Skip the crap. If you’re going to pack on a few pounds at your friend’s Chrismukkah or Festivus soirée, you might as well do it right. And since we’re such big fans of a good holiday nosh, we went ahead and ranked them for you to make your decision making a bit easier. And we should point out that, yes, some of these things might not technically be snacks, but if you go to your fridge at 1:00 in the morning and eat some leftover latkes or tear off little flaglets of honey-baked ham, well, that’s technically a snack.

Ed. note: If you’re wondering what our criteria are, just know that they are extremely arbitrary, but were reached through much critical discussion and decades of collective experience.

25. Gingerbread house (Does anybody actually eat these?)

24. Fruitcake

23. Figgy pudding (If you’re stuck in the 19th century)

22. Fancy assorted nuts

21. Red, white and green M&Ms

20. Honey-baked ham

19. Fruit-flavored candy canes

18. Spinach artichoke dip

17. Indian pudding from your ye olde New England holiday party

16. Yule log cake your brother’s Scandinavian girlfriend brings to the party

15. Fudge

14. Chex mix