As the holiday season arrives, so do the limited-time offerings from major quick-service restaurants. Each year, chains attempt to capture the spirit of the holidays on their menus, but the definition of “festive” remains loosely defined. Is it a splash of seasonal color, a familiar shape, or the introduction of a classic holiday ingredient? The interpretations vary widely.
This isn’t a critique of fast food fundamentals, but rather an investigation into whether these specials successfully evoke that elusive Christmas feeling. I sampled a range of these seasonal items to separate the merry from the mediocre.
Wagamama’s Cranberry Katsu Curry
The concept is straightforward: take the chain’s signature katsu curry and introduce cranberries. The result is a subtle twist rather than a reinvention. The tartness of the berry cuts through the rich, savory sauce effectively. It doesn’t attempt to mimic a full holiday feast but instead offers a nod to the season. For those who enjoy the original, this is a successful, if understated, festive play.
Greggs Festive Bake
This pastry swaps the classic chicken filling for a combination of sage and onion stuffing, bacon, and cranberry in a white sauce. The flavor profile is recognizably holiday-adjacent, though the bacon’s connection to Christmas feels strongest when paired with sausage. The filling can trend toward a grey hue, but the taste is comforting. It’s a solid effort, though it doesn’t surpass the deep, savory satisfaction of the chain’s iconic steak bake.
McDonald’s Double Big Tasty & Grumble Pie
The Double Big Tasty, with its smoky sauce, is a satisfying burger but lacks any distinct seasonal character. The real holiday contender is the Grumble Pie. This green-hued pastry contains a cranberry and custard filling. It maintains the classic apple pie’s delightful contrast between hot, soft filling and flaky crust. The cranberry infusion provides a genuine festive note, making it a standout limited-edition item.
KFC’s Festive Burger & Bucket
The “Festive Burger” centers on sage and onion stuffing—flavors not exclusively tied to Christmas. However, remove that element, and you have a robust burger with a cranberry twist, which aligns well with the goal of evoking holiday spirit. The chain also offers a “Festive Bucket,” whose primary celebratory feature appears to be its considerable size. The burger, when viewed through the cranberry lens, succeeds.
Nando’s Naughty & Spiced Burger
The playful name is the highlight here. The burger itself—featuring churrasco mayonnaise—is perfectly acceptable. Its festive claim is undermined by the inclusion of bubble and squeak croquettes, where an overpowering sage flavor creates a confusing seasonal link. The connection to Christmas feels tenuous at best, leaning more into post-holiday leftovers than Christmas Day itself.
Krispy Kreme Festive Dozen
This assortment relies on visual spectacle. The box includes doughnuts decorated as snowmen, Santa’s belly, Christmas trees (with a Flake chocolate bar as a trunk), and wreaths. The fillings are standard, reliable creams and icings. The festive rating here is earned entirely through presentation. As a collective, the box undeniably looks like Christmas on a plate.
In the end, the most successful items were those that integrated a key holiday flavor—like cranberry—without overcomplicating a proven formula, or those that committed fully to visual holiday symbolism. The least successful felt like arbitrary seasonal mash-ups. The quest for Christmas spirit on a fast-food menu remains a tricky one, but a few items this year genuinely hit the mark.