The festive fast food battle lines have been drawn. After sampling seven seasonal offerings from major high-street chains, I can confidently say some truly capture the Christmas spirit while others fall woefully short.
Wagamama's Chicken Cranberry Katsu Curry was a masterstroke of restraint, cleverly tweaking their existing katsu curry recipe to incorporate cranberries without overdoing it. For £15.30, it's a bargain that will leave you feeling festive and only fractionally more calorific than the regular version – a win in my books.
Greggs' Festive Bake was a pleasant surprise. The combination of sage, onion, bacon, and cranberry in their classic chicken bake worked surprisingly well, and at £2.10, it's an unbeatable value. If they'd added some festive cheese or ham, I might have given it more points – but as it stands, 3/5 is a fair assessment.
McDonald's Double Big Tasty meal was a bold move, plying customers with what amounts to a Big Mac in all but name, smothered in hot churrasco mayonnaise and two bubble and squeak croquettes. It's an oddball Christmas offering that fails to capture the spirit of the season – 1/5.
The KFC Stuffing Tower Burger is a lazy attempt at festive branding, with sage and onion flavours that feel like school dinners and an arbitrary addition of cranberry to try and tick a few festive boxes. The burger itself is good but uninspired, and the total price tag of £9.49 doesn't make it any more palatable.
Nando's Total Sleigh Burger was perhaps the biggest disappointment. Two bubble and squeak croquettes on a perfectly serviceable burger with hot churrasco mayonnaise feels like a desperate attempt to inject some festive flavour – 1/5.
Lastly, Krispy Kreme's Festive Dozen is a masterclass in Christmas marketing. With their Quality Street spin-offs last month and this dozen featuring snowmen, Santa tummies, and Christmas trees, it's clear they're not messing about. Their buttercream and cream cheese filling are sweet treats that will make your ears ring (a real thing that happens) – 5/5.
In the end, I'd say Krispy Kreme takes the festive fast food crown with their commitment to quality and seasonal flair. But only if you value being wowed by Christmas-themed donuts over actual festive spirit. The rest of the bunch can try harder next year.
Wagamama's Chicken Cranberry Katsu Curry was a masterstroke of restraint, cleverly tweaking their existing katsu curry recipe to incorporate cranberries without overdoing it. For £15.30, it's a bargain that will leave you feeling festive and only fractionally more calorific than the regular version – a win in my books.
Greggs' Festive Bake was a pleasant surprise. The combination of sage, onion, bacon, and cranberry in their classic chicken bake worked surprisingly well, and at £2.10, it's an unbeatable value. If they'd added some festive cheese or ham, I might have given it more points – but as it stands, 3/5 is a fair assessment.
McDonald's Double Big Tasty meal was a bold move, plying customers with what amounts to a Big Mac in all but name, smothered in hot churrasco mayonnaise and two bubble and squeak croquettes. It's an oddball Christmas offering that fails to capture the spirit of the season – 1/5.
The KFC Stuffing Tower Burger is a lazy attempt at festive branding, with sage and onion flavours that feel like school dinners and an arbitrary addition of cranberry to try and tick a few festive boxes. The burger itself is good but uninspired, and the total price tag of £9.49 doesn't make it any more palatable.
Nando's Total Sleigh Burger was perhaps the biggest disappointment. Two bubble and squeak croquettes on a perfectly serviceable burger with hot churrasco mayonnaise feels like a desperate attempt to inject some festive flavour – 1/5.
Lastly, Krispy Kreme's Festive Dozen is a masterclass in Christmas marketing. With their Quality Street spin-offs last month and this dozen featuring snowmen, Santa tummies, and Christmas trees, it's clear they're not messing about. Their buttercream and cream cheese filling are sweet treats that will make your ears ring (a real thing that happens) – 5/5.
In the end, I'd say Krispy Kreme takes the festive fast food crown with their commitment to quality and seasonal flair. But only if you value being wowed by Christmas-themed donuts over actual festive spirit. The rest of the bunch can try harder next year.
. It's not just about getting our hands on a tasty meal during the holidays, but also about feeling connected to the spirit of the season. For me, that means embracing the little things – like a well-crafted katsu curry or a sweet Christmas-themed donut 
– rather than just going through the motions with whatever bland, mass-produced option is in front of us.
). But at the end of the day, it's all about how we choose to engage with the world around us. Do we opt for something that truly feels festive and authentic, or do we settle for a lazy attempt at seasonal flair? That's what I'm trying to get at – the value we place on feeling like we're really experiencing the holiday season, versus just going through the motions 
. The idea of adding cranberry just for the holidays feels super lazy to me. At least Krispy Kreme tried to bring some festive flair with their Christmas-themed donuts, but I mean come on, who needs all that sugar rush? 
, and 2/5 is still way better than mcdonalds' mess 
at least nando's didn't try to pass off their festive burger as a big mac with some sprinkles on top 
Krispy Kreme's Festive Dozen might get 5/5 but it's because they're basically just slapping cute Christmas decorations on their already-great donuts. The others are just copying their moves, trying to ride the festive wave without actually putting any thought into what Christmas is about 
And don't even get me started on Wagamama's, it's £15.30 for a fancy-schmancy katsu curry? Not my cup of hot cocoa 
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and those donuts are literally too cute to eat... but can i please just eat them tho? 
it's like they took their regular recipe and made it festive without going overboard 
i mean what is up with kfc's stuffing tower burger?? theyre trying to pass off sage and onion like its a new thing 
at least the nandos total sleigh burger had the decency to be bad 
cant get enough of those donuts 
its like they're trying to make christmas feel magical again 
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gotta try it now!
, but ugh mcdonalds double big tasty meal sounds like a total fail 
as for the others, wagamama's chicken cranberry katsu curry was a nice touch, but greggs' festive bake was kinda meh 
krispy kreme's festive dozen is literally the star of this whole thing - who wouldn't want a dozen of those sweet, fluffy donuts with festive designs? 
but at least they're trying, right? 
their 'festive flavor' is still just a marketing gimmick to me 
it's been pretty disappointing this year, I mean who needs a burger with hot churrasco mayonnaise when you can have actual festive food 
Those snowman donuts are straight fire 
. And let's be real, who needs actual holiday cheer when you can just eat a dozen glazed donuts with Christmas sprinkles? 
Not exactly festive vibes. And McDonald's Double Big Tasty meal? More like McDonald's Double Disappointment Meal, am I right? 
. I mean, Krispy Kreme might have won the festive fast food crown with their Festive Dozen, but Nando's is just a big ol' turkey 
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. The rest of the fast food chains need to step up their festive game, but Krispy Kreme is on point this year 
Also, £2.50 for 12 donuts feels like a pretty steep price tag considering there's no actual change from their regular offerings...