Hungarian Christmas Food & Traditional Gifts

Traditional Hungarian Christmas Food & Gifts

Discover our carefully selected range of traditional Hungarian Christmas food, wine and decorations, bringing together some of the most recognisable flavours and customs of a Hungarian festive season.

Whether you are recreating family traditions, sending a Hungarian Christmas gift or discovering the country’s festive food for the first time, our collection brings together the cakes, sweets, wine and decorations that make the season distinctive.

Christmas in Hungary

Christmas is one of the most important family celebrations in Hungary, and food plays a central role throughout the festive period.

Tables are filled with traditional cakes and pastries, chocolates are hung from the Christmas tree, bottles of Tokaji are opened with dessert, and decorated trees are often adorned with colourful glass ornaments with folk-inspired designs.

Many of these customs have been passed between generations, making Christmas food as much about memory and family tradition as it is about flavour.

Read our guide to Hungarian Christmas traditions for the customs surrounding the tree, gifts and family celebrations. For menu ideas, from fish soup and stuffed cabbage to festive desserts, explore our guide to traditional Hungarian Christmas food.

Bejgli – Hungary’s Traditional Christmas Roll

Bejgli is perhaps the most recognisable Hungarian Christmas pastry and a fixture on festive tables across the country.

The two classic varieties are mákos bejgli, filled generously with ground poppy seeds, and diós bejgli, filled with walnuts, raisins and candied citrus peel.

The pastry is rolled around the filling and baked until the surface develops its distinctive marbled appearance. It is normally sliced into rounds and served throughout Christmas to family and guests with coffee or tea.

Alongside the traditional versions, our range also includes Plum Bejgli, a Nándori speciality made with plum preserve and dried plums soaked in Zwack Unicum, as well as the patisserie’s modern interpretation, Bejgli Cake.

Explore the different varieties in our dedicated bejgli collection.

Great Taste Award-Winning Bejgli Cake

Our 350g Bejgli Cake received 1 Star at the 2026 Great Taste Awards by the Guild of Fine Food, providing independent recognition of its flavour and quality.

View Best of Hungary’s Great Taste-recognised products in the official Guild of Fine Food directory.

Zserbó – A Hungarian Festive Classic

Zserbó is another of Hungary’s best-known celebration cakes and is traditionally enjoyed at occasions such as Christmas and Easter.

It is made from layers of pastry filled with apricot jam and ground walnuts, finished with a rich dark chocolate topping.

The combination of walnut, fruit and chocolate gives zserbó the rich, indulgent character that makes it particularly well suited to the festive table.

For more traditional baked specialities, explore our Hungarian cakes and pastries collection.

For serving ideas and help putting together a festive dessert table, read our guide to Hungarian Christmas sweets and desserts.

Christmas Biscuits – Gingerbread & Vanilla Crescents

A few biscuits are easy to set out with tea or coffee when family and friends visit. Our Hungarian-made Lebkuchen gingerbread biscuits offer honey sweetness and a soft, gently chewy bite, while white-iced Pfeffernusse biscuits add a delicate sugar-shell crunch.

For a crumbly contrast, choose our Vanillekipferl vanilla crescent biscuits, made in Hungary with ground walnuts. Known there as diós kifli, these sugar-dusted crescents bring a mellow nuttiness to a mixed biscuit plate.

For the shared Central European baking tradition and serving ideas, explore our guide to German Christmas biscuits. Our guide to Lebkuchen takes a closer look at the wider gingerbread family.

Szaloncukor – Hungary’s Christmas Tree Sweets

Few Hungarian Christmas traditions are more distinctive than szaloncukor.

These individually wrapped chocolates and sweets are traditionally hung from the branches of the Christmas tree, where their colourful wrappers become part of the decoration. The sweets gradually disappear as family and guests help themselves, sometimes leaving the empty wrappers hanging in their place.

Szaloncukor is available in a wide range of fillings and flavours, from classic fruit jelly and marzipan to more contemporary combinations.

For many Hungarians, a Christmas tree without szaloncukor would feel incomplete.

Explore the full range in our szaloncukor collection.

Tokaji Wine for Christmas

Hungary’s most famous wine also has a natural place at the Christmas table.

Tokaji sweet wines pair particularly well with festive desserts, cakes, dried fruit and rich cheeses, making them an elegant choice for the final course of Christmas dinner.

BALASSA Tokaji Christmas Pudding Wine is a naturally sweet Late Harvest wine with a seasonal label, selected for its versatility with festive food.

Made by István Balassa from Furmint and Hárslevelű grapes, it offers tropical fruit, honey and refreshing acidity. Monika and the team chose it after tasting different Late Harvest wines with a roast dinner, cheese, Christmas pudding and mince pies. It was the favourite across the meal.

For a special Christmas gift, Gróf Degenfeld Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2017 comes in a gift box and offers rich apricot, citrus and spice flavours. This vintage received 97 points and a Platinum medal at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards, making it a particularly appealing bottle for a wine lover or a celebratory cheese course.

Explore our complete Tokaji wine collection for Late Harvest, Szamorodni and Aszú styles.

Hand-Painted Glass Christmas Baubles

Food is only part of a Hungarian Christmas. Our festive collection also includes hand-painted glass Christmas baubles, inspired by traditional European ornament-making and the colourful, decorative character of a Hungarian Christmas tree. They are made by Szabó Üveg, a family-run workshop in Tárnok, near Budapest.

Each bauble is made from glass and painted individually by hand, so small variations in brushwork and finish are part of its charm. The collection includes folk-inspired motifs, Hungarian-language ornaments and elegant winter scenes in classic red, green, blue and gold.

Selected designs feature snowy cottages, wintry trees and detailed landscapes that can be enjoyed from more than one angle. Presented in gift boxes, these decorative baubles make thoughtful Christmas gifts for Hungarian friends and family, collectors of traditional ornaments, or anyone looking for a distinctive glass keepsake to bring out year after year.

Whether hung on the tree, used on a wreath or garland, or added to a festive table setting, a hand-painted bauble adds a warm, personal finishing touch to Christmas decorating. They are a particularly lovely way to give a small piece of Hungarian festive character alongside food, wine or a Christmas hamper.

For ideas on combining painted glass, tree sweets and treasured ornaments, explore our guide to Hungarian Christmas decorations.

Hungarian Christmas Hampers & Gifts

If you are looking for a ready-made present, our Christmas Gift Hamper brings together festive food and drink in a convenient gift format.

It is designed as an easy way to send a taste of Hungary to friends, family or colleagues, whether they already know Hungarian food or are discovering it for the first time.

For a wider range of food and wine gifts, including bespoke options, explore our food hampers and gift baskets.

Personally Selected for the Festive Season

Best of Hungary was founded to bring authentic Hungarian food and drink to customers in the UK, and Christmas is one of the times when those traditions matter most.

Co-founder Monika Gyenes has selected the festive range around products that are associated with Hungarian Christmas celebrations, including bejgli, zserbó, szaloncukor and Tokaji.

Hungarian Christmas Gifts for Friends & Family

Hungarian Christmas food also makes an unusual gift for anyone with Hungarian family connections, an interest in Central European food or simply a taste for something different.

A box of szaloncukor, a traditional bejgli, a bottle of Tokaji or a hand-painted glass bauble can each work as a standalone gift, while several can be combined into a more substantial festive hamper.

For suggestions matched to different recipients, from nostalgic family favourites to keepsakes and wine gifts, read our guide to Hungarian Christmas gifts.

We also offer gift wrapping and handwritten messages on suitable products, making it possible to send gifts directly to the recipient.

Carefully Packed for Christmas Delivery

Our experienced team, led by Abe and Chris, packs festive orders by hand at our Aberystwyth warehouse, paying particular attention to protecting cakes, bottles and fragile glass decorations during transit.

Orders are sent using Royal Mail Tracked 24, and you will receive tracking information once your parcel has been dispatched.

Same-day dispatch is available for in-stock orders placed before 11 am Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays. Normal total delivery time is 1–3 working days, although deliveries can take longer during busy periods in the run-up to Christmas.

Read more about our UK delivery and packaging.

Buy Hungarian Christmas Food & Gifts Online in the UK

Shop our range of Hungarian Christmas food, gifts and decorations, including traditional bejgli, zserbó, szaloncukor, Tokaji wine, festive hampers and handmade glass Christmas baubles.

Whether you are continuing a family tradition, sending a taste of Hungary to someone special or discovering Hungarian Christmas for the first time, we carefully pack and deliver our festive selection across the UK.