Hosts serving a mixed party table
A plain Digestive and a cream-filled biscuit offer different flavours and serving styles. Decide whether you want both alongside the other food and drinks.
Who is this choice for?
Hosts catering for dietary exclusions
Standard biscuits cannot be assumed suitable for guests avoiding gluten or milk. Ask what each guest needs, check the current labels and distinguish any free-from biscuits when serving.
School-event organisers in England
Food provided to pupils in state-funded schools in England falls within school-food requirements, according to Department for Education guidance on GOV.UK. Confirm the school’s catering requirements before choosing biscuits for that setting.
What should you check before buying?
Choose the biscuit styles your guests will recognise, then check dietary labels and pack quantities for the way you plan to serve them.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Flavour and serving | McVitie’s describes Original Digestives as crunchy with a salty-sweet wheat flavour. Tesco describes Crawford’s custard creams as biscuits with a vanilla-flavour cream filling. | I’d like a plain biscuit with tea or other party food, as well as a cream-filled choice for guests who want one. |
| Dietary labels | Tesco lists gluten-containing cereals and possible milk for its 360 g McVitie’s Original Digestives. Sainsbury’s lists wheat and cows’ milk whey in its standard custard creams; its separate Free From custard creams are labelled milk and gluten free. Check each current pack. | Some guests need to avoid gluten or milk, so I need biscuits labelled for their requirements and a way to keep them distinct when serving. |
| Pack quantity | Compare the current pack weight and any stated biscuit count or servings. Tesco lists 26 biscuits in a 300 g Crawford’s pack and a separate 750 g custard-cream multipack containing 5 × 150 g packs. | I’m planning for a group and want enough of each biscuit style without assuming one pack will cover everyone. |
| Nutrition labels | Compare like-for-like per-biscuit figures. Sainsbury’s lists 1.2 g saturates and 3.3 g sugars per standard custard cream, both marked high; Tesco lists 1.6 g saturates and 3.6 g sugars per Crawford’s biscuit. | I want to see what each serving contains before deciding how many sweet biscuits to put out. |
Buying and serving pitfalls
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Treating every custard cream as the same product
Sainsbury’s standard custard creams list wheat and cows’ milk whey, while its separately labelled Free From version is made with rice and maize flour.
Check the exact variety and current allergen label, then keep a biscuit chosen for a dietary exclusion distinct from standard biscuits.
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Ignoring the per-biscuit figures
Sainsbury’s marks saturates and sugars as high per standard custard cream. Tesco gives different per-biscuit figures for Crawford’s custard creams, so the products should not be treated as nutritionally identical.
Read the serving basis on each pack when deciding how many biscuits to put out.
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Confusing retailer promotion rules with school-food rules
Department of Health and Social Care guidance on GOV.UK describes HFSS restrictions on specified retail promotions and placement. Separate Department for Education guidance covers food provided in state-funded schools in England.
For a school event where food will be provided to pupils in England, confirm the school’s current catering requirements rather than applying a retail promotion rule to the menu.
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Assuming pack weight tells you how many guests it serves
A pack’s weight alone does not establish how many biscuits each guest will take, particularly when you are offering several varieties.
Estimate the guest count and intended biscuits per person, then check the current pack weight and any stated biscuit count before buying.
Relevant brand references
McVitie’s
A reference for the plain Digestive choice: McVitie’s describes its Original biscuits as crunchy, with a salty-sweet wheat flavour.
- A distinct plain-biscuit option alongside cream-filled varieties.
- Tesco’s 360 g Original Digestives listing identifies gluten-containing cereals and possible milk; check the label on the pack you buy.
Crawford’s
Tesco describes its 300 g Crawford’s custard creams as sandwich biscuits with a vanilla-flavour cream filling.
- Tesco states a typical count of 26 biscuits per 300 g pack, which helps with quantity planning.
- Tesco lists 1.6 g saturates and 3.6 g sugars per biscuit; use the current pack for the full ingredient and allergen details.
Sainsbury’s
Its range provides a clear distinction between standard custard creams and a separately labelled milk- and gluten-free version.
- Sainsbury’s describes its Free From custard creams as made with rice and maize flour.
- Its standard custard creams list wheat and cows’ milk whey, so the two varieties are not interchangeable for guests with those exclusions.
M&S
An example of custard-cream variations for hosts who want something other than the standard format.
- M&S describes its Extra Cream version as containing more vanilla cream and real custard powder; it also offers a chocolate-coated variation.
- Those descriptions do not establish suitability for a guest’s dietary requirements; check the particular product label.
Joybuy biscuit options
These options include plain and chocolate Digestives alongside a gluten-free custard cream. Chocolate Digestives are a different biscuit style from custard creams, so choose by the variety you intend to serve.
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McVitie’s Digestives The Original 2 x 315g
A twin pack for the plain Digestive option at a party. McVitie’s describes Original Digestives as crunchy with a salty-sweet wheat flavour; check this pack’s label for wheat, milk and other dietary information.
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Schar Gluten Free Custard Creams 125g
A gluten-free custard-cream option in a 125 g pack. If a guest also needs to avoid milk or another ingredient, confirm that requirement against this product’s current label rather than relying on the gluten-free name.
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McVitie’s Digestives Dark Chocolate 2 x 266g
A dark-chocolate Digestive in a 2 x 266 g twin pack, rather than a plain Digestive or a cream-filled custard cream. Check the current ingredient and allergen label before serving it to guests with dietary exclusions.
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McVitie’s Digestives Dark Chocolate 400g
A 400 g dark-chocolate Digestive pack for a chocolate-biscuit choice. It does not provide the vanilla-cream filling of a custard cream; check its current allergen label for your guests.
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McVitie’s Digestives Milk Chocolate 400g
A 400 g milk-chocolate Digestive pack for guests who want a chocolate biscuit rather than a plain or cream-filled one. Read the current pack label before offering it to anyone avoiding milk or other ingredients.
Questions about party biscuits
Should I serve Digestives, custard creams or both?
Serve both if you want to offer a plain, salty-sweet wheat biscuit and a vanilla-cream sandwich biscuit. McVitie’s describes the former flavour for its Original Digestives, while Tesco describes the latter filling for Crawford’s custard creams; check dietary needs separately from flavour preferences.
Can guests avoiding gluten or milk eat standard custard creams?
Do not assume they can. Sainsbury’s standard custard creams list wheat and cows’ milk whey, while its separate Free From version is labelled milk and gluten free. Check the exact current pack for each guest’s requirements and keep suitable biscuits distinct when serving.
Do HFSS retail promotion rules govern a private party menu?
Department of Health and Social Care guidance on GOV.UK describes restrictions on the promotion and placement of specified foods by retailers and their online equivalents, not rules for choosing the food on a household party table. A school event calls for a separate check of the applicable school-food requirements.
What changes if the Christmas party is at a school in England?
If food is being provided to pupils in a state-funded school in England, check the school’s catering requirements against the current School Food Standards. Department for Education guidance on GOV.UK describes compliance as a legal requirement for those schools; as stated in its September 2026 guidance, updated standards are proposed for September 2027 subject to Parliamentary approval.
Is a retailer’s online allergen listing enough to serve from?
Use the current pack label as your final check. Tesco and Sainsbury’s warn that recipes and ingredient or allergen information can change, so confirm the details on the biscuits you actually serve.