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There’s a certain kind of Christmas table that lives permanently in harvest-gold and avocado-green. A relish tray glinting at one end, a roast commanding the other, and a bowl of dip surrounded by ruffled chips in the middle. We wanted to know which of those 1970s classics you’d actually welcome back.
Please note that some of the images in this article were created with the assistance of AI.
So we ran two articles about 1970s Christmas food and let you weigh in. Readers tapped ❤️ or 👎 on a photo of each dish. No names, no accounts, just honest reactions to the spread.
The verdict? Overall, 80% of votes were a ❤️, which tells us nostalgia runs warm. But three classics rose above the rest, and the big winner didn’t get a single 👎.
Two 1970s Christmas Tables, Put to a Vote
Here’s the simple version. We put 74 foods in front of you across two articles about 1970s Christmas eating, and between Oct 2 and Oct 25, 2026, you voted. By the end, 436 readers had cast 2,028 votes, one tap per photo.
To crown winners, we didn’t just chase the highest percentage. We leaned on the low end of each dish’s 95% range, so a food needs both a strong score and enough votes behind it to count. A dish that charms a handful of readers doesn’t get to leapfrog one that won over a crowd.
And with 80% of all votes landing on ❤️, the room was clearly in a forgiving, festive mood.
The Three Classics That Stole the Show
❤️ 100% of 33 readers who voted on this photo
At the very top: the standing rib roast, with a perfect 100% of 33 votes. Not one reader looked at that carving board and said no. That’s about as close to unanimous as a vote gets.
Right behind it, two party-table staples held firm. The relish tray, pooled across both articles, earned 95% of 87 votes, a result built on real numbers. And the soup-mix French onion dip, the one paired with ruffled chips, took 96% of 46.
We’ll be honest: the next few are breathing down their necks. Deviled eggs landed 96% of 44 and pineapple ham scored 93% of 76. Close enough that we’re not going to pretend there’s daylight where there isn’t. But those three sat at the front of the pack.
The Rest of the Comeback List
Walk down the full top 15 and a pattern shows up fast: party food and big roasts rule this table. After the rib roast, relish tray and French onion dip, deviled eggs took 96% of 44, pineapple ham 93% of 76, and mini crescent hot dogs 95% of 40.
The spread keeps going with the port-wine cheese ball at 91% of 90, roast turkey with stuffing at 94% of 32, shrimp cocktail at 88% of 74, and clam dip with chips at 90% of 31. Old-Fashioned Corn Spoon Bread earned 90% of 30, and ambrosia with mandarins charmed its way to 86% of 51.
Rounding out the list: Chex party mix at 88% of 33, date-nut loaf at 88% of 33, and grape jelly meatballs at 85% of 52. If you squint, it’s basically the perfect appetizer table flanked by a couple of showpiece roasts.
The 1970s Dishes That Can Stay in the 1970s
❤️ 29% of 24 readers who voted on this photo
Not everything got a warm welcome. Among dishes with 20 or more votes, the Savory Tomato Aspic on Lettuce sat at the bottom with 29% of 24. A jiggly, savory gelatin, it seems, is a bridge too far even for the nostalgic.
Roast Goose With Baked Apples managed 40% of 20, and Scalloped Oysters With Cracker Crumbs took 41% of 22. Oyster Stew Served as the First Course split the room almost exactly down the middle at 50% of 36.
And the Lime Gelatin Salad With Cottage Cheese, that famously divisive green wobble, earned 54% of 28. Just over half of you, which is either a comeback or a cautionary tale depending on your feelings about cottage cheese in a gelatin mold.
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The Bottom Line
Put it all together and the message is clear: you’d happily set a table around a rib roast, a relish tray and a bowl of dip, with deviled eggs and pineapple ham waiting in the wings. The appetizer spread, it turns out, is the part of the 1970s Christmas worth reviving.
The aspics and the oyster stew? We’ll let those rest where they are. But with 80% of votes landing on ❤️, it’s safe to say the decade still has a seat at the table.
How we did this
- Readers of two of our 1970s Christmas food articles tapped ❤️ or 👎 under each food photo between Oct 2 and Oct 25, 2026.
- 436 readers cast 2,028 votes on photos still in those articles. Each reader can vote once per photo. Votes are anonymous: no names, emails or accounts.
- Percentages are the share of ❤️ votes. The 95% ranges show how much a result could move with more votes; when two ranges overlap, we call it too close to call.
- Readers were reacting to photos of each dish, not tasting it. The food photos are illustrations.
- A food that appeared in both articles is pooled across them.
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