Swedish holiday smorgasbords at IKEA (PHOTOS)

Those clever Swedes just keep finding ways to get people in their store, and reasonably-priced, all-you-can-eat buffets of dishes dusted with dill and sweet marzipan cakes will have eager Denverites over a herring barrel, stuffed to the gills. IKEA Centennial is holding a holiday smorgasbord or "julbord" party at 5 p.m. Friday, December 9, and another one for the upcoming Easter holiday on March 23. For $9.99 per person ($2.49 for shorties 12 and under) you can cram your gut-stockings with smoked salmon, roast ham, gourmet Swedish sides, calorie-laden desserts and IKEA's new pear and lingonberry-apple sparking ciders.

Here's a preview of the Swedish delights from the sold-out smorgasbord at the Centennial store on December 2. At least a dozen large salmon gave their lives so that diners could have something to dip into the sour cream sauce.

The long tables were adorned with holiday trees and plenty of ingeniously adorable lights from the store. The delicious dill and peppered gravlax. Topping deviled eggs with vegan caviar and tiny shrimp is a guarantee that the trays will need to be restocked early and often. Nothing says "customer appreciation" like a gigantic block of cheese and a couple of fancy cheese knives. Ham, just like grandma used to make -- only you didn't cook it, and you don't have to clean up. Of course there are meatballs. It's IKEA. Potato-beet salad -- sounds a little weird, but it's tasty, and very pink. IKEA's signature Princess cakes: white cake with raspberry jam and custard, covered in pink marzipan. The chefs at IKEA have a way with salmon. They manage to make it look almost too beautiful to eat. Almost. This is what a holiday buffet plate should look like -- with a glass of sparkling pear cider. Gift baskets from IKEA are the gifts that keep on giving -- and addicting people to lingonberry preserves. The hard-working kitchen staff at IKEA, making sure no salmon is left behind.