The holidays are officially upon us. I really enjoy the holiday season and look forward to hosting a couple of get togethers as well as going to a few hosted by friends and family.
Hosting a get together, especially if you are expecting a large number of people isn't a piece of cake, but there are a few things you can do to keep yourself from getting all stressed out.
Have a plan and work your plan.
As soon as I know I'm having a group come for a get together the first thing I do is plan a menu of tried and true favorite dishes. Once in a while I'll sneak in a tasty new dish after I've given it a trial run and it passed with flying colours. At this time, I'll make note of the amout of food to prepare, what, if anything guests are planning to bring and what serving dishes to use.
Based on this information I make a list of all the ingredients I'll need to shop for in the upcoming weeks. This way I can take advantage of sales and work the expense into my weekly grocery budget instead of going on one big shopping trip and buying half the store. I used to work at a grocery store and the days leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas were the major money makers. You would be surprised at how many people over buy in preparation for a big meal.
Clean the house early.
If your house is filled with cute little urchins that can make a mess of a house in 10 seconds flat, then this advice is not for you. What works for me is to get the house all cleaned up the day before the meal so that way there's no cleaning on the big cooking day. It's a life saver for me! That way on the biggest cooking day of the year for me I only have to focus on cooking. Well, that and maybe setting the table.
During my cleaning time, I also check to make sure I've got plenty of paper products on hand (think tp and kleenex for the bathroom), paper towels, and napkins. I also make sure that I've got plenty of clean guest towels, kitchen towels and dish clothes handy. I don't want to be bogged down doing laundry or stocking the bathroom on a big cooking day.
Plan your clothing.
I like to have whatever we want to wear all ready and laid out ahead of time. That way we can slip into it just before the guests arrive and not risk getting our nice dressy up clothes all messy. I also leave an apron on until just before we sit down to eat. It's always been my good fortune to spill gravy or something on myself just as I'm finishing the last bit of cooking.
Enjoy!
The most important step -- sit down, relax and enjoy your family and the day. This is what you've worked so hard for!
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