Hosting the Thanksgiving or Christmas meal (and much more!) can feel overwhelming when you are trying to get your ducks in a row. What’s my secret weapon? Do most of the work NOW. Here are seven things that I found helpful in pulling off a successful gathering!
1. Create the menu. If you’ve worked in food-service, you know that absolutely everything revolves around the menu. The same applies here. It will determine what you can make, what others should make and bring, your budget, your shopping lists and the ability to see if you have the service ware and storage to deliver the meal .
2. Find out who’s coming and who’s staying. You’ll need to have a rough number for all sorts of things. If you are the holiday host, most likely you will be housing guests overnight as well. Request an RSVP by a certain date. You can do 2-4 weeks in advance depending on your level of type “A-ness”. If you haven’t heard from your guest(s) at least two weeks beforehand, send a reminder text or call. You aren’t being pushy. You are sparing your sanity. This is also a good time to take inventory on extra bedding, towels and toiletries that will be available to your guests.
3. Delegate. As a host/hostess, you will be responsible for A LOT. Do NOT put everything on yourself or you will get zero enjoyment out of this. Go back to number one. Figure out who is responsible for x, y and z to make this a successful holiday gathering. And don’t forget about breakfast, snack and drink items. If you have overnight guests, you’ll need to serve them for other meals, too.
4. Mark your pans! Four weeks before hosting Thanksgiving, I took my son to the babysitter and “had a day” in the kitchen. I got out pans, trays, plates, spoons, tongs, bowls, etc. and tagged them with a post-it note indicating what I wanted where. That way if I had help the day of, it was one less question I had to answer!
5. Make and freeze. This will save you time and stress. Again, study your menu and what you are responsible for. Choose one or two items to prepare and cook the day of and make the rest of the meal NOW. I bought the surplus size of aluminum pans with tops at Sam’s Club, two turkeys, a large bag of potatoes and went to work. If this is your first year to host, I understand how much you’d like to have the quintessential turkey, frills and all on the Thanksgiving table. But from experience, I’d recommend cooking, deboning and freezing it now. Put it in a roaster with some broth the morning of and voila! If you still want the turkey with frills, go for it. Just have a cooked one in the freezer for backup. Leftover turkey can be froze to use in the next several months. Mashed potatoes can go the same way. I peeled and cooked a whole bag of potatoes, mashed and put them in my aluminum pans then froze. I thawed them out two days in advance and popped them in the oven an hour before dinner. Other items to make and freeze include dinner rolls, gravy, cookies, cupcakes and quick breads. Aren’t freezers great?
6. If you have one crock-pot, invest in or borrow at least one more. They are a great way to keep food warm and won’t take up oven space. Don’t forget to pick up some crock-pot liners beforehand so you can skip the scrubbing after the meal!
7. Just buy disposable! Now that you have an idea of how many people you’ll be hosting, you can go ahead and get paper plates, cups and utensils. All of the major craft stores have big selections on these items that fit your style and look great! Spend time with your family, not with the kitchen sink.
Happy hosting!
