The holiday season is here and one of my favorite things is holiday hosting and getting the chance to spend time and reconnect with family and friends. I love to have friends and family over at our house, but entertaining can definitely get overwhelming. I honestly don’t know how my grams does it, she is literally the ULTIMATE party host.
Whether you’re prepping for a small gathering of the family and friends in your social bubble or planning a large-scale virtual event, we could all use a brush-up on how to host a holiday meal in a safely this holiday season..
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KEEP THINGS SIMPLE.
No matter how elaborate the plans are in your head (and nobody plans more elaborately in their head than me…) other people can’t see that idea, so they won’t know if it didn’t come to fruition.
Life gets in the way and things happen sometimes, so keeping things simple and planning ahead truly is the best way to ensure that you have success!
which brings me to point number 2..
2. PLAN AHEAD.
No matter how much time I give myself to get prepared the day of a party, I’m always way less stressed if I’ve done most of the work ahead of time (including cleaning + decorating!).
First things first, a couple weeks out make sure to deep clean your space including the fridge and freezer!
Decorate the day before so its one less thing you have to worry about day of. (including planning out where dishes are going to go and the “flow of traffic” for serving/buffet).
Plan out your recipes ahead of time, this includes making a grocery list and familiarizing yourself with the recipes. I try to plan out the cooking order based on how long things take to cook and print out/write out the recipe steps so I know step by step what to do.
The only thing I’ll leave until the day of the party is the food prep, literally everything else I do the day before or earlier. By getting the majority of the to-do list out of the way, you’re setting yourself up for success. Things always go wrong when planning a party so this way you have more time to deal with it.
There’s also almost no doubt that you’ll forget something. Have someone on standby to help you pick up any last minute things you may have forgotten, so you can keep your focus on cooking and don’t have to leave the kitchen.
3. CONSIDER HAVING A POTLUCK.
I’m such a hostess, I get so excited about having people over and making sure everything is perfect. Sometimes being in charge of everything including execution, is overwhelming (you can’t tell me its not damn near impossible to get all the recipes done at the same time and still be warm to serve). It’s easier to plan out and coordinate a potluck style party, so you can focus on the important stuff like decorations and being the best host.
There’s no doubt that some of your guests will probably ask you if they can bring something. A potluck is a way to make everyone feel included and take some of the pressure off of you! Spend a minute doing a little organization to make sure you don’t end up with 14 pies (but that also sounds amazing…)
When someone only has to bring one or two things, they tend to pull out all the stops and make delicious dishes, so you’d be surprised!
4. DESIGNATE A DRINK STATION & HAVE DRINKS SET UP.
A serve-yourself drink station is such a great idea. People are happy when they have something to sip on as soon as they get into a new situation (especially if they don’t know many people), so make it super easy for them.
As the party goes on you can flex your hosting muscle by refilling glasses but this alone will help keep the party going if you run into any hiccups along the way. I also recommend having some finger food like peanuts or popcorn or fruit for people to munch on when they get there, while they’re waiting for the food to be served.
If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of set up, or have guests serving themselves – opt for a mobile bar company or hire bartenders to make it easy + fun for your guests!
5. USE SEATING CARDS.
If you’re having a more formal dinner with seating, I suggest using name cards to designate everyones seat ahead of time. This helps to avoid awkward situations of someone feeling left out or not knowing where to sit/who to sit next to. Try your best to plan out and think of the best seating options for everyone but Of course have some flexibility in case certain people are just dieing to sit next to each other to carry on a conversation.
6. DISGUISE NECESSITIES.
There is always one thing I forget to do when I have people over,: check the bathroom and make sure they’re stocked.. Every. Single. Time.
So I decided I needed to figure out a way to keep everything stocked that I didn’t need to check on every few minutes. You can prepare a little basket of essentials for the counter or under the sink – like extra TP, feminine products + maybe even baby wipes or products for the gals to touch up like hairspray + but do what work for you! Sit down and Come up with a plan to store extra supplies openly so your guests won’t feel weird about grabbing them if they need them.
A little pop of greenery makes it feel festive and homey and your guests will likely appreciate that you’ve thought of everything they could need.
