Here in the US, we are one week away from Thanksgiving. The holiday when we express our gratitude for all we have. However, between all the shopping, prepping, and cooking, getting to the meal can leave one feeling less than grateful. There is little worse when hosting a party than running around at the last minute trying to finish everything as your guests start arriving. Fear not, we have some hosting tips to help take the stress out of holiday entertaining. These tips are not just for Thanksgiving, or holidays in general, they are good to keep in mind anytime you are having company over. Follow these and you will make hosting seem effortless.
1. Plan your menu well in advance. Figure out all the things you want to serve. Getting your menu planned out in advance enables you to move through the preparations easily.
2. Once you have your menu planned, look at all of your recipes. Prepare your shopping list using the recipes as a guide. This way you are sure to have everything you need and don’t have to do the mad dash to the grocery store to pick up something you need. It might still happen, but this helps ensure it won’t. After you’ve made your list, go through your pantry and refrigerator to see what you already have that you don’t need to buy. Some recipes call for an ingredient that you might not typically use, but because you’ve made that dish before you have it already. Double check your list before you go shopping.
3. Do not wait until the day before to go shopping. By then the aisles are almost bare and you will likely not get what you need. While shopping, anytime you add something to your cart from your list, cross it off the list. This way you are sure to not miss something. If there is something on your list that your store doesn’t carry, you will now have a shorter list to bring with you to the next store. If there is something you just cannot find anywhere, you have time to find a substitute or change the dish.
4. Now that you have your groceries, map out the food. Ask yourself, what can be made ahead of time and what has to be made fresh? Are there components of dishes that can be prepared ahead of time and thrown together at the last minute?
* Dips. gravies, sauces, spreads and soups can be made ahead of time, so do those a few days in advance. Besides, those all taste better after they’ve had a day or two to sit anyway.
* Casseroles too can be prepared ahead of time and then cooked the day of your party.
* Desserts should be made a day ahead. If your dessert requires last minute assembly, you can get the components ready the day before.
* Roasted items should be made the day of your party. This allows the smell of home cooking to fill the house and roasted items really do need to be eaten on the day you make them. However, you can get all the components ready ahead of time so you only just have to toss it all together for cooking.
5. The day of the party:
* If doing a sit down meal, set the table early in the day, or even the night before.
* For things that have to be cooked that day, check the timing and temperatures for each thing being cooked. You will likely be able to cook multiple dishes at the same time. Work backwards from when you want to be eating figure out what needs to go in the oven when. Keep a list handy so you don’t get confused.
6. Have a printed menu prepared for your guests. They will think it is a nice touch, but the reason is it will help make sure you serve everything you were planning. We’ve had many dinner parties where we found something in the warming drawer or refrigerator that we meant to serve, but forgot about.
7. Relax and have fun! If you follow these tips, you will be able to enjoy having your guests over and everyone is sure to have a great time when the host is relaxed.
If you still need holiday menu ideas, check out our menu from our Thanksgiving last year for inspiration.
Happy Thanksgiving!
