Weekly Guide To Hosting the Holidays

Being a fabulous hostess is all about the details.  Now, don't let that scare you!  With a little pre-planning and prep work, you can have a wonderful holiday.

Whether you're hosting 2 people or 50- timing is important.  Here's a breakdown of what you should be doing in the weeks leading up to your event.

6 Weeks

• Plan your guest list and extend invitations.  

4 Weeks

• Plan your main dishes.  If you will be having a farm raised organic turkey- you'll need plenty of time to pre-order.
• Order any items needed for main dishes.

3 Weeks

• Time to plan your menu.  Don't forget drinks!  Write down ingredients needed for your dishes and start buying them during your weekly trips to the grocery store.
• Bake your desserts and freeze.
• Decorate your home for the holiday.  If you need more decor or plan to add to your existing decorations, now is the time to do it!  Don't forget the outside!
• Start thinking about your outfit & your family's clothing for the special holiday.  Do you need to buy anything?  Now is the time to take care of that!

2 Weeks

• Cook and freeze your breakfast meal for your own family for the holiday.
• Do a fun craft with your kids to display at your event.
• Refill salt and pepper shakers.
• Clean and polish silverware.

Arrange a buffet table for a large gathering.

1 Week

• Make your final trip to the grocery store.  
• Pick up any items you've ordered for your event.
• Plan seating arrangements.  Will you be doing a buffet or formal sit down dinner?  Bring out extra seating if needed and clean.
• Iron table linens and hang.
• Call or reach out to guests via Facebook to confirm their attendance.
• Do a thorough clean of your house.
• Plan entertainment, music or fun activities if necessary.  This can include holiday music, charades, watching a holiday movie, etc.

2 Days

• Take desserts and breakfast meal out of the freezer and thaw in refrigerator.
• Cook all side dishes and store is refrigerator.
• Prep main dish.
• Time for a touch up cleaning of your home.

1 Day

• Time to get out your serving dishes.  Decide what will be on each dish and label it with paper and pen.  Arrange on your buffet or dining table.  
• Set your table.  Add special touches like personalized place settings or fold your napkins artfully.  Click here to view instructions- my favorite is the "fancy silverware pouch" design!
• Prep drinks and hor d'oeuvers.  Don't forget the glasses for your drinks!
• Continue prepping main dish if needed.

Day of Event

• Cook main dish.
• Warm up side dishes.
• Time to think about your desserts.  If they don't need to be warmed in the oven, then go ahead and plate them.  Otherwise, set them aside to warm up after dinner.
• Set out hor d' oeuvers.
• Make sure you have everything needed for your drinks.  Ice? Candy canes and marshmallows?  If you have kids attending- make sure you have something fun for them to drink.
• Prep your coffee pot and coffee service (creamer, sugar etc) for after dinner coffee.
• Quick clean of the guest bathroom.
• Take out kitchen trash.
• Welcome guests and have fun!

This is a comprehensive list for a major holiday.  However, it would work for a large birthday party or other major event.  The key here is planning.  I've hosted my share of holidays and large parties- quite a few the last few years in fact.  There's a few simple tricks that I've learned along the way.

Dessert Buffet with small, bit sized desserts
 alleviates some of the stress of holiday parties.

• Bake an arrangement of mini desserts.  Mini apple pies, cake pops, brownie bites, cookies etc.  These are all easy to bake ahead of time and freeze.  Then on the day of your event, simply arrange them all on a tiered stand and guests can serve themselves.  Nothing to warm up or fuss with on the day of the event-which means more time to worry about your other dishes.
• If you're hosting a large group- do a buffet.  Set all the food out on your kitchen bar or sideboard and allow guests to serve themselves.  If you have room, you could set up a table just for food.
• Have an area dedicated to drinks.  Set out everything your guests will need in order to make themselves comfortable and serve themselves.  Bonus tip- arrange your hor d ouvers on your drink table.  After dinner, replace the hor d'oeuvers with your desserts and add coffee service.
• Consider a signature party drink.  I've done spiked eggnog, hard apple cider, a mixed drink and even hot chocolate in the crockpot- complete with mini marshmallows and candy canes.



A signature drink adds a fun & elegant touch,
 like these Spiced Eggnog Shots.

• Plan something for the after party.  I usually have close family or friends that will stay after the event and I try to have something fun for us to all do.  We've watched movies, driven around and looked at Christmas lights, played domino's etc.  Encourage loved ones to stay for as long as they want.

It may seem exhausting- I know this is quite a list!  But by simply breaking it down into weekly tasks you can succeed in accomplishing everything and WOW your guests.