Hosting for the Holidays

It's a time of joy, love and family. All the ads say it's the happiest time of the year, but if you are hosting the holidays it can also be incredibly stressful. Here are some helpful hints to get you through this season.

• Everyone has that in-law or relative that examines your home like she's a Sargent at boot camp. Don't let the dust Nazis get you down this year. Having a kept home is one thing, but a spotless home is really just unrealistic. Most people won't notice if there are a few dust bunnies under your bed or the baseboards haven't been tackled in a while. The holidays should be enjoyed and you won't enjoy them if you are busy re-cleaning every inch of your home.
• Even if everyone is bringing a dish, chances are you will get the bulk of the cooking all to your lonesome. If this is the case, organization is key. What I like to do, is about a week in advance I take all of my recipes and make a grocery list so I can have as much as possible on hand. Two days before, I get out all the dishes and things will be cooked or served in and place the recipe in each dish just to make sure I have enough of everything. (This also helps with deciding which dishes need to be made first!) The day before I make as much as possible ahead of time. Some things that can be made the day before include many desserts and the dressing/stuffing.
• Cook everything early. You can always keep things warm in the oven, but you can't typically get them to be made faster. Plus, if everything is finished as your guests arrive, you have more time to visit with them.
• Make sure you clean the dishes as you go so you don't have as much to do at the end of it all. Whenever possible, I quickly clean and reuse the same bowl for mixing various dishes.
• Consider a buffet style meal. Everyone has seen the pictures of the ideal holiday dinners with everyone seated around a table overladen with delicious food. If you have a small family then this isn't so far out of reach. If, however, you are expecting more than 6 or 7 people, it can be burdensome to repeatedly pass food around the table. It may not be in all the best etiquette standards, but the goal here is to enjoy the holidays and not put on a show. Line the kitchen counters with all the prepared food keeping in mind how people typically plate. (Put the gravy next to the rice and turkey for instance and have the desserts at the very end or even to a table on their own.) Casual is your friend here and people will feel more comfortable not having to reach throughout their meal.
• Serve coffee after everyone is finished eating. It is a nice touch that people appreciate.
• Another great idea for hosting during the holidays is having some small entertainment. You don't want conversation to be drowned out by planned activities, but have something for people to do while they wait to eat or after dinner. This could be a deck of playing cards or even some music playing in the living room. In my house, we often gravitate toward our ping pong table which offers a lot of laughs!
• This most important thing to remember, is that in ten years when people look back, they won't remember if your house wasn't spotless or if the biscuits were a bit burned, they will remember the time spent together. Try not to get so bogged down with keeping things together that you forget to enjoy this most wonderful time of the year!

Happy Holidays!