The holidays are a time of togetherness and warmth, of family and peace. No one stresses, no one worries, no one frets.
Haha, just kidding!
While the holidays are definitely a time of love and giving, they’re often far from peaceful. I always feel that the holidays begin with the mad rush to cook up a storm on Thanksgiving and then Christmas/Chanukah takes over immediately after with the utter madness of Black Friday. From that day forward, it’s a clamor to gather gifts for loved ones and to put up decorations.
Get Inspired With These Holiday Table Top Ideas
And then there’s the matter of the meals. Traditional holiday meals are time-honored and a staple tradition for many families. Hosting can be an ordeal. Between the cooking, the seating, the decorating, and the cleanup, it can be enough to make you want to pull your hair out.
But never fear! I’m here to give a couple of ideas about how to handle a holiday get-together with style and without losing your mind in the process.
The ambience of your meal isn’t the most important thing, but it is a factor. Every year, I look forward to setting up the tree and putting up some mistletoe. The warm golden lights of the tree, a poinsettia or two, and a wreath by the table would honestly be sufficient. But if you want to go the extra mile, attention to detail can go a long way in ensuring a cozy dining room. But who the devil has time to make a pinecone rosette garland, Martha?! A couple of simple additions are really more my speed and can make the scene special.
Create Your Own Grinch Tree Centrepiece
Candles, flanked by sprigs of holly, are a favorite. I find it to be a bit hazardous, however, when put in the middle of the table where people will be reaching and leaning. I tend to place them on shelves or side tables where they’ll be out of the way and unlikely to be bumped into. Instead, I put together a couple centerpieces. A couple bundles of pine (stolen from the yard), a couple of ornaments (stolen from the tree), and a candy cane or two can be arranged in a vase or basket or simply laid out. Ta da! Time- and space-efficient cheer.
Some choose to add some serious holiday sparkle with tinsel and glittery décor while others choose to hang handmade paper snowflakes. Anything you choose will be just perfect.
When planning the menu, make sure to include the holiday dishes that your family serves traditionally. Also, you’ll want to make sure you’re aware of and sensitive to any food allergies or dietary restrictions.
Making sure you have enough of the appropriate cookware is usually the biggest obstacle. If you need to boil potatoes and yams at the same time and you only have one giant pot, this could cause a stovetop traffic jam. Take stock of what cookware you’ll need compared to what you have-then either go get what you need or work around your timing issues. Your tableware can also be a problem. Envision what will go into what serving dishes as you plan the menu so you don’t have to serve your gravy in a scotch glass.
Did You Know You Can Cook A Turkey With Stuffing In The Slow Cooker?
The difficulty of freeing up cookware and serving platters is followed closely by the trouble queuing up what goes into the oven at what time at what temperature. To keep the chaos to a minimum, familiarize yourself with recipes and ingredients (running to the store the morning of is so stressful!) You should also know the preparation and cook times way in advance. After putting all of the cook times together, I then made a spreadsheet/timeline of what I needed to do when with what ingredients. The result was a smooth process that brought out all of the food piping hot all at the same time. It might sound nerdy, but give it a try and see if your preparation doesn’t pay off.
What tableware you use will make a world of difference when it comes to serving and cleanup. Dishwasher-safe is obviously the way to go if you can manage it. Be aware of how heavy your dishes are to pass around the table — mashed potatoes are pretty heavy! Also make sure you have some holiday-themed hot plates to rest your bounty on so that you don’t burn your table.
Especially if you’re in need of space, serving your food buffet-style might be best. Simply make your kitchen counter into a merry serving line. This can make food distribution much easier as there isn’t as much to knock over or burn your fingers on at the table. To make the counter look polished, use a table runner as decoration. Wind some Christmas lights in between the platters if you’re feeling ambitious.
Some families subscribe to a seating arrangement and some do not. I recommend one, if only to reduce the bedlam that ensues when many people try to fit into one room. Generally speaking, it will ensure that everyone can sit next to their significant other. I also recommend making adorable holiday name cards for each seat, even if there are only a few in your party.
Now is the time to bring your decorations into play. Atop your freshly cleaned tablecloth set your festive placemats, fine dishes, and your centerpieces. Some holly, especially when charmingly tied by twine, can be placed next to each placemat or tied to each silverware bundle.
In my opinion, clean up should be a family affair. Sure, grandparents can claim the right to shuffle off and sit under a heat lamp, but kids and siblings sure don’t. Have a couple of people scrape plates and stack dishes. Have another couple rinse dishes and put them into the dishwasher. The job will be done in no time. Of course, if you’d rather everyone be able to sit in front of the fire directly after dessert, you can simply scrape plates and stack them in the kitchen for later. You saint, you.
To reduce your cleanup time, try to take care of dishes as they become dirtied. For one thing, scrape those dinner plates as everyone digests before dessert is served. For another, don’t leave the aftermath of cooking for later — it’s extremely depressing to face a mountain of pots and pans after a pleasant evening. One trick I’ve come up with is to have a literal bin (I use a shallow storage bin) filled with warm, soapy water — anything that isn’t dishwasher-safe is rinsed and put there to soak. This clears up sink room like you wouldn’t believe!
All that’s left to do is bask in the warmth of your family’s company and copious compliments. You’ve earned yourself a glass of eggnog! Take a deep breath, Holiday Master. The holidays can be stressful, but your efforts are appreciated. You make the season merry and bright for everyone, so be tactical and take it easy on yourself!
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