7 Simple Tips for Stress-free Holiday Entertaining

Prepping for the holidays
Prepping for the holidays

Want to feel relaxed and cheery during the holidays? Then get a jump on your holiday organization now. Prepping for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's entertaining is a great way to get in the holiday spirit early. Even better, with all your chores done, you can spend more of the holidays eating, drinking, and merry-making with your family and guests. Here are 7 easy tips to get you ready for holiday entertaining ahead of time so that your holiday season is stress-free!



chrysler
chrysler

1. This place better shine like the top of the Chrysler building!
One of the best things you can do is clean your kitchen from top to bottom. If you do a thorough job now, you'll have more time to bake cookies with your kids, catch up with visiting friends, and make merry. Start with the obvious places: thoroughly clean your cabinets, counters, and floors. But don't stop there! Now is the time to wipe down the top of the fridge and dust out-of-the-way places. When you have 18 Thanksgiving dinner guests and have run out of room to put things, you'll be glad you did a good once-over.








cleaning
cleaning

2. Put the sparkle in your holiday tableware
While we're talking about the kitchen, it's also a great idea to wash any special dishes, flatware, or glassware. No one wants a dusty champagne glass, and this way you won't have to worry about it the day, or week, of. You'll also want to get out that special dancing Santa tablecloth and matching napkins to see if they need a wash, a trip to the dry cleaner, or just a good ironing.

order
order










3. Get your house in order


Next you'll want to clean the rest of the house. Do a thorough vacuum and dusting and make sure you hit the guest room. You wouldn't want your Grandma to have dust bunnies on her pillows! While you're at it, launder everything you can: sheets, towels, rugs, whatever. We are working you now, but you'll be so glad when you can enjoy the holidays knowing your chores are done.










spices
spices

4. Sugar and spice and everything nice
Some spices really make the holidays, and you don't want to find out at the last minute that you're all out. Stock up now on nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, sage, and bay leaves. Making cookies this year? Check your sprinkles, icing supplies, and vanilla extract. Also make sure to have plenty of basics on hand, like kosher salt and fresh pepper.

stock up
stock up





5. Stock the cupboard


Speaking of restocking, check your pantry, too. You want to make sure you have the things you need, not just for, say, Thanksgiving dinner, but also for your famous day-after turkey chili. Now is the time to buy cans of tomatoes, pumpkin, stock, sweetened condensed milk, or whatever other canned goods are vital to your special holiday recipes. You'll also need plenty of sugar - regular and brown - honey, and flour. Check your baking soda and baking powder, too. If they're not so fresh or have expired, toss them and buy some new, sure-fire leavening agents. Finally, while you're digging around in the pantry, get rid of anything you don't need (if you haven't eaten that seven-year-old jar of Aunt Mitzy's pickled eggs yet, are you really going to?).





Putting everything away
Putting everything away

6. Everything in its place


"Mise-en-place" is French for "putting [everything] in place" and, besides sounding cool, it's a great way to reduce your holiday cooking stress. One or two days before your big affair, do as much prep work as you can. Chop celery and carrots or peel and dice potatoes, pumpkins, and yams. Mince your onions and garlic. It will save you much stress when you're cooking the big meal. Also, make note of dishes that can be made ahead. Pie dough, squash puree, holiday casseroles, cranberry sauce, stock, and gravy are all great make-ahead dishes.








kitchen essentials
kitchen essentials

7. Stock up on kitchen basics


With Thanksgiving leftovers, Christmas cookies, fruitcake, holiday parties, and New Year's potlucks, you're going to go through a lot of foil, food containers, parchment, plastic wrap, trash bags, leftover containers, soap, and sponges between now and January 1st. Make sure to have plenty of these items on hand.





For 3 more stress-free holiday entertaining tips, visit Babble!


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Family Kitchen | Babble.com

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