Holidaze: Some Helpful Tips For A Stress-free Holiday Meal
For me, and I would guess for most people, the biggest challenge of a holiday meal is getting everything ready, on the table and keeping it all hot until people eat. It isn’t an easy task. Here are a few ideas to help.
1. Get your menu together early and carefully review your recipes. Figure out what pots, pans, serving dishes and utensils you’ll need. Borrow or purchase what you don’t have.
2. Put together your grocery list early and remember that you’ll save time if you can reduce your trips to the supermarket. If you’re planning on serving turkey, consider the type of bird you’re buying when you plan the timing of the supermarket trip. If you’re getting a frozen turkey, you’ll need to allow time for the bird to defrost. Plan on one day in the refrigerator for every 5 pounds of turkey. And if you’re getting a bird that you need to pre-order, call the store early to check on their timing.
3. When you’re making your grocery list, don’t forget ice and beverages. And, if you think that you’ll be short on refrigerator space, pick up an extra bag of ice to use for storing food in your picnic cooler.
4. Do as much as possible the day before. Wash any pots or pans, servingware or dinnerware that needs cleaning the day before. Set up extra tables and chairs. Iron the tablecloths if that’s important to you.
5. And, then there is cleaning the house. Personally, I hate cleaning and I do as little as possible. So, I do what I have to and I hide the rest. Keep the doors closed to the rooms that are messy; Stow the pile of magazines and newspapers and unread mail under the bed; Stuff your husband’s golf equipment that he thinks belongs in the dining room into a bedroom closet; Toss the dirty laundry into the bathtub and close the shower curtain. Done. You can check that off your list.
6. If you’ll be having a lot of kids at your house, consider taking some time out the day before and setting up some games, coloring books, movies or video games in an extra room to keep the kids entertained after the meal while the adults are socializing. Remember that kids don’t want to sit around and talk.
7. Keeping food warm is always a challenge when you’re making a lot of dishes. Slow cookers can be used to keep things like gravy and mashed potatoes warm until serving time. A heat-proof mixing bowl set over a pan of simmering water can work for this too. Consider using heating pads under bowls and platters on the buffet table to help keep food warm. And, don’t forget to use a cloth or towel down under the heating pad to protect the table’s surface.
8. It can be easy to miss something in the last-minute rush to get everything on the table. Consider making a list of all the dishes that you’re serving and check each item off as you get it to the table.
