It's that time of year again! Families come together to celebrate tradition and great food. But with all of the joy comes the stress of planning the parties. We are here to help with our favorite holiday meal planning tips to keep calm and party on!
Spread the word!
Whether you're hosting the whole family, friends, or neighbors, Facebook groups are a huge game changer when it comes to communicating with guests on days, times, meals, and overall party planning. Create a Facebook group where you can track who's coming and what they are bringing, and let guests know the day and time to arrive for the festivities!
Party prep.
Shopping the week before any big gathering or holiday is the perfect way to stay organized and less stressed. You can always go back closer to the party to get perishable items. Another great prepping tip is to get ahead of food prep by chopping up any vegetables, fruit, cheese, and more before
Start with snacks.
Nothing says hosting more than snacks! Prepare a charcuterie board before your guests arrive. This provides an easy transition from welcoming your guests to starting the festivities. Plus, the variety provided in a charcuterie board will accommodate any hungry traveler without spoiling dinner. Easy-to-prepare snacks can include mixed nuts, pretzels, chips with dips, veggie trays, cheese plates, kale chips, or trail mix.
Refreshments
Make sure to have a wide variety of drinks available to accommodate your guests. Tea, lemonade, soda, water seltzers, and punch are great non-alcoholic fan favorites! We recommend labeling each drink to keep alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to keep it organized.
Clean up
Cleaning as you go is a great way to have less time for cleaning up and more time to visit with guests. This is also a great task to delegate to guests offering a helping hand. If you don't want to be the one with leftovers at the end of the night, we recommend asking guests to bring containers that you can fill for them or buy some containers in bulk from any grocery store to send home with guests.
However you prepare for a holiday meal, staying organized is key! Start your holiday season off right with a pantry that works for you. Use an adjustable system, like freedomRail, to move shelves around to accommodate your holiday feast ingredients. Design your perfect storage space now, or visit your local dealer to get all your fixings for the season!
