Almost every homemaker has a holiday meal nightmare story. Some of mine include not thawing the turkey, remembering to thaw the turkey but not putting it in the oven soon enough, cooking it until it was leathery, breaking the edge of the trifle bowl pulling it out of the refrigerator, and having to throw the entire thing away.
It seems like in my early years of hosting holiday gatherings that something was always going wrong. It’s one thing to cook for one or two, but cooking for a crowd requires a new skill set. Instead of shying away from entertaining this holiday season, I’ve put together a few tips that will help increase your confidence and hopefully start you on the path to Biblical hospitality for a lifetime.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to hosting a holiday meal:
1) Set the date now. You don’t have to host your event on the actual holiday. Consider another date when your guests can relax.
2) Create the guest list and send out invitations. These don’t have be fancy. Consider e-vites or make your own using stamps.
3) Create your menu now. Here are some ideas:
- Check out cookbooks from the library.
- Spend time on food websites like www.foodnetwork.com.
- Pick a theme. Once I did a Colonial America themed Thanksgiving.
- Get together with other guests and brainstorm the menu – then assign food items.
- Consider a variety of food items in case you host a vegetarian or someone with food allergies.
- Keep most of your items simple, with only one or two challenging dishes.
- Everyone loves a potluck! So if creating a menu overwhelms you, host it this way.
4) Consider decorations and serving utensils now.
- Plan now if you want to keep it casual or more formal. I’ve never met anyone who cared if they ate on plastic. It’s the fellowship they care more about.
- Borrow plates, glasses, tablecloths or other items if necessary.
- Borrow or purchase serving equipment, like warmers or chafing dishes.
- Ask to borrow tables and chairs if necessary.
- Visit a thrift store for items you might need.
5) From your menu, create a shopping list. Do this now so you can watch for items on sale, and use coupons. Purchase what you can early.
6) As you are shopping, pick up extra food items to donate. This is a great time to get more for your money and share with others in need.
7) Make a countdown calendar/schedule. This might be weeks, days or even hours. But the more time you spend thinking through your tasks and deadlines, the smoother the actual event will be. Have most of the work done beforehand so you can enjoy your guests.
8) Tips for the event
- If you serve a buffet, consider putting small signs in front of each item with the name of the dish.
- Create a drink station with similar signs.
- Use place cards to change up seating arrangements. If you are crafty, consider making these yourself. One year I made cookies and wrote people’s names on them.
- Place discussion prompts on the table.
- If you want to give thanks before the meal, let people know so they don’t embarrass themselves by starting.
- Play background music.
- Ask the Lord for a Scripture verse for each of your guests. Incorporate this into your place setting.
- Consider asking a teenager for help in the kitchen so you can be with your guests. Write out exactly what you expect her to do.
9) Remember the reason for your event. Keep your purpose in the front of your plans and you’ll never lose sight of God’s design for hospitality. It’s not entertaining, but a chance for God’s people to celebrate the gifts of God together, with a heart of thanksgiving.
10) Rejoice! Psalm 145:7 says, “They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.”
What are your favorite holiday tips for keeping holiday hospitality affordable, meaningful, and fun for everyone?
i love this post!!! what great ideas and pre-planning is something that is hammered in the military setting (we are an army chaplain family). you don’t want to wing something like this
i appreaciate your blog very much!!
A few years ago my parents and my family went to my sisters for Thanksgiving. We each brought a portion of the meal with most of the preparation to be done at my sister’s house.
We got everything ready, the turkey was in the oven, and the side dishes were all ready to be cooked, once the turkey was out. We were doing dishes when the plumbing in the kitchen went, we had water all over! After we cleaned up through laughter that “of all days” this should happen.
My mom and I got the turkey out of the oven, turned on the stove to start cooking potatoes, cauliflower etc, and the stove caught on fire! After the fire was put out and the panic subided. We sent my husband and father to go to a local buffet style restaraunt to ask if they could purchase some of the side dishes to go.
Despite the meal being chaos at best, eating instant potatoes, obviously canned gravy, it was one of the best Thanksgiving memories we all have.
The lesson, your meal does not have to be perfect, disaster can cause laughter depending on how you react to it, it is the company that matters. Enjoy eachother.
What we do now, we have a set menu that we rarely vary from. This allows us to prep everything we can in advance and not worry so much about the food. We have all collected crock pots from thrift stores that we use for keeping food warm (like the mashed potatoes, cauliflower in cheese sauce etc.)I keep the menu (for Thanksgiving and Christmas) in a household binder.
One of my larger crockpots broke, so I use it filled with ice for cold items.(Just wrap it in fall fabric with a ribbon)
For little ones, I make up Thanksgiving Coloring/activity books with things relating to the first Thanksgiving, as well as remember that this is a celebration of God’s gifts to us.
hi glynnis!
oh, how i needed this 15 years ago! there is no
more taxing meal than thanksgiving for 30! your
tips would have saved my life.
one HUGE lesson i learned the hard way is to do
the important parts of the meal myself, if it is a
potluck. i have had the turkey and ham show up
an hour late.