Some prefer to be a guest during the holidays, forgoing the stress and mess associated with hosting people at one’s own home. The following tips, though, will ensure that if you do host a holiday at home, you’ll only deal with stress or mess if someone brings up politics at dinner.
- Use disposable dishes when possible: If you can use disposables for serving dishes, you’ll save yourself a lot of time with clean up when the event is over. Dinner plates and utensils can be put in the dishwasher easily so if you’re concerned about cutting down on plastic or paper waste, you can use your normal dinner dishes and utensils. However, if cleaning up at the end of the night is your least favorite part of Thanksgiving, then go ahead and use disposables for dinner dishes, too.
- Keep track of what guests are bringing so there are no duplicate dishes: The last thing you want is to have 3 pecan pies and 4 huge deep dish green bean casseroles (unless those items are group favorites and everyone takes seconds, thirds, fourths…)
- Have take-home containers ready: This is so guests can bring leftovers home and you aren’t stuck with a huge amount of food to store in your refrigerator to try to eat through in a couple days.
- Don’t forget the details: Get the basics taken care of – food, drinks, music, and then add in festive napkins, poinsettias or a glittery centerpiece. While the food and drinks are the most important, people appreciate the decorative elements that make the event special and different from just a normal dinner gathering.
Hopefully these tips help with the next event you host at home!