Key Tips For Holiday Entertaining

By Author: Sabrina Kaufman
Total Articles: 4762
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Holidays present an opportunity to catch up with family and friends, and to relax and enjoy good food and conversation. Inevitably, there will be the usual family dynamics but most people look forward to sharing the holidays with those that they care about. If you are hosting in your home, however, the organizational responsibilities can sometimes be overwhelming. Here are a few tips to help you in your preparations and management of the holiday season.

Make Occasions out of Your Preparations

Think of your family traditions and what is meaningful to your immediate family. If you have young children, they may be looking forward to spending time with cousins, aunts, uncles or grandparents. Make your preparations occasions in themselves. Get the family involved in tasks such as setting up Christmas decorations or baking cookies. In this way, it becomes less of a chore and more of a family fun time. Baking is a wonderful way for generations of women in the family to connect with one another. Many young girls learn their love for baking and cooking from mom and grandma. Young kids can help decorating cookies and preparing ...
... to hang decorations on the tree. Creating occasions out of your preparations also means that you have a few more hands to help you prepare for the arrival of guests and visitors.

Fill up the Pantry

Nobody likes to spend the holiday season slaving away in the kitchen. Some careful preparation and little bit of work in advance can allow you time to relax with the rest of the family instead of running around after them. Stock up with cookies and some traditional goodies for guests to snack on in between meals. If you don't have the time or inclination to bake then there is no shame is getting some goodies from your local bakery or supermarket. Many charity organizations sell home-made baked goods to raise funds; you can not only save yourself some time and effort but also support a worthy cause in the process. Have loads of fresh fruit, yogurt and vegetables in your fridge as healthy snack alternatives for the kids. A house can be fairly chaotic with a crowd of children so there is no need to add to the frenzy by putting them on a sugar high. If you're feeling particularly efficient, you can prepare some pasta sauces and quick meals which can be stored in the freezer and reheated at a later stage for main meals. Many families have a tradition that everybody contributes to the celebratory meal so that the burden of preparation is not placed solely on the host.

Make Space for Your Guests

It's often difficult to keep a home neat and tidy when there are a whole bunch of extra people around. Before your guests arrive, take the opportunity to make some space for them. Clear out a shelf or two in your closet. You may find there are some items you don't use and can donate to charity. By providing guests with some space, there will be fewer items lying around and it'll be easier to maintain some semblance of order. If you have younger children coming to visit, you may want to bring out some old games and toys that they can play with. If you have a large enough home, you could also designate a room as a playroom to ensure they have a domain where they can be entertained.

Enjoy the Chaos

The best celebrations are often the ones that are organic because there are no grand expectations except for everyone to enjoy themselves. While some planning is good, over-scheduling can be stressful, especially when there are many people to take into consideration. Have your basic plans in place but be flexible. This will ensure that stress of having to coordinate everyone and everything is reduced. Everyone can then relax and enjoy each other's company a little more. Remember that the holiday season is meant to be one of celebration. If your turkey doesn't turn out to be perfectly crispy brown, don't stress about it. Inform your guests that you are creating a new tradition that next year someone else has to better your efforts. Often being able to have a chuckle at yourself diffuses what could be an otherwise stressful situation. No family or person is ever perfect, so being able to enjoy time together is the important thing. The traditions, where you are and what you do are less important. Know that the holiday season will soon be over and then you may be sad to return to your normal routine. Enjoy the chaos of celebrating with friends and family and you will find the task of holiday entertaining much easier.
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