10 Tips to Organize Your Holiday Dinners for Less Stress and More Time with Family

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Whether your family is celebrating Thanksgiving soon or Chanukah or Christmas, you’re bound to have some big holiday dinners coming up. Over the years of watching my mom organize our family dinners and helping her, I’ve learned some great tips to help cut down the stress and focus on what’s really important – spending time with family.

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1. Plan Your Menu and Guest List

Last week, I posted about My Online Holiday Planner and in there is a Holiday Menu Planner Template. As your guests start to confirm they’re coming, they’ll start asking what they can bring. Take them up on their offers! People want to chip in, especially during the holidays. Think ahead of some things they can bring that don’t require taking up precious oven space. Appetizers, veggie trays, buns, or wine are great options.

2. Prep During the Week

There are things that you can do in the 1-2 weeks leading up to the big event that can really help you when it’s crunch time:

Put together a Master Shopping List, including produce, dry goods, decorations, beverages, flowers (for the centrepiece) and ice. You can’t forget ice!
Clean out the fridge so there is more room for produce and prepared food.
Find your linens and dig out your serving dishes. Pull out your slow cooker too.
Do a final grocery run.

3. Use a Holiday Meal Cooking Schedule

Using the same format as My Online Holiday Planner, I created this Holiday Dinner Cooking Schedule. Working backwards, you can figure out what dishes to cook, what temperatures, things that you can make ahead, and what dishes to put them in. Pop this on your counter and if guests are helping you, they’ll know exactly what’s next.

Google Docs Version · Microsoft Word Version

And if something goes wrong, don’t panic. Serve up some appetizers, pop another bottle of wine and buy yourself some time.

4. Pick a Dessert That Can be Made Ahead

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Save yourself the time on the big day, and make a dessert that can be prepared ahead of time, like Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Filling, Crustless Pumpkin Pie with Steusel or Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

Same goes for cranberry sauce. You can make it earlier in the week and store it in the fridge.

5. Set the Table the Night Before

Take the time to set the table the night before and it will be one less thing to worry about the next day. It also gives you a chance to notice things that you might not have thought of. Do the cloth napkins need ironing? Did you forget matches for the candles? You don’t want to find this out 30 minutes before your guests start arriving.

6. Use Your Slow Cookers

Last fall, I shared one of my family’s recent shortcuts for making the sides for holiday dinners – using slow cookers!. We were able to prepare the carrots, stuffing and turnip in them – leaving more space on the stove top and in the oven. They’re also great for keeping gravy warm!

7. Prep as much food as you can ahead of time

Think like a chef and get all your ingredients washed, chopped and ready to go. Some dishes may have the same ingredients and you can double up when prepping. For root vegetables like carrots, turnip and potatoes, you can chop them ahead of time and store them in pots with submerged in cold water until you’re ready to cook them.

8. Take the Time for Breakfast and Coffee

Starting the day off with some food (and caffeine!) will help you prepare to tackle your list. You’ll also be less likely to nibble on foods all day if you take the time to have a proper meal.

9. Set Up a Buffet

As much as I love family style meals where the dishes are passed around, they aren’t very practical for a large family dinner. Buffets offer a stress-free way to entertain during the holidays and lets you keep dishes warm on hot plates and in slow cookers. It’s also easier for guests to get up and help themselves to seconds. Stack plates and bowls at the start of the buffet and keep napkins and cutlery on the tables. If you can, set the table away from walls and doorways, allowing enough room for guests to access it from both sides.

If possible, keep desserts and drinks on separate tables. My family has started placing the desserts on the mantel not only to keep them out of the way, but also to make them into a pretty display for guests to see.

10. Have Containers on Hand for Leftovers

Leftovers are one of the best parts of any holiday dinner. These cute labels from Three Little Monkeys Studio would be a lovely addition to any goodies you’re sending home with guests.