Now is the time to start planning your Christmas menu. If you take a little time beforehand you will save yourself a lot of last minute stress and you will actually be able to enjoy sitting down to a fabulous meal with your family. Yes, it is possible!
- Make a menu.
What are you going to serve? Planning and cooking a Christmas meal is so much easier than Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is so much more work because of all the sides that go along with a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Christmas is soooo much easier to execute!
2. Write out your shopping list.
Check recipes for the ingredients you will need. Check the pantry and fridge for those items you already have.
3. Set out the serving dishes and platters for each item you will be serving.
Knowing what pieces you will use to serve each item will reduce the amount of scrambling around at the last minute when you are trying to get everything on the table.
4. Set the table
Setting the table a couple days before gives you the time to add in those extra little touches that will make your holiday table look festive. You will have the time to create a beautiful centerpiece and add lovely napkin rings.
I love using cloth napkins even on my everyday table and if you need some inspiration for creating easy beautiful napkin rings I have several easy ones you can make in no time. Any one of these would look lovely on your holiday table.
Try this charming easy to create pinecone inspired napkin ring DIY.
Here is another unique pinecone inspired napkin ring that would look lovely on your holiday table. You can read about how easy it is to create, here.
Or try this charming nature inspired acorn adorned napkin ring that will take only a few minutes to make, here.
Need a really last minute idea? Create these simple, elegant, nature inspired napkin rings with items from your garden in just a few minutes, here.
5. Prep everything you can the day before.
Prepare as much of the food as you can before the big day. Christmas tends be less stressful than Thanksgiving because there are far fewer sides to prepare for a Christmas dinner. I traditionally serve a Ribeye roast with mashed potatoes, Lasagna, salad and freshly baked bread.
I assemble the lasagna and bake my desserts the day before. This makes it so much less stressful getting dinner on the table with a house full of guests on Christmas Day.
If you are still trying to decide what to serve for Christmas, check out a couple of my favorite recipes for some inspiration. You can find my favorite recipe for making the worlds fluffiest, creamiest mashed potatoes in my Cooking Basics 101 series of blog posts, here. I make some pretty damn good mashed potatoes, I’m kinda legend in the family for them. I’m not bragging…ok, maybe I’m bragging just a little bit, LOL. Seriously I got mashed potatoes down! You should try my recipe.
And yes, you have the time to bake fresh loaves of bread for Christmas Day dinner. Read all about how easy it is to bake delicious artisan loaves here.
6. Write out a schedule for when foods need to go in the oven.
This makes it so much easier to get everything on the table at the same time nice and hot.
A little planning on the front end will not only make everything go so much smoother for you on Christmas Day but it will take away a lot of the stress that usually goes along with entertaining. Use these tips for effortless entertaining and ensure you get to enjoy the day with your family creating memories that will last a lifetime!
Merry Christmas to you and your family. May God bless you this holiday season and through the New Year!