7 Ways to host a Holiday with Less Stress

(So you can actually enjoy the holiday, too!)

I have hosted my family’s Thanksgiving dinner for the better part of the last 12 years. I don’t claim to be Martha Stewart. I don’t make themed place card holders or pilgrim hats for the youngest attendees (my kiddo is the only child who comes to dinner in the immediate family and he’s 14 now and I probably would have to pay him to wear a paper hat), but I have had people tell me they’ve enjoyed themselves, loved the food served and felt relaxed and comfortable in our home, which is exactly what I aim for.

7 Steps to Hosting a Stress-Free Holiday 

1. Make sure you have seating, tablespace, silverware, cups/glasses, and plates for everyone attending. One year, I ran out of forks, and a few adults ended up using plastic toddler forks. It worked, but it wasn’t ideal. My mom was kind enough to pick up some inexpensive extra sets of forks for us, and they’ve come in handy on many occasions. You don’t have to own folding tables, but be sure to plan to borrow some or rent them. This time of year, they are frequently on sale at Target, Walmart, and Costco. If your home is on the smaller side, be open to creating seating areas in rooms other than the kitchen/dining area to give everyone ample elbow room. Feeling comfortable during the meal is important for guests. After the meal, you can collapse or move tables and enjoy your living spaces as they’re intended once again.

2. Decide what dishes you’d like to prepare, then ask others to fill in the rest. Most families enjoy a good potluck meal, and most guests are happy to show off a favorite dish. If you want to cook the entire meal yourself, go for it! However, in our family, it’s always worked well to have the host make the main dish and a few sides and maybe a dessert and request favorite recipes from others.

Everyone likes to know that you enjoy eating something they make — ask them to bring your favorite from their repertoire. My mother-in-law makes a delicious salad with crisp apples in it, my mom makes the best-candied yams. My sister makes the greatest gingersnaps and my aunts always know how to make a good cranberry sauce. Everyone loves these dishes, so when I’m hosting, I just request them (with plenty of polite, advance notice). By requesting specific dishes, you’ll know which meal elements are still needed too.

Another thing to consider: How many dishes will require simultaneous baking/cooking? If you’ve got four stove burners and one oven, you may want to dole out a number of the baked dishes (and request your guests bring them serve-ready if possible) to avoid an oven traffic jam. Or, consider buying a stacking oven rack*, such as this one: Oven rack ($17) *Please note, while a tiered oven rack will increase your oven’s capacity, it may slow cooking time some, due to the number of dishes baking — prepare to add a few additional minutes to all baking times.

3. Make a list of all dishes for the meal, then create a shopping list of the items you need for your contributions. Shop a few days in advance of the holiday, not the day before. Everything will still be fresh but you bypass the crowds and picked over aisles. Here’s a helpful guide, by Good Housekeeping that provides information on quantity needs based on the number of people you’re serving.

When everyone cooks and contributes variety, our taste buds are the winners!

4. Prep everything you can the night before the holiday. Chop vegetables, prep casseroles to the final step before baking, cover, and keep in the fridge. Make cookie doughs, prepare pies to the point just before baking — do anything you can do, the day before. This is absolutely key to enjoying a relaxing holiday. Be sure to read the defrosting directions on the turkey if you’re roasting one that’s been frozen. Some will take days or almost a week in the refrigerator — you need to prepare for this — or you will end up with a turkey that does not cook fully in the center. (Hard lessons learned from my very first Thanksgiving. Benefit from my mistake!)

Last Thanksgiving’s Bacon Wrapped Turkey

5. Use recipes you know are winners. If you’re making anything for the first time, be sure you read the recipe all the way through to account for any unexpected issues (do you need hours to allow the dough to rise? overnight refrigeration? a rare ingredient or kitchen tool?) and if you’re using a recipe from the internet, read the comments and reviews first to be sure you’re working with a winner and not a dud. No one wants to serve failed food to guests.

My favorite Thanksgiving recipes (that have been requested by repeat guests):

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey

This is the recipe I use:

(was from Humble Gourmand, has since been taken down)

1. Remove bags of “stuff” from inside bird. Rinse the turkey and pat dry.
2. Place 1 apple (quartered), 1 onion (quarted) 2-3 stalks of celery and 1 cinnamon stick in 2 cups of water and heat in the microwave for 4 minutes (or until boiling)
3. Add the entire mixture to the turkey cavity along with a few sprigs of rosemary and sage
4. Season the turkey with salt and pepper (kosher salt is preferred)
5. Drizzle with olive oil and rub to coat.
6. Cover the entire turkey with bacon. (I weaved the bacon into a big rectangle on a cookie sheet, then plopped it on top of the turkey and used toothpicks to secure. I then used additional strips to wrap the legs and wings.
7. In a very preheated oven, cook the turkey at 500 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until the bacon starts to crisp, then, without opening the door, reduce the oven temperature to 325 for the remaining cooking time.
8. No need to baste, the bacon grease will take care of it for you!

Fancy Macaroni from The Pioneer Woman

Traditional Green Bean Casserole

David Lieberman’s Sourdough Stuffing 

Creamy Mashed Potatoes from The Pioneer Woman

Butterscotch Gingerbread Cookies from Tollhouse Recipes

Monkey Bread from The Pioneer Woman

6. Plan ahead for space in the fridge, on counters, and for desserts. For me, clutter = chaos and stress. Having a bunch of pies shoved in my relatively tight kitchen prep space makes me twitch a little bit. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the pies, because really, truly I do — but, I really don’t want to risk dripping turkey juices on one, ya know? If you plan ahead places you’d like people to place desserts, emptied serving dishes, and other items, as well as space in your fridge for storing leftovers after the meal, everything will simply go smoother.

7. Adjust your post-meal space to be conducive to the rest of the evening’s activities. Eating typically requires more space and more room on tables than post-meal relaxing. Once everyone’s done eating, assess the continued need for all folding tables and such, and eliminate anything blocking the flow of rooms and post-meal couch lounging and football viewing or Xbox playing. (Or whatever it is your family enjoys post-giant feast.) Leave a stack of board games and cards out, set up a dessert buffet, and use thermal carafes to keep coffee warm so you can leave the kitchen and spend time with your guests.

Wishing you a low-stress and comforting holiday meal and time spent with loved ones!