Are you hosting a gathering this holiday season, be it a cocktail party with friends or the entire family converging for Hanukkah or Christmas? These tips come from years of catering and hosting parties. Planning makes for a peaceful celebration and saves you from exhaustion, grumpiness, or forgetting something in the oven. 

Often, we focus on the food and cleaning the house. Once the day comes, we haven’t figured out what serving dishes to use, etc. This last-minute thinking becomes stressful and exhausting. So, take a few moments to plan your gathering and write it down. This also allows you time to be creative… and be dressed in time!

Pick a Theme.

Determine the purpose of the gathering and go from there. Find inspiration through obvious holidays, color schemes, seasons, etc.

• Look around your house for props and start with what you have:
• White dishes with white linens, pears, and gold stars
• Wood bowls, dark baskets, tapestry colors, and red apples
• Teddy bears and gingerbread
• Inherited family dishes and artifacts
• Set the table day(s) ahead if possible 
• Pull out serving dishes, platters, etc., and use Post-it notes to mark each platter's purpose. When friends show up early to help, and you are a bit behind, having prelabeled dishes will save you!

Plan Your Menu Around the Theme 

• Cook seasonally
• Combine homemade recipes with purchased items 
• Combine old standbys you know how to make with one or two new recipes 
• Invite guests to bring a dish or something simple, like a baguette or cheese
• Dinner parties: choose two to three hors d'oeuvres to serve before dinner 

Buffets or cocktail parties: a good mix would be 1 cheese or cheese assortment, 1 charcuterie assortment, 1 fish (prawns, smoked fish, etc.), 1 to 3 hot hors d'oeuvres using protein, cheese, etc., a vegetable platter, and 1 or 2 desserts.

 

• Write your menu down and note where the recipes are! Keep the list on your fridge.
• Make notes of garnishes you would like to use, such as rosemary sprigs from the garden around the roast lamb. Busyness or a glass of wine that night may make you forget the rosemary or your hand-carved radishes!
  
  

Deconstruct the menu into parts

1. Make two (or three) lists:

• WHAT TO BUY/GROCERY LIST, which could include two categories:  “buy ahead” and “buy last minute.”
• WHAT TO DO: Make a list of everything that needs to get done. Your lists could also be “To Do Cooking” and “To Do Everything Else.” Post it on your fridge and check off items when done, which feels sooo good!
• Make a list for the kids, whether they are invited or will be going to bed. They will enjoy being involved and will learn skills for the future.

2. Go through each recipe, flower arrangement, etc., and figure out how early you can buy/prepare that item, and jot it down on your two lists.

3. Read each recipe and deconstruct it. Do you need 1 cup of diced onions for three recipes? Add “3 cups diced onions” to your to-do list as an action item.

4. Delegate! You can probably delegate items from both your “To Do Cooking” & “To Do Everything Else” lists. Add your husband, wife, kids, etc. to this list! It’s more fun when everyone is involved!

5. Keep a copy of your lists on the fridge.

6. Include check-boxes. It feels so good to check things off!

Set the table(s) days ahead

• Set the table for a sit-down dinner days ahead if possible, or in the morning.
• Set up “stations” for cocktail parties, etc., using tables in different rooms for drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and dessert, depending on the party size. 

• Create depth and visual interest by placing a box under a small tablecloth or piece of fabric, bunching the fabric around the box, or stacking books to hold platters.
• Use unexpected containers such as small ice buckets for breadsticks, terra-cotta pots for veggies, and an old carving board for cheese…
• Set out all of your platters and move them around to design your table ahead of time. 
• Place post-its with the dish to be served and, if there is one, the garnish on each platter, bowl, or board. This way, you won’t forget, and everyone can help by reading your notes.
• Pick out what you are going to wear days ahead and get dressed early.  Don’t wait until everything is done; your guests will all have arrived!
• Save your notes from year to year. It’s fun to look back and helps you find that great recipe that was a hit.
• Have fun!