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Planning a Holiday Dinner in Style

Good Morning Friends!

I apologize for the tardiness of this blog. I have been hosting Passover for the last two days, so I haven’t quite had time to sit down and write out a blog.

Today, I wanted to address something we will all be dealing with this week, no matter our faith- holiday dinners. For those of us who celebrate Passover, we’ve been there- done that this week, although Shabbat will be here in 8 hours. But for those who celebrate Easter I wanted to give a few little sanity tips for holiday dinners in general.

Now I know that right now we are in the middle of quarantine, so I realize that this year may be a little different for a lot of people. We ended up doing Passover over Google Hangouts with all the people who would have been physically at our Seder. The odds of this being the case next year are pretty slim, however, so while these tips may be lost a little this year, there are so many holiday dinners yet to come.

So without further ado, here are my 5 Steps to the Sane Holiday Dinner.
1. Guess what? Make some lists.
2. Delegate.
3. Pre-Cooking
4. Day of Timeline
5. Cleanup


My absolute first step to anything really is list making. There may be a pretty straightforward list, or there may be five evolutions of the list- but there is always a list or two involved. For a holiday dinner, you’re probably going to want a few different lists- the meal, the ingredients/shopping. And the guest list. You may also want a supplies list- but of course you need to have the other lists first.

I would recommend starting with the guest list, as it impacts all the other lists. Make a list of those people and reach out to make sure they are available. In an ideal situation, I would do this 2-4 weeks before the said dinner. This just shows respect for their plans and shows them you are not assuming they’ll be there. Family members- this is important with your adult children. TRUST ME!!! Don’t assume that because you’re related, they are planning on spending every holiday with you- that is a quick way to build resentment between you.

Once you have a guest list, you need a menu. Depending on the level of fancy and pomp, you may want a soup course, a salad source, a main course, a dessert, and snacks. You also need to plan drinks. Now, here is the time for you to evaluate. What items on that list must be done by YOU? It may be the main course. It may be the soup and dessert. Whatever it is, you need to figure out which foods you are emotionally invested in and plan on making those. Now listen carefully.  YOU NEED TO DELEGATE ALL THE OTHERS.

For example, my Passover menu included Matzo Ball Soup, Cranberry Walnut salad,  a traditional roast called Tzimmes, green beans, mashed potatoes, and baked apples for dessert. Here’s the hard part. I was mentally and emotionally invested in every single dish. So, I had a really hard time delegating. Eventually, I delegated the green beans, a few items on the Seder plate, and matzo ball mix. So, yeah, I failed at what I am asking you to do. But you know what else? I was so insanely overwhelmed ALL DAY that I forgot two or three different items and I had a really hard time actually enjoying the dinner. Don’t do that to yourself. Delegate.

Before you get to the big day, you need to sit down and reflect on your menu. Mark off the things others are bringing, and focus on the list of things you need to make. Are there any items you can make a day or two ahead- desserts or soup bases? Do steps 3 and 4 together. Figure out what you can take off your plate for the day of and make that ahead. Then put the other items in chronological order of importance and time for the Day of Timeline. For example, on Thanksgiving, the most important piece of the meal and the most time consuming is the turkey. You know you will be without a usable oven for upward of 3-5 hours. So, should you delegate the other hot foods? Should you make everything the day before and just reheat it the day of? Those are logistical questions you need to answer.

Finally, we deal with cleanup. Why do we deal with this during the planning stage? Because it impacts everything. Will you use nice plastic plates or fine china. The cleanup for those two options is very different, so you need to decide this. Will you cook in disposable containers or reusable? Will you use serving bowls? Is this a barbecue? All these questions determine the amount of cleanup you will be facing during and after the meal. Write down your thoughts on this.

Planning a holiday meal or dinner party is about 25% the menu and 75% the logistics. The most delicious meal planned and executed in chaos takes away from the experience of the meal.
Now go forth and plan.

Until Next week,

Mrs. Ashley Seguin

Holiday Planner Printable PDF


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