Holidays are a time for food and family. A lot of the time, this means having a lot of food, and a lot of family. Thanksgiving and Christmas just aren’t the same if you do not have everyone around you. If you are hosting a large group then it is very easy for you to feel overwhelmed, but if you break everything down and if you make individual tasks, you can make the whole process seem way less daunting. If you need some more help then take a look below to get some useful tips that will transform the way you handle your next big family gathering.
Assess your Space
One of the first things you need to do is assess your space. You could well have 10-20 people coming over for dinner and if this is the case you need to make sure that you can seat everyone. It may be that you ask people to bring a chair with them to make your life easier or that you break out camping chairs for the kids. This is a great way for you to make sure that there is a place for everyone and that you can give everyone somewhere to sit. With that in mind, this solution won’t work for everyone so give some thought to the setup you have and then work out something that is going to solve the problem. If you can do this then you will see a major improvement.
Move Furniture
Moving big furniture out of the family room may be a good solution if you want to accommodate everyone. With that in mind, you do need to make sure that you explore other options too. Even if people have enough space, that doesn’t mean you will have enough seats, or tables for people to store their drinks. If you want to help yourself here then one thing you can do is rent tables and chairs. This will help you to fill your space and when the festive period is over, you can send them back and put your room back to how it was.
Delegate
Another thing you can do is delegate tasks. Even though you might be the host, you have to remember that this is a family event and not your own party. It is perfectly acceptable for you to ask people for help. Don’t feel as though you have to shoulder the full burden of having to cook dinner and then complete all of the side dishes. Unless you have a huge kitchen, this is probably going to be impossible anyway. If you feel bad about asking then make sure that you freely accept help that might be offered. By doing this, you can allow your family to relieve the stress for you, which will work in your favor more than you realize.
Prepare Some Dishes Early
If you can prepare some of your dishes early, you need to do so. Your pumpkin pie will not be any worse if you bake it the day before. You can also cut up some of your vegetables too. By doing this, you will soon find that it is easier than ever for you to host dinner without having to stress too much. Setting the table early will create way less work for you at the last minute, so make sure that you keep that in mind.
Play Games
Whenever you have a lot of people over, you need to come up with a form of entertainment. It may be that you host a quiz or that you look up Christmas traditions you can incorporate. By doing this, you can make your life a lot easier. You can give your kids art projects or coloring books to do as well if you want, so make sure that you keep that in mind as it could make a major difference to how your big day goes. Of course, most importantly, you have to make sure that you enjoy the party. If you spend the whole day stressed or if you are worried about the decorations then you are probably going to miss out on the big day. If you want to do something about this then make sure that you prepare ahead of time and remember that your best is good enough. Even if things do go wrong, your guests will still be happy and you may even find that you can make the most out of what you have, even if you do burn the turkey.
