As the holiday season nears, it’s time for many people to start planning their holiday meals. Whether you’re hosting extended family members or doing something simple at home with your immediate family, planning for holiday mealtime can be rather stressful.

I was excited to learn that you can work to have a private chef from a site like http://foodfireknives.com/ but I’m not sure any of you are interested? Either way, I’m confident my tips below will help you get ready for the season of joy, food, and festivities without too many headaches!

Get Out The Calendar

Take a look at your calendar to see when you’re free to plan a holiday meal. Once you have a few dates and times ready, discuss these options with everyone you’d like to invite. Confirm the best date and time for your holiday meal.

Make a Meal Plan

You’ll want to think about the main course, the side dishes, the appetizers, and so on before you dive too deep into holiday planning. Consider recipes that you can make ahead to save time in prep and consider any food allergies that the family members may have.

Make a Shopping List

Take a look around the pantry, kitchen, freezer, and cupboards to see what you have in stock. You may find that you have most of the ingredients so that you can save cash on your holiday meal shopping trip. Don’t forget to make plans to cook recipes that allow you to use your home supplies to save cash, too!

Keep it Simple

Your family isn’t expecting some gigantic party equipped with tons of food and drinks. Even if you’ve done some extravagant party in the past, this is the year you can certainly feel better about going lighter on the meal planning. Don’t make the holiday planning harder than it needs to be!

Consider Decor

There are many homemade holiday decor options on Pinterest and other websites you can easily use to save cash. Have your family work together to create a table centerpiece and other home decor options for your holiday party.

Plan Table Seating

Don’t forget about the seating arrangements for your guests! This may be a vital part of the holiday planning to ensure everyone gets along. Holidays can be stressful when extended family members arrive, so be sure to spread people out and plan your table seating arrangements beforehand.

These are just some of my simple holiday planning tips to help you enjoy the holidays rather than stress out! I’m an avid promoter of being joyous and friendly to your family during the holidays, so if any of these tips help someone out there, then my mission is complete.

Holiday Planning FAQ