Skip to main content

Oh no! The Holidays are Coming! A Real Working Girl’s Hosting Survival Guide – Part 2

Congratulations! For whatever reason you’re hosting your first major holiday.  That’s exciting or terrifying or super stressful or something.  However you’re feeling, go you! You can do this, with our help of course.  On Friday we posted Part 1 of this guide written by Katie 1.  Now it’s time for Part 2 - Holiday Prep.

Part 2 - Holiday Dinner Prep:

So, you’ve taken our advice and planned your menu well in advance. It includes the perfect balance of pre-made, make ahead, and make day-of dishes. It’s traditional yet modern. That’s a huge chunk of your holiday preparation, so way to go.  Now you’re probably starting to freak out about all of the shit you have to do in order to make that menu happen.  It’s cool.  It happens.  This is a totally normal reaction. Part 2 of this guide helps you turn that meltdown into a seamless holiday experience. 

As you know from Part 1 of this guide, in planning my menu for Thanksgiving, I took timing and space constraints into account and came up with a menu that included several pre-made and make ahead items.  In Part 2, I’m going to expand on that and discuss all of the logistics and planning that help turn that carefully planned menu into an epic feast of the senses. 

After tackling the menu, the first thing I do is record that menu in a spreadsheet.  I love spreadsheets, especially ones with multiple tabs, so this spreadsheet becomes my holiday bible of sorts.  It contains the menu, my shopping list broken down by store, and my schedule for the days leading up to the celebration.  I’m posting screenshots of each tab so you can see what I’m talking about. 

As you can see, Tab 1 is my menu.  Nothing too exciting and we’ve already discussed what I’m planning on cooking. 



As you can see, Tab 2 contains my shopping list.  I’ve broken it down by store and have included a column noting what I’ve already purchased.  I’ve personally found it less overwhelming to start shopping about a month or 2 in advance, especially for non-perishable items (stuffing mix, wine, chicken stock, crackers, canned goods, etc.).  I’ve found this to be particularly helpful because (1) some of it is stuff I already buy; and (2) I can stock up with items are on sale and not have to worry about having enough chicken stock the day before Thanksgiving.  I’ve also broken down my shopping list by store.  Why? Well, I like to save money and certain stores have the items I like in the sizes I need.  For example, the Aldi near me has a sparking Blanc de Blanc that I really like.  It tastes much more expensive than the price tag would indicate.  It pairs really well with chilled seafood.  Aldi also increases the price around the holidays so I stock up before that price jump.  Another example: Costco has a rosemary cheddar that I love.  I can only find it at Costco.  I buy shrimp cocktail at Costco because it’s a better value than buying it anywhere else.  I would buy my turkey at Costco; however, I don’t need a 40 lb turkey so we’re going to probably buy it at Whole Foods or Marianos because I don’t want a frozen turkey and I’m not a huge fan of the meat at Aldi. 



Tab 2 also contains my table scape list.  Just like with my non-perishable groceries, I start stocking up on these items in September (when stores have the best selection).  For my holiday tables, I like go all out and use my really nice stuff.  I also like to use a combination of my basic and holiday specific items.  Typically this means using my basic white tablecloth (I have this one), a holiday specific table runner (I have this one), my china (here) mixed with a holiday specific salad plate (these are similar to mine), festive party crackers (love these!), my nice crystal (similar here), and flatware (here).  I’m still figuring out a centerpiece so check our Instagram for updates as I plan on posting a photo of my table on Thanksgiving Day.  Advice on the holiday specific stuff: stores like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Burlington are your best friends.  There is no need to spend a ton of money on this stuff, just shop around and pick it up as you see it.  As for the other stuff – treat this as an excuse to use all of those nice wedding gifts you received.  Not married? You can find a ton of nice china and crystal at thrift stores, a lot of times in complete sets.  Ikea is also amazing for table linens.  You don’t have to spend a ton of money to have a beautiful table.  Finally, when it comes to appetizer plates – save yourself some time.  Use festive paper plates and paper napkins.  It’s fine.

Now on to Tab 3 which contains my schedule.  Honestly, this is a rough schedule, but I have an idea as to how much time the preparation of each dish takes so it ends up being pretty accurate.  I start my meal prep the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  Tuesday night preparation is pretty chill – just brining the turkey and preparing the cranberry sauce (which is served chilled).  Wednesday night is pretty busy in terms of prep but because it’s a short day at work, I’ve got more time to get shit done.  Besides butter crusting the turkey, I use Wednesday night to do all of my chopping and to put together all of my dishes that need to be baked.  This saves a ton time and makes me way less stressed on Thursday morning.  Thursday’s schedule is pretty chill.  I turkey trot in the morning, give myself time to shower, watch the parade and have coffee, and I’m in the kitchen cooking by 11:00 a.m. Besides making the mashed potatoes, green beans, and putting the salad together, the only thing I have to do is put stuff in the oven.  This gives me time to actually enjoy the day and my guests.  It also helps that my husband does the dishes.



There is one thing missing from my spreadsheet schedule – cleaning.  I deep clean the weekend before Thanksgiving and do light cleaning a day or two before to make sure everything is fresh. 

Final bits of advice: expect at least 1 disaster.  It happens and honestly it’s not a big deal. It’s also likely that your guests won’t notice, especially if you get them drunk first.  Unless it’s something epic like mixing up salt and sugar, which will at least make for a great story.  When you are planning your schedule, make sure to include some chill time for yourself.  You are going to need it.  Finally, have a couple of glasses of wine while you cook.  It makes it more enjoyable and helps with the stress.


Happy holidaying! 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Super Popular Trends We Hate

Perhaps it's a byproduct of getting older but recently we're starting to realize that there are a ton of super popular trends that we really effing hate. We've decided to share this list with our dear readers in hopes that both of you will commiserate.  A Real Working Girl's List of Super Popular Trends That Suck Ombre Hair. It’s so hard to get right and maintain and just ends up looking sloppy and unprofessional. If you talk to a stylist, she (or he) will likely explain that ombre came from people who were growing out their color. To make truly good ombre, it’s just roots. Also, isn’t this over now? Crop tops. Just no. Unless you are a stick this is not a good look for you.  Midi-skirts. See above. Katie 2 would like to add that unless you’re over 5’8”, it’s floor length.  Mom jeans. See #2. If you’re normal sized, you ass looks like crap.  Top knots. Sorry… it just looks sloppy. Take a minute and do your damn hair.  Sex hair. See above. It looks s...

Back to Basics: The Sheath Dress

We're back with the second post in our series of basic pieces that working women should have in their wardrobes. If you missed our first, go back and check it out . The goal is to show you those items we come back to time and time again and show you a few ways to wear them so you 1) get some mileage out of the pieces and 2) you don't look (or feel) as though you're wearing the same thing every day. The capsule wardrobe. Be honest- how many times have you pinned it? (Katie 1 would like you to know she's has NEVER pinned it. She has no desire whatsoever to create a capsule wardrobe thankyouverymuch.) Whether it's for vacation or every day, we search for those elusive few pieces that we can mix-and-match in a million different ways to create an entire month's worth of outfits with just seven pieces! We here at Not a Corporate Fashun Blog have no mastered the capsule wardrobe. We, just like you, wake up in the morning with a closet packed full of stuff and ...

Workout Wednesday: The Push-up

We wanted to take today to discuss the benefits of one of the most useful (and hated) of all exercises: the push-up.  First off, why should you even care? It's a great exercise to do any time, any where. No equipment needed. It targets multiple muscle groups. Get a lot of bang for your workout buck. This is really 2b: It's good for your core. A strong core improves your posture and can help prevent lower back pain (something you will struggle with if you sit a lot during the day and as you're getting older).  Calorie-torching! (Let's call this one "2c".) Because you're using so many muscle groups, you burn more calories with a push-up than you will for other strength exercises that involve only one muscle. (Want to burn even more calories? Do a burpee- a push-up and a squat jump. They're awful. Katie 1 says that Katie 2, the primary author of this post, is evil for even mentioning burpees.) They can be done no matter your fitness level. Yo...