Posted on November 1, 2024 by Miller and Smith Blog Team
As Halloween costumes get put away for another year, the holiday hosting season begins!
With so many late fall and winter holidays involving get-togethers and feasts, hosting for the holidays can be stressful.
But you have two major advantages. First, you live in an amazing new Miller & Smith home. This provides you all the space you need to entertain, and the inspired kitchen to make all the treats needed to feast upon.
And second, you have our Top 10 Tips for Hosting the Holidays!
Make a great first impression by decorating for the season and holiday. It’s fun, festive, and can also be a guide to your guests to your holiday celebration. They’ll quickly realize they should congregate in the rooms with decoration and not in those without. Plus, decorations are great excuses to display some of your best curios and tell your favorite stories about them!
Any time you’re having family and friends over, there’s a chance the party can go on longer than expected. Also, you might have family members that have planned to stay over anyway. One of the nicest things you can do as a host is to provide a fresh place for them to sleep. And whether that is as simple as newly laundered sheets, or more complex like new holiday-themed throw pillows and matching blankets, your guests will feel even more included and loved because of your care about their comfort.
As the weather is getting colder, coats and boots are going to be more commonplace. And with more people in your home than usual, make sure you have planned for enough space for all those coats and boots when they come off. Creating this space in advance will stop traffic jams in your home’s entry way and make organizing your guests’ garments easier for later retrieval. It’s not only tidier, but it will also make sure a pile of coats doesn’t take away from those joyous holiday decorations!
Sound is an important part of any event and can take your holiday festivities to the next level. There are many ambient soundscapes available on YouTube full of festive sound effects guaranteed to make any holiday celebration more special. Just find one that you like and play it softly in the background. And if you want more than just ambient sounds, have your guests help generate a playlist of their favorite holiday songs and you’ll have a merry jukebox to enjoy.
It might feel counter-intuitive for a freshly cooked holiday feast, but not everything has to be cooked the day guests arrive. Some sauces, sides, and even full dishes can be cooked in advance, frozen or kept in the fridge, and then warmed up and brought back to life the day of. Preparing your big meal like this can save you time and stress on the big day—and still taste just as delicious!
After your guests arrive, but before the main event, you want them to have lots of little things to snack on. Not enough to ruin their appetite, mind you, but enough to get them even hungrier. This is when you try all the cute and fun recipes you see on Instagram, dive into your “1,001 Dip Recipes” cookbook, and make your signature appetizers that always get everyone talking.
Guess what? Hosting a big holiday meal doesn’t actually mean you have to cook all the food yourself. Hosting a potluck holiday is a fantastic way to make sure everyone has something to eat that they really love, without doing all the work. Also, it’s closer to how they used to feast in the olden days, with everyone coming together and sharing their harvests and edible creations.
It’s easy to get caught up in your hosting duties and try to do everything yourself. But just like a potluck will ease your cooking burden, there are other ways your guests can help reduce your stress. When they offer, take them up on it! Remember, you are hosting the event, which is a gift to your guests. But a party is a group activity, and, therefore, it’s okay for the group to help put it together. Everyone should be able to celebrate with as little stress as possible. Help is love.
Once the party is winding down and it’s time for your guests to return to their own homes, you will most likely be faced with leftovers. One of the easiest ways to deal with all the excess food (if it’s too much for your household to eat) is to make to-go containers for your guests. Request they bring their own or pick up an inexpensive multipack (most grocery stores have them), and let everyone take some of the excess food away. Just make sure to keep some too!
And that last note really brings us to this final tip: Make sure to enjoy yourself. Eat those appetizers, listen to that music, toast with your guests, and savor the main meal. Treat yourself to a holiday-themed pillow or two. And remember the feast for days to come with the leftovers you saved. Never forget that you’re hosting a celebration, and everyone should have a great time—especially you!
As the holiday season approaches, hosting gatherings with friends and family can be one of the most rewarding experiences. While it’s easy to get caught up in the details, the most important thing is the time spent together. Your guests will remember the laughter, the warmth, and the thoughtfulness that went into making them feel special.
Hosting can feel overwhelming at times, but when done right, it creates cherished memories. The holidays are a time to celebrate, and your home is the heart of it all. With a little bit of planning, you can create a truly unforgettable holiday experience in your Miller & Smith home.