Five Holiday Hosting Tips

 

At this point in my life, I've hosted holiday gatherings for close to 40 years. When my son was little, I would have my family over for a Christmas Eve party each year. Once the girls were born, it turned into hosting my family on Christmas Eve and my husband's family on Christmas Day. Nowadays, I share holiday hosting duties with my sister-in-law. 

Here are five tips I've learned to make holiday hosting easier.

Plan Early

Whether writing invitations, trying new recipes, or figuring out how many chairs you need, make a plan at least three months in advance. This gives you time to deal with the unexpected or failed food attempts. 

Inventory Your Pantry Ahead of Time

How many times have you been partway through a recipe and discovered you are out of a key ingredient? Thanks to the Internet and that beautiful modern invention, the cell phone, you might learn of a substitute, but some ingredients can't easily be switched out. A month before the big day, grab non-perishables. 

Shop Sales

Speaking of non-perishables, ingredients like flours, sugars, and spices are often on sale each holiday. Grab an extra package if you have room. Buy paper products, disposable serving dishes, and decorations for next year's gathering at the end of the season. 

Make Food Ahead

Not everything needs to be fresh out of the oven. You can make appetizers, desserts, and sides ahead of time so that you can spend less time in the kitchen on the day of your event and more time with guests. 

Photo credit: Freepik

Clean Dishes As You Go

This is a daily practice in my kitchen. Cooking is hard work. The minute I sit down to dinner with my guests, I no longer feel like navigating a mountain of dirty dishes. So, most of the pots, pans, and prep dishes are cleaned up as I go. During holiday celebrations, I clear the table between courses and put the dishes in the dishwasher, so there is less to clean up once we are finished. It makes a HUGE difference. 

Journey through Christmases Past - Christmas 2001

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Let's take a journey into 2001 to see what it was like. Though it seems like it has been around for longer, Wikipedia launched in January 2001. Shaggy released "Angel" with Rayvon the same month, and celebrated the UK release of "It Wasn't Me" with RikRok in February. As the first quarter of 2001 came to a close, the MIR Space Station was deorbited after 15 years. 

As the year burbled along, Windows XP was finalized for a fall release, and Spy Kids, Shrek, and The Princess Diaries hit theaters. Then the world changed...

On September 11, as I sat with my newborn daughter in our family room, the phone rang. My husband said, "Turn the TV on and tell me what the h*** is going on." 

For weeks, we sat glued to our televisions. The skies were eerily quiet. The loss of life was unimaginable. 

In the days and weeks that followed, candles were lit, patriotic decor was seen in and around houses, in stores, and even on cars. Charity and support for victims' families surged, and for the first time in recent history that I can recall, the dedication and sacrifices of first responders were acknowledged and celebrated. 

As we entered the last quarter of 2001, we adjusted to our new reality, and we welcomed distractions like Sammy Sosa hitting over 60 home runs for the third time, the 75th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the comforting Christmas classics like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Christmas Story, and Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas that reminded us of simpler times. 

Though the recently launched iPod and Game Boy Advance were now available, Harry Potter merchandise filled the stores, and DVDs were now mainstream, this Christmas focused on family, hometown heroes, and patriotism.

Journey Through Christmases Past - Christmas 1918

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

My father used to say that he would rather owe you something than cheat you out of it. So, here is Sunday's post on a Friday. Hopefully, I will have the bandwidth to give you another post this coming weekend. 

In honor of Women's History Month, today's journey will take us back to the year 1918. World War I had been raging since July 1914, significantly affecting homes and economies as women showed they were more than homemakers or domestic servants. With men away fighting, women replaced them in the workforce, including in factories, shipyards, and steel mills. They served as nurses near the front lines and assisted war efforts by taking on the roles of drivers, translators, and administrative staff. 

While battles were waged on distant shores, in the United States, the military identified the Spanish Flu in the spring of 1918. The Flu Pandemic of 1918 spread across the globe, killing at least 50,000 people worldwide. A second wave of the flu emerged at Camp Devens outside Boston and at a Boston naval facility in September. Another wave came in November 1918, as people celebrated the Armistice that ended the war. 

Barracks Decorated for Christmas

Photo credit: Oak Bay History Facebook Page 

Contributor: Jim Wolf

Christmas 1918, often referred to as "Peace Christmas," was a time for people to grieve and reflect. Families observed quiet memorials for lost loved ones. Christmas trees were smaller, if they were put up at all. Church services honored those who would never come home. Many service members spent Christmas 1918 overseas, as they awaited transportation home. Because of the pandemic, gatherings were smaller, and hospitals were full of patients and weary staff. 

Bismarck Daily Tribune (Bismarck, ND, Dec 24, 1918)

Photo credit: Library of Congress

Despite all this, "Peace Christmas" gave people hope. Newspapers featured pictures of returning troops, they printed President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points," and they spoke of how determined people were to mark the holiday memorably. President Wilson traveled to France to have dinner with troops before the beginning of the Paris Peace Conference. 

As men arrived home, they expected to return to the jobs women willingly filled while they were away. But the women were no longer the same. They knew what they could accomplish. They returned to their domestic lives forever changed, while the rest of the world wanted to return to the way things used to be. As a result, women propelled the suffrage movement forward. The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed by Congress in 1919 and ratified in 1920. After WWI, schools admitted more women, and women entered male-dominated fields like medicine and engineering. 

"Peace Christmas" reminds us that when the world finally grew quiet again, women were standing at a crossroads. Not only did women know what they were capable of, but their daughters grew up watching them help the war effort while tending the fires at home, and once it was all over, they witnessed their mothers help to rebuild a world with expanded opportunities for women. 

Christmas Picture Book Review: Small Camel Follows the Star by Rachel W. N. Brown

Join small camel as he journeys with Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar, following a star to deliver special packages to a newborn king.

Small Camel Follows the Star by Rachel W. N. Brown tells the story of the Three Wise Men visiting the Holy Family from a young camel's perspective. A calf of one of Balthazar's camels, Small Camel and his mother watch as Balthazar studies long scrolls filled with important lines and words. On the night a bright star appears, Balthazar announces they must prepare for a journey. Unsure of why he is being chosen to join the caravan, Small Camel endures an arduous journey while they add two more packages to his back. Will he be happy when they arrive?

Small Camel Follows the Star is a heartwarming way to share a story we know well. Everything about this story is precious: Small Camel's curiosity about Balthazar and their journey, his overhearing what the three men say, his wondering about what he is carrying, and the book's touching ending. With beautiful artwork by Guiliano Ferri, Small Camel Follows the Star is certain to be a wonderful and unique way to share a well-known Christmas story.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B098Z44XY7
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Albert Whitman & Company
• Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 2007
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 12.2 MB
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled 
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled 
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807590362
• Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled 
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool - 3
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 4 - 8 years

I borrowed this book from the local library. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. This book appears to only be available in digital format for sale.

Haven't Forgotten You

 

Photo credit: asier_relampagoestudio on Freepik.com

In case you're wondering where this week's "Journey through Christmases Past" article is, please know I haven't forgotten you. I had a deadline over the weekend. Hope to have a post up on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

Journey through Christmases Past: Holiday Foods & Confections of My Childhood

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Welcome back to Journey through Christmases Past. I had so much fun sharing some of the toys from my childhood, maybe we should cover some of the foods from my childhood holidays as well. 

One of the wonderful things about the holidays is welcoming extended family into your home and sitting around the dinner table laughing and catching up. As a child, I didn't realize what a blessing it was that so much of our extended family remained local, and that our family in Canada was close enough to pay Massachusetts an occasional visit.

Like many families, ours traditionally cooked the same foods and had the same treats and confections each year. My mother made an amazing turkey with mashed potatoes. We had butternut squash and turnips (my dad's favorite). We served French meat stuffing as the dressing. I was an adult before I even realized bread stuffing existed. 

Photo credit: tasteofhome.com

French meat stuffing combines potato, beef, pork, onion, butter, brown sugar, and broth, along with a variety of herbs and spices to create a more savory than sweet stuffing. My oldest sister shared her recipe with me--which is said to be close to our mother's--but here is one from Taste of Home that you can try. Let me know what you think if you decide to make it.

I'm certain every home in the 70s and 80s had a bowl of shelled nuts in the family room for guests to snack on while they waited for dinner to be served. 

Photo credit: 80s Kids Rule Facebook page

Our silver bowl of nuts made an appearance every major holiday--Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, but we never had shelled nuts or saw the bowl otherwise. 

Another holiday treat was buttermints. Now, I didn't know the name of this delectable, melt-in-your-mouth peppermint until a few years ago, but they still sell them. 

Photo credit: r/Nostalgia on Reddit

 I also found a recipe to make them on The First Year blog. Click here to check the recipe out.

One treat I had a love/hate relationship with was ribbon candy. Loved the look and the joy of displaying the ribbons on a plate, but the candy was hard to get out of your back teeth. 

Photo credit: candylandstore.com

This sticky-sweet candy, meant to look like ribbons you wrapped gifts with, was originally from Europe, with the crimps being handmade. As Shari Goldhagen states in her article for Harry & David's The Table, a Massachusetts dentist invented the first mechanical candy crimper. You can read the full article here. 

One confection from my childhood that is still seen in my home today is Thin Mints.

Photo credit: candyaddict.com

I have loved mint confections for as long as I can remember, and it was not a holiday unless Haviland Thin Mints were set out for after-dinner snacking at my childhood house. According to this Wikipedia article, they were originally produced in Minnesota and have origins going back to at least World War II. Our local Big Y sells a version of these creamy mint treats under its brand, and I know Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming when I see them out near the registers. 

What are some holiday foods and confections you remember from your childhood? 

 

Journey through Christmases Past - Christmas 1955

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Welcome to Christmas 1955. This is a year when the Cold War is bubbling, the Civil Rights Movement is in full swing, and Elvis is about a month away from appearing on live television for the first time.

In April of that year, Ray Kroc opens his first McDonald's franchise, and the polio vaccine is announced as safe and effective. Disneyland opens in California that summer, and the television set is now an American staple, owned by more than 50% of homes. 

A decade beyond the end of World War II, the "Golden Age of Capitalism" finds the United States producing nearly half the world's goods, television ads bring new products directly into our homes, and what will become known as the midcentury modern style introduces exciting and new decor and furnishings. Check out this book for more about the midcentury kitchen. 

Photo credit: Heinz History Center

Mr. Potato Head, introduced in 1952, is a popular toy in 1955, and holds the distinct honor of being the first toy advertised on television. Originally, inventor George Lerner designed Mr. Potato Head as a kit of plastic pieces that could be added to any kitchen vegetable. His plastic body would not hit the market until 1964. 

Photo credit: The Henry Ford Museum

Another desired toy for Christmas is Silly Putty. Invented by General Electric while they were seeking ways to combat the rubber shortage during World War II, this stretchy, bouncing material became famous thanks to an article in The New Yorker. 

Thanks to the prosperity families experience after the war, adults are curious to find ways to make their lives easier. 

Photo credit: AbeBooks

The happy homemaker might enjoy this cookbook to go with their new handheld electric mixer. Perhaps, the well-dressed man will request a new wool coat or fedora. And with Rock and Roll gaining popularity this decade, a new Philco portable phonograph might be just the thing to play your records. 

Looking for midcentury holiday trends? Check out Midcentury Christmas by Sarah Archer.