If you are playing host or hostess this year, you’re probably wondering how to prep your kitchen for the holidays so you can enjoy the festivities. Experienced hosts in Southern Colorado know that holiday entertaining isn’t about making everything from scratch or winning the best host award. It’s about creating an atmosphere of warmth and good company that everyone will remember fondly after the end-of-year celebrations are over.
However, no matter how much you love having friends over for dinner, holiday entertaining can feel like a lot of pressure! To help you destress and enjoy the season, here are six practical tips to prep your kitchen for holiday entertaining.
Clean and Declutter
The first step to hosting with ease is deep cleaning your kitchen. Wipe down your cabinets, countertops, sink and garbage disposal, clean your appliances, and give your kitchen floor a good scrubbing. Once your kitchen is spic-and-span, turn your attention to clutter.
The kitchen is the center of activities for most busy Colorado Springs families. From keys and mail to school projects, the kitchen seems to be the room that collects “stuff” the fastest. Because of this, one of the best ways to prep your kitchen for the holidays is to declutter countertops, cabinets, drawers and the front of the refrigerator.
A clean and tidy kitchen will make switching into party-planning mode much easier and create a space that feels good for both you and your guests.
For tips on decluttering your space, please read our article How to Get Rid of Clutter in the Kitchen: The 5 Best Strategies.
Test Your Appliances Ahead of Time
Imagine this scene. You have guests arriving in about an hour for your holiday dinner. You placed the turkey in the oven early this morning and are about to pop the dinner rolls in the oven so they are piping hot in time for dinner. Only you open the oven door and find that your oven is cold. Not because you didn’t turn the heat on, but because the heating element has gone out. Even calling a reliable appliance repair company to service the oven immediately will not solve the problem of guests arriving hungry with no way to satisfy their appetites.
You can easily avoid this problem by testing your appliances before your holiday celebrations and then repairing or replacing your kitchen appliances as needed.
Evaluate Your Space and Create a Sustainable Flow for Foot Traffic
Once your kitchen is clean and free of clutter, the next step to prep your kitchen for the holidays is to evaluate your available space. This includes where you will be prepping and plating food.
If you are serving a buffet-style meal, plan for plates, napkins, and utensils at the beginning of the buffet, and then lay out your side dishes and main course accordingly.
While planning, don’t forget to use vertical and horizontal space. Hanging a basket for silverware or napkins, or open up a nearby cabinet to store plates, condiments, and salt and pepper. You may find having a separate station for drinks and mixing cocktails will open up counter space for the main dish and sides.
However you plan your counter space, ensure you leave enough room for entry and exit from your kitchen. Even tiny kitchens can be great for entertaining when you consider foot traffic and workflow.
You Might Like: Tips For Designing The Perfect Kitchen For Entertaining
Update Your Dishes and Serving Ware
If your dishes and serving ware require an upgrade, now is the time to replace them. Even if your overall home design tends toward shabby chic, during holiday gatherings, the emphasis should be less on shabby and more on chic. The holidays are a perfect time to break from your norm and incorporate the colors and decor of the season into your serving ware and dishes.
Clean Out and Restock Your Pantry
You have likely given much thought and consideration to what you will serve at your holiday event. You plan to shop for the necessary ingredients for those dishes a day or two before the party.
Whether you are hosting a formal, sit-down dinner, a pot-luck-style buffet, or appetizers and happy hour, nothing is worse than realizing the day of the party that you do not have everything you need. Prep your kitchen for the holidays by cleaning out your pantry and taking stock of everyday items you may need to restock before the event. Items such as spices, butter, coffee, tea, creamer, paper towels, and garbage bags are easy to forget until we find ourselves out of them.
Day of Party Preparations
The day is finally here, and you have done everything you can ahead of time to prep your kitchen for the holidays. Here are a few items to keep in mind before your guests arrive:
Wipe down the kitchen one last time, especially if you have spent most of the day cooking. A clean kitchen will keep you stress-free and help you spend more time mingling and less time cleaning while you have guests.
Take out the kitchen trash, so all garbage cans are empty before guests arrive. This is a fundamental cleaning step that will add to everyone’s enjoyment.
Light a few candles, arrange festive decor, and turn on your favorite holiday soundtrack. And most of all, relax! Your efforts to prep your kitchen for the holidays are about to pay off!
Prep Your Kitchen For the Holidays and Everyday
Did these tips to prep your kitchen for the holidays make you realize that your kitchen is less than ideal for entertaining? If so, Designer Kitchens can help. From design to execution, our team of Certified Kitchen Designers is ready to help you get the kitchen of your dreams