How to be the ultimate Christmas Host this festive season
Published on Mon Dec 6 2021 in Family
Hosting Christmas is not for the faint hearted! Some love the process of planning, shopping, preparing and entertaining, but for others, it can be hard work. Managing expectations of the perfect Christmas – both other peoples and our own can be difficult, so here are some helpful hints to make what can be a stressful time, just a little bit easier.
Preparing the house
Hosting Christmas isn’t just about cooking all the food and making sure drinks are topped up, much of the work comes before the event in getting the house ready for company. From preparing guest bedrooms and finding extra bedding, to cleaning and arranging the furniture to accommodate extra guests and chairs around the table, a lot of work goes into preparing for a crowd.
Here are some tips to help reduce the workload before the event:
- Get the kids to clean the house ahead of time – they can earn a little extra cash, or you can pay them in lieu, with something they may like such as extra screen time.
- Ask guests sleeping over to bring their own bedding – it’s easier than finding bedding for all, and a bonus is they’ll take it home themselves to wash.
- For extra guest bedroom space, pitch a tent in the back yard. To make it a bit special, turn it into a glamping experience with blow up beds, solar lanterns, a rug, and floor cushions.
- Hire out any jobs that you can – no medals are given for doing it all on your own, and it’s the time of year where people are looking for a bit of extra cash. Maybe you know people who are happy to be hired for lawnmowing, gardening, cleaning and even catering?
The Christmas meal
Probably the most stressful task of hosting is the food preparation, cooking and serving of the main Christmas meal. With a traditional menu, it’s a juggling act to have all elements of the meal ready and hot all at the same time.
Here are some ideas to help relieve the burden of cooking on Christmas day:
- Ask everyone to bring a specific dish and bring their own drinks – not only do they have their preferred choice of drink, but all you need to do is provide the ice.
- Utilise outdoor cooking and hot plates – oven space will be at a premium and it helps keep the heat out of the kitchen. For larger numbers, you can hire a spit, as it cooks itself with very little tending.
- Use disposable oven dishes and plates to minimise the washing up – there’s always someone who asks if they can help, take them up on their offer and put them on clean-up duty.
- Create a menu of cold or make ahead food – the Christmas meal doesn’t have to follow the tradition of a hot roast. Cold cuts and salad, or a seafood platter may even be a welcome relief on a hot summer’s day.
Entertainment
If providing an elaborate meal wasn’t enough, the host is often expected to provide entertainment, or at the least, activities to keep the kids entertained. To take the pressure off, why not try some of these suggestions:
- Give the job of organising activities such as backyard games to someone who you know will enjoy it and do it well – that relative who is a teacher or kids sports coach, they will know exactly how to keep the kids occupied.
- Do Secret Santa, where everyone only brings and receives one present each. It not only minimises gifting-stress for everyone, but also results in less wrapping paper sprawled around and less chance of small items getting broken or left behind.
- Have your guests provide the entertainment - ask guests to prepare and perform some type of talent, skit, magic trick or similar. Not only does it solve the problem of entertaining everyone, but it’s also sure to be full of laughs all-round.
Celebrate outdoors
From crumb clean-up by the ants, to hosing off the spills, hosting Christmas outdoors is one of the best hacks. Many people worldwide wish they could take the celebrations outside, but cannot due to cold weather, so why not take advantage of our warm Christmas season and enjoy the day outside.
Our climate gives us the perfect opportunity to avoid the stress of having everyone over and instead meet at a fun location where the entertainment is ‘built-in’. After all, what could be easier than a simple picnic Christmas lunch at the beach or up by the local river?
As with all outdoors events, ensure you have a contingency plan for bad weather. A pop-up gazebo is always a good idea, not just for rain, but also for shade in case the day is a little too hot.
No matter what, try to keep it stress-free
Guests can sense when the host is stressed which can lead to an uneasy feeling for all, so try and keep it as stress-free as possible. Remember the day is also for the host to enjoy, so the more you can do before the big day, the less you will need to worry about. Which means a more relaxed and enjoyable Christmas for you!
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About Author: Momentum Life is a leading provider of Life insurance and Funeral insurance in New Zealand.
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