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How to Plan Christmas Dinner
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Are you in charge of planning Christmas dinner this year? If so, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed at the thought of cooking a large meal for your extended family.
With a little advance planning, you can make Christmas dinner a breeze. Here's what you need to do.
Table of contents
1. Choose a date and time for dinner
Christmas falls on December 25th every year, so that's the most obvious day to have your dinner. However, depending on your family's availability, you may want to hold the dinner on another day. Once you've chosen a date, decide whether you want to have an early dinner or a late one. This will determine how long you have to prepare the food.
2. Make a guest list
Now that you know when you're having dinner, it's time to make a guest list. First, decide whether you want to invite just immediate family or extended family as well. Once you've decided who you're inviting, make sure to get their contact information so you can send them invitations. Since you are the one hosting, you’re the person that gets to decide who you want to invite.
3. Choose a menu
Now comes the fun part, choosing what everyone will eat! If you're not sure what to make, ask your guests if they have any dietary restrictions or food allergies. Once you know everyone's preferences, you can start looking for recipes online or in cookbooks. Make sure to choose dishes that can be prepared in advance so you're not stuck in the kitchen all day on Christmas Eve! An easy Christmas dinner menu will do just fine!
4. Ask everyone to bring a dish
Cooking everything for the Christmas dinner could be a big task for one person. This is why asking everyone to bring a dish is a good idea. It’s fairly traditional to ask each family to bring at least one thing to the dinner. You can request that they bring something specific, or they can bring whatever they’d like. If you’ve never planned a big dinner before, then you know that this can be a huge help!
5. Do your grocery shopping
Planning a traditional Christmas dinner menu? A few days before Christmas, head to the grocery store and pick up everything you need for the big meal. If possible, try to do all of your shopping in one trip so you don't have to make multiple trips and lug around heavy bags of groceries.
If you don’t LOVE grocery shopping, then consider placing an online order and picking it up or having it delivered. Doing something like this can save you a ton of time when you already don’t have much time at all.
Planning Christmas dinner doesn't have to be stressful! By following these simple steps and doing some advance planning, you can ensure that everything goes smoothly and that everyone enjoys themselves. It’s time to put on your holiday music, pour yourself a glass of eggnog, and get started on your Christmas plans today!
Do you have any tips on how to cook Christmas dinner? Leave your tips below!
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- First published: 12/6/2022
- Written by Allison Lancaster, photos by Sara Maniez
Allison Lancaster is a blogger and work-at-home mom. She has always had a passion for writing and after becoming a mom in 2015, decided to turn her passion into her career. Her writing has been featured in the Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, and more. She resides in Tennessee with her husband and two children.
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