Keeping a List and Checking It Twice (Part 1)

I am excited to share the first of a four part series revolving around Christmas prep! 

I would like to introduce our guest blogger who will share her tricks and tips for the upcoming holiday.   Meet Elizabeth who is currently planning to host a number of out of town guests over Christmas and New Years.   Elizabeth works full time, takes care of her sweet new puppy Lucy, and hosts numerous dinner parties.  Let's call her a younger Martha Stewart.  

Keeping a List and Checking It Twice

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why – the in-laws are coming to town!

It’s true, friends.  I have a mere 19 days until my husband’s family arrives at our home in Arlington, VA for 11 days.  Now, I am a lucky girl because I genuinely adore my husband’s family; but, the thought of hosting, feeding, and entertaining nine adults and two children under five is daunting.  My technique to ensure a low-stress and high-fun holiday this year?  Planning.  Serious serious planning. 

Now, I love to-do lists a lot, but I knew a list wasn’t going to cut it this year.   I needed to be able to organize my thoughts by category and then sort/list the to-do items within each category.  I also wanted to tie those tasks to a calendar to ensure I didn’t procrastinate and end up having to feed my family Chinese food for Christmas dinner a la A Christmas Story.  Fa-Ra-Ra, anyone?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTq20prt0K8

So my plan of attack looks something like this.  I have four categories:

•  Meals/food
• Housekeeping and decorating
• Entertainment
•  Gifts

Within each category lives a serious to-do list with each task given a date (or range of dates) to complete.  I did an epic data-dump/brainstorming session to try and get every possible little item down on paper (actually, it’s a Google Drive document).  Getting out of my head and into my planning document was liberating because the stress of trying to remember what I need to do gets overwhelming.  As I think of more things, I just plop them into the document.  Easy.

Over the next week or so, I’ll talk about each category and share what I’m working on and give some tips that have helped me.  Hopefully, they’ll help you, too.

Let's start with meal and food prep. 

There are three things that anyone hosting the Pearsons should know:

1. They travel in large groups.
2. They have crazy awesome metabolisms.  So, basically, they eat twice their weight at every meal and are still as thin as supermodels
3. Their energy is boundless.

Let’s call this trifecta the ”Pearson Effect.”  I have witnessed the Pearson Effect many times, but one particular instance will be burned in my memory forever, mostly because it involved watching an outsider experiencing it for the first time.  Picture it.  Quaint Italian villa in Umbria.  The entire Pearson clan is invited to spend two weeks as the guest of family friends, who are also staying at the villa.  The family friends, anticipating our arrival, purchase groceries for the first week.  Pearsons arrive.  Pearsons eat the entire supply of groceries within hours.  The family friend can’t understand how she underestimated the volume of food necessary to feed her guests.

I swear this happened.  So, maybe now you can understand the need for me to prepare for their arrival.  

Maybe your family has a similar ability to eat their way through life?  If so, here are some things I’m doing that may help you, too.

Research recipes: Start flagging recipes that look like they’d fit everyone’s palate and dietary restrictions.  I look for those that are freezer friendly or can be easily/quickly assembled, too.

Make a meal chart: It sounds anal retentive, and maybe it is, but it works.  Put down every day, every meal, and account for snacks, too.  This also will help you make your grocery list and keep your budget in check.  I use my trusty Google Drive to make and maintain this chart.

Use coupons or specials: I never really had an interest in coupons until my husband started showing my how much we can save on things like paper towels, dish soap, paper plates, toilet paper, etc.  Watch the newspapers or in-store specials to stock up on these items BEFORE you need them. 

Pre-Cook:  It’s hard to play hostess and chef at the same time.  To avoid that stressful situation, I’m cooking some dishes in advance and freezing them.  The hard work I’m putting in now will pay off when I can spend time enjoying my guests’ company, rather than slaving away for hours in the kitchen.  Check out the lasagna I made and froze last night. 

My last tip is one that I just discovered and it may not be available in your area: online grocery shopping.  Now I love going to the grocery store, especially my beloved Whole Foods (cue angels singing), BUT this service is saving me hours of my life.  It also is keeping me on target with regard to buying the things I actually need.  I research/choose my recipes, create my shopping list online to buy the ingredients, and then schedule pick up.  The nice people at Harris Teeter do the shopping, bag the groceries, and run my card.  All I have to do is pick them up and pay them a mere $5.  Ah-maze-ing.   Really, check it out.   Well, unless you live in North Arlington, VA -- I’m pretty sure I bought out the store this week in preparation for the impending Pearson Effect.