The 7-Day Plan That Will Keep You Sane When Hosting Christmas Dinner

Don’t freak out, but Christmas is next week. If you’re hosting the Big Dinner, there’s a good chance you’re sweating right now, but we have a plan that may keep you from totally losing it.

There’s a common term in cooking called ‘mis en place,’ which translated from French means ‘everything in its place.’

As any good chef knows, it’s crucial to get your kitchen in order before service, otherwise, quite frankly, you’re screwed.

When we were kids we bore witness to many a harried holiday meal, where the host and hostess were more flustered than festive, leaving guests to entertain themselves in the living room while they buried themselves in the kitchen, scrambling to peel the potatoes, sweating over the stuffing, and getting into near fisticuffs when they realized they had run out of butter in the final hour.

Once we started working in restaurants, we quickly saw how the successful ones had their prep time down to a (lengthy) science (in many restaurants the kitchen staff would arrive as early as 7am to get ready for the lunch rush; dinner cooks began coming in around noon to get ready for the evening). So taking a page from their books, we employed the same steadfast ritual to planning, prepping and getting things done way ahead of time.

And just like a professional kitchen, we know that many hands make light work.  We divide and conquer, one of us taking care of the protein, the other taking care of the sides. Someone else may pick up the snacks and yet another will be in charge of dessert.  If someone’s not into cooking, then they take care of the bar, or vacuum up the pine needles before guests arrive.

Most of our heavy lifting is done in the week leading up to The Feast – just by doing a few simple tasks everyday means we can still have a life, and not crumble under the weight of a family-sized anxiety attack during the most wonderful time of the year.

This plan means on the Day-Of all we have to do is cook off the last minute items, like the turkey. The rest is reheated, assembled or simply served as-is, and we can have a holly-jolly Christmas, too.

Here’s a sample menu from what we typically serve, but we’ve also done a make-ahead menu swapping the turkey for roast beef, or the arugula salad for caesar salad. We’ve even swapped dinner for breakfast. The trick is to always create a menu where a good portion of it is done ahead of time.

Sample Menu

Afternoon Snacks:

• Cheeseboard
• Charcuterie
• Crudite & Dip

Dinner:

• Roast Turkey
• Sausage Stuffing
• Cranberry Sauce
• Wild Mushroom Gratin
• Green Beans with Roast Pine Nuts
• Braised Red Cabbage
• Arugula Salad with Toasted Pecans & Pomegranate
• Bread pudding with caramel sauce

How To Get it Done

1 Week Before (or longer if you wish)

1. Get a list together. After you decide on the menu (here’s a hint – serve dishes that have ingredients with sturdy shelf lives, you’ll know why when you get to 4 Days Before). Once you’ve got the menu, write a list of all ingredients you will need, double checking on the ones you swear you have enough of in-house. Don’t forget candles, lighters, flowers, extra TP, and paper napkins.
2. Also make a list of the dishes you plan on using so you don’t double book grandma’s antique gravy boat.
3. Decide on drinks you will be serving
4. Organize music playlists

6 Days Before

1. Pick up your wine and liquor.  Try to do this as soon as they open to avoid the crazy line ups. Wondering how much to get? People generally drink two glasses in the first hour, and then slow down to one drink per hour after that.
2. Launder your table cloths and linen napkins, and polish your silverware and glassware that’s been out of use since the last major holiday you hosted.

Related: Video – How to Polish Wine Glasses

5 Days Before

1. Clean out your fridge and/or cold room to make room for the bountiful delights that will need to be stored somewhere.

4 Days Before

1. Shopping! It’s important to do this a good amount of time in advance as the traditional holiday items, like sage, fly off the shelves.  Remember when we suggested to select a menu with items that can be stored for a few days without going bad.  This is why.

3 Days Before

1. If your turkey’s frozen, now’s the time to let it thaw in the fridge.
2. Make your sauces: veggie dips, caramel sauce, salad dressing and cranberry sauce, if using homemade. Store in the fridge until ready to be used.
3. Grate cheese for gratin

2 Days Before

1. Braise red cabbage (it tastes better when left a few days) & store in a sealed container in fridge
2. Seed pomegranate for salad & store in fridge
3. Toast pine nuts and pecans & store in fridge
4. Saute mushrooms for gratin & store in fridge
5. Prep sausage for stuffing & store in fridge

1 Day Before

1. Cook potatoes and assemble gratin, cover tightly and store in fridge, unbaked
2. Prep green beans, store in fridge
3. Slice veggies for crudite platter
4. Make bread pudding, store in fridge, unbaked 
5. Assemble sausage stuffing
6. Set the table (get this done and out of the way – plus it adds to the “wow” factor for guests’ arrival)

 The Big Day!

Morning

1. Stuff the turkey & get it in the oven (exact timing depends on size of bird)
2. Assemble salad, leave undressed until just before serving
3. Tidy up the house

1-2 hours before guests arrive

1. Unwrap cheeses & assemble cheese board at least an hour before serving
2. Assemble charcuterie
3. Lay out veggies and dip, but keep assembled platter in fridge and take out when guests arrive
4. Set out bar

30 min before guests arrive

1. Light candles
2. Turn on music
3. Pour yourself a drink and relax!

There are some thngs that obviously have to be done when guests are present, but who cares? Grab a bottle of wine and a few pals and head into the kitchen to finish up the last minute stuff:

1. When turkey’s done, bring it out to rest for 30 minutes or so, and put the gratin into the hot oven to bake through
2. Put the cabbage on low-med heat on the burner to warm up
3. Make the gravy

As the turkey’s being carved

1. Assemble the green beans and pine nuts and give a quick saute in the pan, cover and keep warm until dinner
2. Toss the salad with dressing

While everyone’s eating

1. Put the bread pudding in the hot oven, and gently warm the caramel sauce on the stove top.

And that’s Christmas Dinner.