A simple holiday hosting checklist

Hosting a holiday dinner is mostly a list of small jobs. Spread them out and the evening feels calm. Leave them for the last hour and it doesn't. Here is the list we use, from a week out to the moment guests sit down.

A week before

• Confirm the guest list and ask about allergies and food preferences.
• Plan the menu, including one dish you can make entirely ahead.
• Count plates, glasses, cutlery and chairs. Borrow what's missing now, not on the day.
• Decide on drinks, including good non-alcoholic options.
• Order anything you need delivered, and allow for holiday shipping times.

Two or three days before

• Shop for everything that keeps.
• Clear the fridge to make room.
• Make the dish that can be made ahead.
• Wrap small host gifts or take-home treats. A bottle gift bag makes a wrapped bottle easy.

The day before

• Set the table. It's one job you can cross off completely.
• Chill white and sparkling wine and any other cold drinks.
• Put out coasters, napkins and a spot for coats.
• Prepare a small drinks station so guests can help themselves.

An hour before

• Open the red wine and set out the pouring tools: a foil cutter, a drip ring, or an electric aerator if you like to pour with one hand.
• Put glass charms out with the glasses, so everyone can tell which glass is theirs.
• Empty the sink and the drying rack, so dirty plates have somewhere to go.
• Light candles, start music, and take ten minutes for yourself.

At the table

• Pour the first round yourself, then let guests top up.
• Keep a jug of water on the table.
• Clear between courses, but leave the washing up for later.

Afterwards

Send leftovers home with guests, soak the roasting pan, and leave the rest for the morning. Please enjoy responsibly, and make sure everyone has a safe way home.

By June Finds. We sell some of the things mentioned here, and we link to them where they fit.