Shanna Hatfield - Savvy Holiday Entertaining

by

USA Today Bestselling Author

SHANNA HATFIELD

Savvy Holiday Entertaining

Copyright 2011

by Shanna Hatfield

All rights reserved. This publication may notbe reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic ormechanical methods, without the prior written permission of theauthor, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in criticalreviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyrightlaw.

For permission requests, please contact theauthor, with a subject line of "permission request at the emailaddress below or through her website.

Shanna Hatfield

shanna@shannahatfield.com

shannahatfield.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook.Although this is an ebook, it remains the copyrighted property ofthe author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed forcommercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book,please encourage your friends to download their own copy atSmashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by thisauthor. Thank you for your support.

Table of Contents

Growing up on a working farm in the country,we often hosted large gatherings of family and friends during theholidays. It was during these festive gatherings that I learnedmany lessons about feeding a crowd, preparing in advance, andmaking food stretch from my mom while my dad taught me throughexample about being a gracious host.

In the following pages, discover tips Ivecollected that I hope help you relax and enjoy entertaining thisholiday season.

For more ideas, tips, party themes andrecipes, visit my website at shannahatfield.com

Wishing you and your family the happiest ofholiday seasons! May every gathering in your home be one filledwith lovely moments and warm memories.

Choosing what you will serve your guests isone of the most important party decisions.

If people will be standing and talking,choose a variety of simple finger foods. If you are planning abuffet, serve one or two entres with four to six side dishes plusa dramatic dessert.

When selecting what beverages to serve,remember to offer a selection. Stock up on ice a few days beforethe event. Coffee is also a welcome addition to most any type ofgathering. Always offer water.

Whenever you entertain, remember to keep itsimple! That is the secret every savvy host knows. A harriedhostess isnt fun at all. So if you are pressed for time or on atight budget think about serving one single main dish and a fewsides. Round out the meal with a big fresh green salad and adessert (no one will care if you ran by the bakery!).

Find your signature dish and stick to it! Doyou make magical lasagna? Are you the queen of chicken casserole?Whatever you can pull off with your eyes closed should be the onething you rely on again and again.

Quick Tip: Offer bread with the meal. Even picky eaters willeat a piece of warm bread. You could serve hot rolls, biscuits,crusty French bread, crostini, bread sticks, gourmet crackers, popovers, etc.

The best way to get through the holidays isto get organized.

Here is an easy game plan designed to helpkeep you on track, cut down on stress and get you through theholidays with a little more order and a little lessfly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants.

Start by looking at your calendar, organizeror day planner. Pull out all those post-it notes with dates andappointments scribbled on them and start entering them into yourcalendar. The idea is to get everything into one calendar so youcan see at a glance what days you have appointments and commitmentsand what days you have open.

Think about everything coming up in the nextmonth like church programs, rehearsals, the kids school concerts,any parties or gatherings you will be attending, any doctorappointments, hair appointments, manicures and pedicures (if youare so lucky!), and so on. Get all those dates entered into yourcalendar.

Now, make a list of all the things you wantto accomplish before Christmas. Are you planning to send outholiday cards? Will you be doing holiday baking? Hosting a party?Making ornaments? Having the best outdoor light display on yourblock?

Write down everything you would like to dothis holiday season.

Once your list is complete, compare it toyour calendar. What dates are open? You will probably findthat your want-to-do list is far longer than the dates you haveavailable.

Be realistic.

This is a very important step to maintainingyour sanity and some level of fun through the holidays. Setrealistic expectations and stick to them. The holiday season, nomatter how hard you wish for it, will not magically bestow you withsuper-hero powers that enable you to accomplish the impossible ormiraculously stretch time so you can add an extra three hours ofactivities into each day.

What can you cut out or cut down? Instead ofbaking yourself silly for two days straight, why not invite over afew friends for an afternoon, bake together, share the spoils, andbe happy with your accomplishments. Do you really need to make 14different kinds of Christmas cookies?

What can you delegate? Your spouse and kidscan certainly put up outdoor lights. The kids can makeornaments. Your spouse can handle a few extraresponsibilities. Dont be afraid to spread around the chores. Youdont have to do it all yourself. Really!

Take another look at that want-to-do list.Circle the top five things you absolutely want to happen and choosedates to enter them on your calendar. Look at the rest of your listand decide what other things could be delegated or could beoptional. And when I say optional, I mean that if they happen, thatis great, but if they dont you will not allow yourself to stressor fuss because they didnt. That is why they areoptional. Get it? Great!

And please remember, at the center of all theholiday hub-bub, no one cares if your house is perfectly decorated,if your cookies came from the store or your holiday greetingswerent the first out this year. Youll find what your family andfriends really care about is the relationships, spending timeenjoying one another and sharing from the heart.

If you focus on that, I guarantee youll havea very Happy Holiday season.

Quick Tip: Choose one day on yourcalendar between now and Christmas that is just for you. Thatsright! A day just for you. Whether you spend it getting a massage,reading a good book by the fire, or at the spa with a friend (oh,sign me up for that one!), carve out one day for you to rest andrecharge. Youll be glad you did and so will your family. Youllfeel refreshed and ready to tackle all the jolly holiday fun youcan handle.

As you begin preparations for your event,think about the stability of the food you are serving. Will it needto be kept cold or hot? What does it look and taste like at roomtemperature?