Nov 26, 2015
It’s time to deck the halls again!
I used to think decorating for Christmas was daunting – where does THAT item go… Was it on the mantle or on top of the piano? Or was it in the guest room?… I used to overthink it too much and decorating took forever.
The came a simple (but time-saving idea) – a “cheat sheet”! Since I started it a few years ago, the pressure to remember all the ins and outs of the decorations has been lifted (aahhhhhhhh). It’s simple, really. Each year, I take photos of my holiday decoration details, the layout of my Snow Village, the mantle, the kitchen, etc. Then, before I pack everything up once Christmas is over, I print out the photos (wallet size) and store them in page protectors WITH my decorations. That way, when it’s time to drag it all out again, I have a reminder of how it was done the year before. It’s a basic idea, but it saves me SO much time (and stress over deciding where everything will go). The beauty of it is that I still leave room for change – moving things around – and I do, that keeps it interesting. I just make sure to document the change with a photo so I can recreate it the following year. Holiday decorations will always be a work in progress, but having a guide makes delving into the talk a lot faster and easier!
If you like this idea, you might also like this Holiday Tip for packing away garland.
Nov 18, 2015
I love planning a holiday meal. As new food magazine issues emerge on the shelves, I start collecting them – and scouring them – using page flags and sticky notes to mark interesting recipes.
I’m lucky that my family is laid back when it comes to holiday meals. They usually leave the menu up to me, and I love the responsibility – it lets me get a little creative!
A decision on the protein comes first – turkey, ham, duck, Cornish game hen, seafood? From there I plan the sides carefully… and yes, I write it all down on one big list. (Normally I make a list of possible sides and then mark them off based on relevance to the protein.) Once I’ve narrowed down my sides and desserts (the two hardest categories to whittle down), I make a shopping list. I go through the ingredients in each recipe and check it with items I have on hand. If I need something, it goes on the shopping list – with amounts needed jotted out to the side. So, if for example, I need butter for the green beans, butter for the mashed potatoes and butter for the dessert – I might have a side note of 1/2 cup + 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons… Before heading to the store, I do the math so I buy the right amount of each ingredient.
**My Holiday Grocery Shopping Trick – Buying in bulk (especially when everyone else is) can be a waiting game. Instead, plan out your shopping list early and conquer it by making more frequent, quick stops during the week leading up to the holiday. Plan to buy 10 items or less so you can go through the Express Lane – it’s a breeze and you’ll have all you need in no time, without having to wait 30-45 minutes in a long register line! **
I’ve made TWO free printables to help you with your Thanksgiving Dinner planning and shopping – just click on these links to download a thanksgiving menu planning and a thanksgiving shopping list.
Another clever idea for your holiday (and everyday) entertaining is to keep a Cooking Journal. I got this one years ago at Anthropologie, but any journal or notebook will do. In my food journal, I keep track of menus for holidays and other special get-togethers. It’s kind of like in the movie High Fidelity when John Cusack’s character reorganized his record collection in chronological order. If I remember that we loved the potatoes from last Easter but our favorite turkey was from Christmas 3 years ago, I can mix and match to create a better menu for the next holiday. It’s a good way to keep beloved recipes close at hand (if they’re well received I jot down the recipe in the book) – and I love to look back on what went over well and what didn’t.
Here’s a peek inside my cooking journal. I make notes of the event, date of the meal, who was in attendance and where the dinner was for future reference. I also include a rating out to the side of experimental dishes – stars if we loved the dish and X’s if we hated it… keeps us from repeating culinary mistakes. In this journal, I also experiment on recipes I’ve had and want to duplicate or recipes I’ve thrown together and liked. It’s where I keep track of my culinary adventures (and misadventures too).
I would recommend a cooking journal to any aspiring foodie… in fact, if you know a foodie who doesn’t have one, it might be a great Christmas gift idea.
It’s back to Thanksgiving dinner plans for me. Happy Thursday!
