{"id":1968,"date":"2015-12-09T05:45:59","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T10:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runningahousehold.com\/?p=1968"},"modified":"2015-12-03T15:37:54","modified_gmt":"2015-12-03T20:37:54","slug":"planning-christmas-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runningahousehold.com\/?p=1968","title":{"rendered":"Planning Christmas Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you hosting\u00a0Christmas at your home this year? \u00a0If so, you’ll want to start planning for this special day.\u00a0 We\u2019re here to help, with a sample menu, guest tracker, cooking timeline and some\u00a0easy steps to follow.\u00a0 So let’s get planning.<\/p>\n

Planning Your\u00a0Christmas Dinner<\/strong><\/p>\n

Step 1:\u00a0<\/strong> Set the date, time and location.<\/p>\n

For this example, we will invite our guests to arrive at noon on\u00a0Christmas Day.\u00a0 Some larger families may choose to\u00a0hold this event earlier in the day as a breakfast, or later in the day as an evening meal.<\/p>\n

Note: We know that some guests will arrive a little earlier, and some will run late. Therefore, we expect the overall arrive time between 11:45 \u2013 12:15.<\/p>\n

Our social hour is planned for 12:00 – 1:00.\u00a0 We will plan to sit down to eat at 1:00.<\/p>\n

Step 2<\/strong>:\u00a0 Plan the menu.<\/p>\n

Fill out the\u00a0Christmas Dinner Menu to determine what you would like to serve.\u00a0 Ours will be a meals that is simple to prepare, with pork roast, baked potatoes, stuffing, and cinnamon carrots.<\/p>\n

Be sure to check out our\u00a0Sample Christmas Dinner Menu:<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/a><\/p>\n

Christmas Dinner – Sample Menu<\/a><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also included a blank printable page so that you can fill out one for your dinner:<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/a><\/p>\n

Christmas Dinner – Blank Menu<\/a><\/p>\n

Step 3:\u00a0 <\/strong>Invite Guests and track RSVPs<\/p>\n

Use our printable guest tracker to make sure you\u2019ve included everyone.\u00a0 Be sure to keep a phone number or email address handy, in case you need to contact them.<\/p>\n

\"Guest<\/a><\/p>\n

Guest Tracker<\/a><\/p>\n

Since this is a\u00a0large event, be prepared for people to offer to bring a dish.\u00a0 Lots of hands make for an easy day, so allow your guests to bring a dish.\u00a0 You can ask guests to bring something from your menu, or just add the\u00a0item to your planner.\u00a0 We usually add their dish to our\u00a0Christmas Dinner Planner, and write their name in parenthesis.<\/p>\n

For example:\u00a0\u00a0Cherry Pie\u00a0(Mom)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Centerpiece (Aunt Jane)<\/p>\n

Hint:<\/strong> If you are hosting a dinner, ask your guests bring an appetizer or dessert.\u00a0 That way, you can save time and energy preparing appetizers and making dessert.\u00a0 It will be much simpler to concentrate on the main course.<\/p>\n

Step 4:<\/strong>\u00a0 Clean home and set up for Christmas Day<\/p>\n

Do as much cleaning as you can ahead of time.\u00a0 It’s great if you can vacuum, dust, mop the floors, and finish your laundry earlier that week.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll want to reserve the 2-3 days before\u00a0Christmas to complete your grocery shopping, set the table, and\u00a0make the desserts.<\/p>\n

Step 5:<\/strong> Shop for supplies<\/p>\n

Some of the non-perishable or frozen items can be purchased ahead of time.\u00a0 We usually buy our pork roast 2-3 days before Christmas.<\/p>\n

Plan to do your grocery shopping two or three days before Christmas, so that\u00a0the fruit and vegetables are fresh.<\/p>\n

Step 6<\/strong>: Cooking Timeline<\/p>\n

Lastly, you will want to set up a tentative cooking schedule.\u00a0\u00a0Since\u00a0our Christmas\u00a0dinner is extremely simple, our timeline will be very basic.\u00a0 However, to ensure everything is hot, it is best to jot down a simple timeline.\u00a0 Here’s our Sample Cooking Timeline:<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/a><\/p>\n

Christmas Dinner Sample Cooking Timeline<\/a><\/p>\n

We hope that our menus, guest tracker and cooking timeline help you host a\u00a0terrific\u00a0Christmas Dinner. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

You may find the following\u00a0articles from\u00a0our website\u00a0helpful:<\/p>\n

\"printable<\/a><\/p>\n

Grocery Shopping List by Department<\/a><\/p>\n

\"place<\/a><\/p>\n

How to Make Your Own Place Cards<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Pork<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s for Dinner? Pork Roast with Mushroom Gravy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you hosting\u00a0Christmas at your home this year? \u00a0If so, you’ll want to start planning for this special day.\u00a0 We\u2019re here to help, with a sample menu, guest tracker, cooking timeline and some\u00a0easy steps to follow.\u00a0 So let’s get planning. Planning Your\u00a0Christmas Dinner Step 1:\u00a0 Set the date, time and location. For this example, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[557,558,559,560,562,554,555,556,561,431],"class_list":["post-1968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meals","tag-christmas-cooking-timeline","tag-christmas-menu","tag-christmas-printables","tag-christmas-sample-menu","tag-easy-christmas-dinner","tag-how-to-host-christmas-dinner","tag-how-to-plan-christmas-dinner","tag-planning-christmas","tag-simple-christmas-dinner","tag-what-to-serve-with-pork-roast"],"yoast_head":"\nPlanning Christmas Dinner - Running A Household<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/runningahousehold.com\/?p=1968\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planning Christmas Dinner - Running A Household\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are you hosting\u00a0Christmas at your home this year? \u00a0If so, you’ll want to start planning for this special day.\u00a0 We\u2019re here to help, with a sample menu, guest tracker, cooking timeline and some\u00a0easy steps to follow.\u00a0 So let’s get planning. 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