First comes Halloween and then like champagne spilling out of an uncorked bottle all the major holidays come rushing out: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and the New Year.  Each of these occasions are both exciting and also a bit stressful.  And of course, it's not just the day of the big holiday that we host or attend gatherings with elaborate meals and extensive dessert tables. The entire season is filled with work parties, annual holiday reunions with friends, holiday brunches, shopping parties, cookie parties, cocktail parties, and all manner of celebratory functions.

As exciting as it is, it can all be a little bit overwhelming.  But, there's good news! With a little forethought and a lot of preparation holiday stress can be reduced.  Today, I'm going to draw on more than 20 years of my experience as a professional chef and share with you ten tips for crushing holiday cooking and entertaining.  Whether you're a guest or the host these holiday tips will keep you feeling cheery and bright from Halloween into the New Year. 

These tips are meant for intimate family and friend gatherings. Professional and formal events require a different setup. These tips are definitely helpful in all cases. 

Let's get to it!  Here in Part I, I'll start with these 5 tips

1. Taking Time to Find Peace Within: This is the most important tip I can give you. Take time to breath and find your center.  There are a lot of ways to do this.  You can take a walk outside, read a few pages of a book with your favorite drink, take a hot bath, or hit up the gym.  Just choose something that works for you.  Personally, I like to meditate.   I take 15 minutes to go through breathing exercises and focus on simply being.  This improves my mood and makes me more patient with myself and with others. When one reveler is feeling moody or edgy it can ruin the mood for the entire gathering. It's a bit melodramatic but I have a friend who says 'when someone is at war with others it is a symptom of being at war with themselves'.  Of course if you're not feeling that you've taken care of yourself then you cannot be a good host or guest to others.  Whether I'm working to prepare a fine dinning New Year's menu for hundreds, or Thanksgiving dinner for 20 I find it important that a moment of solace before the chaos makes all contingencies manageable.    

2.   Keeping Guests Entertained While Cooking: No one likes the pressure of wondering whether guests are bored while you put the final touches together for the meal.   Likewise no one likes the pressure of being pulled away from finishing the meal to entertain.  Personally I don't love giving guests kitchen tasks because more often than not you have to instruct them where items are, answer questions on how to complete the task etc. So, unless they're professionals, I don't involve guests in cooking. Still, there are a few ways to be a good host with minimal distraction.

   Have a self serve drink bar set up and ready to go.  At the beverage station be sure to have glasses, ice, napkins, and non-alcoholic drinks.  Pre-open a couple of wine bottles to avoid having to get involved and distracted from cooking. If you're having cocktails have some pre-mixed pitchers.  If you're having a large gathering 20+ it really might be best to hire a server 

   Background music is a great way to take the pressure off of the host to fill the silence so to speak. Music lets people naturally mingle.

   Enlist help.  If you have a close friend or family member who you know is good at making introductions and conversation ask them to arrive early and to help greet guests

3. Getting the Portions Right 

   Make sure you have enough food. For hors d'oeuvres  and small bites, you should plan to have one to two bites per guest. If you have something people love--for instance people love my bacon wrapped, manchego stuffed dates--plan to serve extra.  The more options you have the fewer servings per person you need.  Do a total piece count of all hors d'oeuvres combined and see if that is enough.  If you're hosting strictly a cocktail party, plan to serve about double the amount you would  serve for a sit down or buffet to follow. 

   For the mains: plan to have 6 ounces of protein per guest. For side dishes, simply think of what one full plate would require.  How many potatoes, carrots, etc. will be on the plate? Simply multiple that by the number of guests you're serving. If you're serving a lot of dishes, as is typical for Thanksgiving, likely guests will take smaller servings to sample more.

   Something I love as a guest or a host is to send people home with leftovers. Have ziplock bags ready to give out to guests as they leave.  It helps with cleanup/storage and is a nice touch to the evening.  

4. Easy Host Gifts

   During the holidays you will likely receive a lot of party invites, neighbors and friends dropping in unexpectedly, and the occasional "we forgot to get so and so a gift!" moments. It's best to begin the season with a trip to your favorite shop and to stock up on an item you love and that makes a quick and easy last minute gift.  Some items that fit the bill are bottles of wine, mixed nuts, cookies, and small boxes of fine chocolates.  If you love to bake then by all means, dedicate a day to baking and boxing your favorite item.  But, I find that because the season comes with at least one or two obligations to host it's nice to take the pressure off and stock up on nice gifts with minimal effort. Bonus, this is a great opportunity to support local businesses.  Farmer's Markets are a great source to find special cheeses, or ciders, etc. Just plan in advance so you're not caught rushing from work, to the store, to an event. 

5. A Dish for Potluck

   If you have a signature dish, go to! Likely, your signature dish is already popular with friends and family and they may request or expect you to bring it. Making a dish you know will come out right and that you're comfortable with will take all the pressure off of you.  Also, if you read my blog on family food traditions, you might recognize this as a nice time to teach other family members or friends how to make a dish or dessert that is special to you.

   Okay, that's all for today! 5 more tips to follow shortly!

   How do you maintain good spirits during the rush of holiday hosting? Would love to
   know, comment below.