Lesson 48: Celebrate Christmas (or any other occasion) with Family Gatherings
Hello Revolutionists,
Christmas Dinner is the mother of all dinner parties isn't it? It's the biggest meal of the year, and if you are the planner and host then you can do just about anything to make it special for your family and friends. Of course "just about anything" comes at a price, often out of your Christmas budget.
Not this year! This year you are going to be the Martha Stewart of your family. No detail will be left to chance. Not only will you be able to afford your celebration, you will enjoy it, especially as it will be paid in full.
Very often hosting Christmas dinner, whether it's for your immediate family or a large, extended group, is mixed with tradition and emotion to make it the best Christmas ever. Learning to distinguish between emotion and reality will ensure you have a celebration everyone will enjoy.
Culling Expectations, Guest Lists and Menus
Guests get it easy. They turn up and eat, drink and be merry. Sometimes they contribute a dish or drinks and help with the dishes, but otherwise they have no responsibilities. If you are a guest this Christmas the hardest decision you'll have to make is whether to take flowers or chocolates as a thank you gift.
The host or hostess on the other hand is responsible for everything - including making sure guests remember to bring what they need to - their celebration is a little more complicated.
The first mistake many hosts make when planning a holiday gathering is underestimating the cost of feeding a larger number of people, and the cost can be significant. How many people will be attending? Are they all adults, or are there children included in that number? Cooking for 15 costs a lot more than cooking for 5, so the larger the group, the larger the grocery bill for the meal.
As host, what will you be responsible for this year? Food? Decorations? Drinks? Desserts? Please don't say "everything" - ask everyone to contribute to the meal and celebration in some way. Christmas is a time of caring, of sharing and the main joy is in being together, so having your guests contribute is a nice way of including them in the total celebration.
Be prepared and when you invite them, or they ask, have a list of things you need. My aunty and uncle always come to our home for Christmas dinner as their children and their families are both living overseas. We love to have them, but Aunty Hazel knows that it's her job to bring the pavlovas. They are her specialty, she bakes and decorates them beautifully and we all love to see her arrive with her pavs. And that takes the worry of dessert off me, I can cross it off the list and know it is taken care of. When guests ask what they can bring, take the guesswork out of the equation and be ready with an answer. And don't forget to include them all in the cleaning up at the end of the meal.
Plan your menu, including the dishes guests will be bringing. Once you've done that you can work on your shopping list. Don't forget to check your pantry, fridge and freezer, just as you do when you make up your regular shopping list, you don't want to be in that supermarket queue on Christmas Eve. Next decide about decorations (bon bons, flowers, gingerbread houses or whatever), going through what you already have so you aren't doubling up and wasting money. You have no idea how much money is wasted every year on duplicate buys.
Once you have these lists you can double check the cost against your budget. Hopefully you've been really canny and it's come in under. If not, you need to reduce expectations or the guest list or adjust the menu until they are at least on budget.
Creating a Christmas Dinner Budget
This is an example budget of Christmas Dinner at our house this year. Use it as a start for planning your own budget, you may have more or less guests.
Wayne & Cath
AJ, Thomas, Hannah
Cath's brother, sister-in-law & niece
Aunty Hazel
Cousins Lee & Jordan & their two children
Friend Barbara
Friends John & Lorraine
Christmas Dinner
Christmas Dinner is the mother of all dinner parties isn't it? It's the biggest meal of the year, and if you are the planner and host then you can do just about anything to make it special for your family and friends. Of course "just about anything" comes at a price, often out of your Christmas budget.
Not this year! This year you are going to be the Martha Stewart of your family. No detail will be left to chance. Not only will you be able to afford your celebration, you will enjoy it, especially as it will be paid in full.
Very often hosting Christmas dinner, whether it's for your immediate family or a large, extended group, is mixed with tradition and emotion to make it the best Christmas ever. Learning to distinguish between emotion and reality will ensure you have a celebration everyone will enjoy.
Culling Expectations, Guest Lists and Menus
Guests get it easy. They turn up and eat, drink and be merry. Sometimes they contribute a dish or drinks and help with the dishes, but otherwise they have no responsibilities. If you are a guest this Christmas the hardest decision you'll have to make is whether to take flowers or chocolates as a thank you gift.
The host or hostess on the other hand is responsible for everything - including making sure guests remember to bring what they need to - their celebration is a little more complicated.
The first mistake many hosts make when planning a holiday gathering is underestimating the cost of feeding a larger number of people, and the cost can be significant. How many people will be attending? Are they all adults, or are there children included in that number? Cooking for 15 costs a lot more than cooking for 5, so the larger the group, the larger the grocery bill for the meal.
As host, what will you be responsible for this year? Food? Decorations? Drinks? Desserts? Please don't say "everything" - ask everyone to contribute to the meal and celebration in some way. Christmas is a time of caring, of sharing and the main joy is in being together, so having your guests contribute is a nice way of including them in the total celebration.
Be prepared and when you invite them, or they ask, have a list of things you need. My aunty and uncle always come to our home for Christmas dinner as their children and their families are both living overseas. We love to have them, but Aunty Hazel knows that it's her job to bring the pavlovas. They are her specialty, she bakes and decorates them beautifully and we all love to see her arrive with her pavs. And that takes the worry of dessert off me, I can cross it off the list and know it is taken care of. When guests ask what they can bring, take the guesswork out of the equation and be ready with an answer. And don't forget to include them all in the cleaning up at the end of the meal.
Plan your menu, including the dishes guests will be bringing. Once you've done that you can work on your shopping list. Don't forget to check your pantry, fridge and freezer, just as you do when you make up your regular shopping list, you don't want to be in that supermarket queue on Christmas Eve. Next decide about decorations (bon bons, flowers, gingerbread houses or whatever), going through what you already have so you aren't doubling up and wasting money. You have no idea how much money is wasted every year on duplicate buys.
Once you have these lists you can double check the cost against your budget. Hopefully you've been really canny and it's come in under. If not, you need to reduce expectations or the guest list or adjust the menu until they are at least on budget.
Creating a Christmas Dinner Budget
This is an example budget of Christmas Dinner at our house this year. Use it as a start for planning your own budget, you may have more or less guests.
Wayne & Cath
AJ, Thomas, Hannah
Cath's brother, sister-in-law & niece
Aunty Hazel
Cousins Lee & Jordan & their two children
Friend Barbara
Friends John & Lorraine
Christmas Dinner
|
Menu Item
Turkey Ham SIL Xx Chicken Potatoes & pumpkin Greens Gravy Pudding Pav Nibblies Drinks Gingerbread house Flowers |
Who
Self Aunty Hazel Self Lee Self Self Aunty Hazel Barbara John & Lorraine Self Self - IGA |
Cost
Xx xx Xx Xx Xx Xx Xx Xx Xx Xx Xx |
I haven't included prices in this budget because they will vary so much from state to state and even store to store.
Time is Money, Especially at Christmas
While doing everything from scratch yourself is a nice dream, it's not always practical. Here are some tips that may help you have the Christmas dinner of your dreams, without the stress or expense.
Take a minute to think about last year. What did you love about last Christmas? What didn't work? Jot down the things you did that saved time and money and repeat those steps this year.
Now is the time to put the junk mail that is flooding your letterbox to good use. Look for sales and discounts, even coupons and use them. If you have a Costco membership shop with a friend and split the bulk items. Just make sure they are better deals than you can get elsewhere.
Visit your local market. You'll get the freshest produce at the lowest prices. Your food will taste better and last longer. You'll save a fortune on your fresh food.
If you have a freezer, use it. Shop early and freeze your ingredients. Look for sales on turkeys and chickens, ice cream, frozen vegetables, cakes and other treats you have on your shopping list and take advantage by buying early and freezing until required.
When you plan your menu, keep it simple. Choose to have a hot meal or a cold meal, don't try to do both. If you're having salads, then a large green salad, a pasta salad and a bean salad are all that's required, you don't need to do potato salad and coleslaw as well. And the same applies to desserts - one or two choices are all that's necessary. No one wants to eat a lot of dessert after a big meal anyway. We have pudding and custard and pavlova. After lunch is finished and we've tidied up, I usually bring out a fruit plate for everyone to nibble on; it's refreshing and light and helps to ease the stodge that can be Christmas dinner.
Plan your guest list, whittling it if you need to. When you've finished, how will you let everyone know they've been invited and what to bring? Will you send an email or phone them? Decide on your method of communication then set aside a couple of hours to extend the invitations. Keep a notebook handy to jot down who you've asked and what they are bringing, and for any special dietary requirements they may have.
Throughout this lesson I've been talking about Christmas dinner, but the same rules and guidelines apply to any large gathering, so if you're planning a birthday or anniversary party or a christening or wedding just substitute the occasion for Christmas and stick to the plan to celebrate within your means.
Lesson 48 Challenge: Whether you're an old hand at entertaining or a complete novice, you can always learn something new from a carefully planned and budgeted event. Very often just seeing things in black and white gives a new insight. Your plan is your foundation. If you normally just wing it, try planning your Christmas dinner according to this week's lesson. You'll be amazed at the discoveries you make and the money, time and energy you'll save.
Time is Money, Especially at Christmas
While doing everything from scratch yourself is a nice dream, it's not always practical. Here are some tips that may help you have the Christmas dinner of your dreams, without the stress or expense.
Take a minute to think about last year. What did you love about last Christmas? What didn't work? Jot down the things you did that saved time and money and repeat those steps this year.
Now is the time to put the junk mail that is flooding your letterbox to good use. Look for sales and discounts, even coupons and use them. If you have a Costco membership shop with a friend and split the bulk items. Just make sure they are better deals than you can get elsewhere.
Visit your local market. You'll get the freshest produce at the lowest prices. Your food will taste better and last longer. You'll save a fortune on your fresh food.
If you have a freezer, use it. Shop early and freeze your ingredients. Look for sales on turkeys and chickens, ice cream, frozen vegetables, cakes and other treats you have on your shopping list and take advantage by buying early and freezing until required.
When you plan your menu, keep it simple. Choose to have a hot meal or a cold meal, don't try to do both. If you're having salads, then a large green salad, a pasta salad and a bean salad are all that's required, you don't need to do potato salad and coleslaw as well. And the same applies to desserts - one or two choices are all that's necessary. No one wants to eat a lot of dessert after a big meal anyway. We have pudding and custard and pavlova. After lunch is finished and we've tidied up, I usually bring out a fruit plate for everyone to nibble on; it's refreshing and light and helps to ease the stodge that can be Christmas dinner.
Plan your guest list, whittling it if you need to. When you've finished, how will you let everyone know they've been invited and what to bring? Will you send an email or phone them? Decide on your method of communication then set aside a couple of hours to extend the invitations. Keep a notebook handy to jot down who you've asked and what they are bringing, and for any special dietary requirements they may have.
Throughout this lesson I've been talking about Christmas dinner, but the same rules and guidelines apply to any large gathering, so if you're planning a birthday or anniversary party or a christening or wedding just substitute the occasion for Christmas and stick to the plan to celebrate within your means.
Lesson 48 Challenge: Whether you're an old hand at entertaining or a complete novice, you can always learn something new from a carefully planned and budgeted event. Very often just seeing things in black and white gives a new insight. Your plan is your foundation. If you normally just wing it, try planning your Christmas dinner according to this week's lesson. You'll be amazed at the discoveries you make and the money, time and energy you'll save.