Christmas Dinner Checklist
Between assembling the Christmas tree, decorating, and cleaning the house, a Christmas dinner checklist is essential to hosting an amazing dinner. From shopping list to planning you’ll have everything you need to ensure your guests have a wonderful holiday.
Create a Christmas Dinner Checklist
Making a Christmas Dinner Checklist is key to hosting a fantastic dinner party. Expect your relatives to come hungry. Be prepared to sate their hunger with the smell of freshly baked cookies and dinner on the table.
Although I enjoy a delicious holiday meal, I find that year after year weeks fly by, and then suddenly it’s Christmas Eve. I knew it would benefit me to start preparing for the festivities in advance. Fortunately, it paid off. Now I’m leaving you with these tips so you can breathe easy during this time.
First, start working on the menu. Tending to a hot stove can become exhausting over time. So, accept all the help you can get. If family members offer to bring food or dessert to Christmas dinner, say yes! This takes the strain off you. Plus, your family may get a chance to try new dishes. Variety is the spice of life for a reason.
Decide on a main course. You can make ham, or prime rib, or go for a vegan option! It all depends on your preference. However, if you plan to serve ham, order it in advance. When you visit the grocery store close to Christmas Eve, ham is usually sold out.
Fortunately, you can get away with making fewer side dishes. Check your fridge before you make a shopping list. Confirm that you have enough space for the main course and side dishes.
Now that you have your list, it’s time to go shopping. Since Christmas Day is on a different date each year – it’s best to check the calendar and start planning a week before. Keep in mind that most stores are closed on Christmas Eve. Get your last-minute groceries by December 23rd at the latest.
Here is the complete checklist to keep you on track:
Time Management for Christmas Day
Start Christmas planning at the beginning of December. Get started on your checklist at the beginning of the month to accomplish more tasks. This gives you enough time to check off some items on the list.
In December, you may get bored with your decorations. Even the best ornaments and baubles can benefit from some sprucing up. Rearrange your decorations to change things up. This can make decorating more fun. Plus it can make your space look cohesive and welcoming.
Contrary to popular belief, decorating can get complicated. Sure, you can turn on a Christmas playlist to get into the holiday spirit, but a particularly tall tree has the potential to make this an all-day affair. Putting up a Christmas tree is very time-consuming. If you have a Christmas tree, I recommend decorating it first. The taller the tree, the longer it takes to decorate. That’s why it’s best to get it done as soon as possible!
After you put up the tree, you can add garlands and winter decorations. This is the perfect time to display your Christmas wreath and welcome mats. Feel free to decorate the tables with Christmas-themed cookie jars, plants, or candles. Decorative pinecones or ornaments are a great way to add the finishing touches.
Everything You Need to Host Christmas Dinner
In addition to managing your time, you may have some essential dishes that you make every year. Go through your favorite holiday recipes to help you prepare for Christmas dinner. Check to see how long each recipe takes. Next, write down when you plan on cooking the food. Making a grocery list will help you prepare for dinner. Most importantly, having a plan makes it possible to finish cooking before dinner time.
It’s best to start cooking on Christmas Eve (earlier is even better). Start by preparing the sides, then make the main course on the morning of Christmas Eve. Fortunately, making food for Christmas is not as time-consuming as Thanksgiving. With the help of your Instant Pot and other kitchen appliances, you can cook more in less time. With the power of an air fryer, you can roast potatoes and other veggies, which leaves your oven with enough free space for baking the other side dishes.
Remember to utilize your Crockpot. It’s easy to forget that your slow cooker can be used to make drinks.
Some ideas for Crockpot drinks are hot chocolate, cinnamon lattes, and hot apple cider. Best yet, the keep-warm setting will prevent your guests from having to warm up their drinks again. These drinks will keep your guests warm and cozy!
Ideas for Christmas Dessert
Moreover, dessert is what your guests look forward to the most. Everyone loves a good dessert, but sometimes people want to enjoy something new. Cakes are a fan favorite for most dessert lovers. Plus, you can add festive decorations, fit for the holidays. If you love to make Bundt cakes, a peppermint Bundt combines the flavors of peppermint and chocolate to create a delicious holiday treat.
Another cake option is a hot chocolate cake topped with marshmallows. This cake brings all of those comfy winter vibes. This would be a great holiday dessert for anyone who feels comfortable baking layer cakes. If you’ve never made a layer cake before, read my guide that teaches you how to bake a layer cake step-by-step.
Desserts to add to your Checklist
If you need more inspiration here are several desserts you can make, categorized by skill level.
Beginner Bakers: For beginner bakers, drop cookies are a simple, crowd-pleasing dessert! Some holiday favorites are sprinkled cookies, molasses cookies, and red velvet cookies.
You can bake these cookies or make another easy dessert like a single-layer cake, no-bake pie, or no-bake cheesecake. In addition, a gingerbread Bundt cake is both delicious and beautiful. It’s the perfect cake to put on display. In the spirit of reinventing the holidays, you can make a Biscoff cheesecake that will make your guests savor every bite.
Intermediate Bakers: Next, Linzer cookies or cutout cookies are a bit more time-consuming. You can bake gingerbread cookies in the shape of snowflakes, stars, or Christmas trees. Then decorate them with royal icing. These cookies are sure to impress the whole family.
Additionally, you can make a tart or homemade candies infused with caramel or peppermint. Candies are the perfect treat to fill stocking stuffers or gift bags.
Advanced Bakers: Advanced bakers will feel comfortable tackling the more challenging bakes. To start, one of the most popular holiday desserts is a yule log. A cake so convincing it can blend in with your other decorations. That is until you take a bite of delightfully rich, tender cake. It’s a stunning addition to the dinner table.
A Christmas Dinner for a Family Gathering
After preparing the food, it’s time to serve your guests. Make sure you have all your dinnerware and utensils ready. When you take time to set the table before Christmas, it gives you one less task to worry about. Additionally, you have two ways to serve the food. The first option is to let everyone serve themselves. Or place the food on the dining table.
If you decide on the second option, serving dishes and ceramic pans are a beautiful addition to the table. Now that everything is checked off your Christmas dinner checklist, you can finally enjoy an incredible meal with your family.
Christmas Activities
During the holiday season, we find new ways to celebrate, but tradition remains. You can set up fun activities to enjoy on Christmas.
Next, you can create a cookie decorating station. Set out enough sugar cookies for decorating. Cut out these cookies in classic shapes like snowmen, candy canes, trees, etc.
First, make sure you have a bowl of royal icing and a few decorating tools available. A small icing spatula or decorating bags are the perfect tools for cookie decorating. Have a few bowls filled with toppings like sanding sugar or nonpareil sprinkles.
If you want to save time, buy a decorating kit. Usually, these decorating kits come with decorating tips, disposable decorating bags, directions, and cookie cutters. These kits make it easier to set up everything you need. It’s the perfect option if you don’t have these items in your kitchen. This is a fun activity that you can do with the whole family. Plus, everyone can enjoy delicious cookies with a cup of hot cocoa!
After devouring a mouthwatering Christmas dinner, everyone will delight in this joyous time of year. The whole family can unwrap presents or savor sweet treats made with love and care. I hope this Christmas dinner checklist gives you everything you need to plan a memorable holiday dinner!
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