Tips for Stress-Free Holiday Cooking from Cutting Board USA

Once the Thanksgiving long weekend passes we are officially in holiday season! Along with all the fun and excitement the holidays bring, there are some major stresses; especially around the food! From big family dinners, evening parties with colleagues and business associates, to informal and impromptu get-togethers; the holidays are a sure-fire setting for them all to happen…or go awry!
 

If you plan on hosting parties this year take a few minutes to read our Stress-Free Holiday Cooking Tips:
 

1. Plan ahead! With food and cooking in particular, holiday meal planning is really a must. Sit and jot down your must-have holiday foods and treats that you will make this year. After that, jot down any special events or occasions you will be supplying food for. That will give you a great start for your holiday cooking “Master List.”
    
2. Make a guest list. One of the biggest complaints from cooks is not knowing how many people they’re cooking for. For any situation where you can know the number of guests, make a guest list and plan for an additional five guests. This makes every other aspect of cooking much simpler!
    
3. Expect the unexpected! You can be sure that a lot of things will come up unexpectedly, but if you have a clear picture of the things you CAN expect, it will make dealing with the surprises much easier…and stress free!
    
4. Test-run new recipes. You probably are old-hat at many of your family’s holiday favorites, but new recipes can be a pain when you’re in a crunch. If you have time, try out new recipes you’d like to make ahead of time so you can adjust them appropriately.
    
5. Make a schedule. For event and big days, plan and write down a cooking schedule. Even the most experienced cooks will benefit from having a simple outline jotted down. It also allows any eager helpers to find a way to actually be helpful! Make the most of any volunteers who come in your kitchen. If you have a clear plan it makes it much easier for them to help out.
    
6. Decorate and cook on different days. You may chuckle, but if you have ever tried to do some serious decorating and cooking at the same time you’ll know it can quickly become non-festive fast! Decorate for the holidays on days where you are not cooking! Better yet, do your decorating and meal planning well ahead of time and save the cooking for later!
    
7. Have an arsenal of pre-made goodies. The holidays often bring surprise visitors and extra guests. Plan for this and make it special by having loads of pre-made goodies and even meals in your freezer. Then when people drop in, you’ll be ready to party!

From all of us here at Cutting Board USA, we hope your holidays are filled with all of the best! And if you need some quality wooden cutting boards to whip up all your holiday delights on, take a look at our cutting boards; we think you’ll love them as much as we do.