This can be as easy as lighting a candle or dabbing a small bit of vanilla extract on a light bulb for a festive fragrance. Appeal to as many senses as you can to create an inviting atmosphere for your guests.
The holidays can often bring stress into the home kitchen. Big Thanksgiving get-togethers involve more time and planning to prepare than everyday meals. Don’t feel obligated to do everything alone. Catering is an option that is as practical as it is delicious. While there is a cost, there are also valuable time savings for the host.
Local caterers offer tips on how to make the holidays a happy time for everyone. Here’s how to pull off Thanksgiving entertaining with ease.
Charm With Cheese
Wow your friends and family with cheese. Wine and cheese from France 44 starts off any holiday get-together right. The Grand tray includes honey, grapes, figs, walnuts, pecans, flowers, foliage and other glorious garnishes adorn whirls of sliced cheese and meat. The mosaic of edible wonders sure to spark engaging conversation. “The trays, when they are put together, are a centerpiece,” Elisha Anderson, director of catering and sales, says.
Serve a Salad, Cater Some Sides
Eat your veggies even on Thanksgiving. Save room for a salad. With heavy traditional mainstays aplenty, a light toss of vegetables will be a welcome sight. Abby Randall, owner of the Tomato Vine, features a light salad on her Thanksgiving table and recommends others do the same. Her signature wild rice salad fits the fall motif with unexpected freshness. Still feeling overwhelmed? Free up some time by having a caterer prepare the sides or even the salad. During the “holiday of abundance,” guests expect a lot of different foods. Big portions and leftovers are commonplace. Catering even part of the meal can streamline a host’s to-do list, Randall explains.
ENTERTAINING MADE EASIER
Plan to entertain for the holidays? Lunds & Byerlys Catering shares helpful hints to assure a successful event:
Plan ahead
Especially if you’re booking a portion of your food service through a caterer, staffing agency or additional vendor. The holidays are a very busy time of year for vendors, and just like airlines, they book up.
Plan for the weather
We live in one of the snowiest states: What will happen if there is a storm? If there are vendors involved, ask ahead of time about cancellation policies and look three days ahead for the forecast as you approach your big day.
Know that when it comes to catering, it isn’t all or nothing.
You can supplement your own homemade favorites with our signature dishes. Customers might want to purchase the turkey and have family members supply the sides. Or to shake things up, plan your meals as usual but purchase one fancy new addition for an hors d’oeuvre. Lunds & Byerlys holiday turkey cranberry crostini comes with 36 bite-sized pieces on a single platter. Check here for more information.
Consider hiring help
Holidays are often synonymous with stress, but they don’t have to be. Hiring kitchen help can allow the hosts to be guests at their own party. Starting at $40 per hour, Lunds & Byerlys staff can help with anything you need in the kitchen, including washing dishes!
Think of fun ways to enhance the environment
This can be as easy as lighting a candle or dabbing a small bit of vanilla extract on a light bulb for a festive fragrance. Appeal to as many senses as you can to create an inviting atmosphere for your guests.
