The holidays are such a busy time for many. While holiday dinners are wonderful events to look forward to and host, planning for them can be a bit stressful. We’ve compiled a holiday meal hosting checklist to take some of that stress off your plate (to make room for another biscuit!).

Plan in advance for invitations and seating:

• Run through the guest list to get a good idea of how many people will be joining you. Send out invitations and keep a number in mind for how many are eating. Make sure you have enough seating for everyone! This is a good time to stock up on folding chairs and tables if you’re hosting quite a few people.
• Along with seating, take stock of what you have and what you will need to get before then. Do you have enough silverware, cups, plates and other necessities for a big meal?

Choose a menu:

• Plan the menu! What are you planning to serve and eat? Make sure to keep in mind any food allergies or dietary restrictions that you and your guests may have.
• Once you have a menu in place, create a rough shopping list. Planning it ahead of time means you can keep an eye on what you need and what you have, and makes shopping a breeze closer to the meal. Top event experts recommend overestimating on food and drinks—it’s always better to send people home with leftovers than with an empty stomach.
• This is a great opportunity to order your turkey, ham or other main meal meats if you get these in advance, or from local or specialty stores.

Select utensils and decor:

• Dig out the roasting pan, soup tureen and other serving items needed. You can take stock of what you thought you had vs. what you actually have—it’s no fun to remember the day of the event that the serving platter you used last year was accidentally broken.
• Clean and polish silverware and china. Pull them out of the cupboards and give them a nice dust off.

• Plan the table display! Christmas tablescapes and other holiday table decorations usually take a bit of time and effort, but are a big hit with guests. Get all of the supplies you need to make sure your tables match your festive spirit.

• Start cleaning. Now’s the time to begin dusting, vacuuming and organizing your space. This is a process that continues all the way to the event date—it’s much easier to spot clean the night before than to try and clean the entire house while cooking.

• Set up your seasonal decorations! String your garlands, place your seasonal statues and hang up your baubles. It’s time to get festive.
• Start making room in your fridge for big items in your fridge and panty. It’s time for that big tub of ice cream or the mysterious leftovers in the freezer to get eaten up or thrown out to make room.

Three days before the event:

• Purchase all remaining groceries. And don’t forget the ice!
• Come up with a timeline of cooking or warming to make sure that your dishes will be done or still be warm by the time everything is finished. There’s nothing more stressful than having a batch of rapidly cooling food sitting out while you wait for the final dishes to finish.
• Clean bathrooms, kitchen and other high traffic areas of the house.

One day before the event:

• Prep all your items and ingredients. Try to complete as much as you can the day before to make cooking tomorrow a breeze. If you can, make some dishes ahead of time—this works especially well with appetizers and trays of finger food.
• Chill the beverages. Throw them in a cooler, the fridge or even on the deck for those in colder climates. This is also a good time to stock up and prepare your bar, whether it be on a home bar, bar cart or counter in your home.
• Get fresh flowers or another table display ready!
• Now’s the time to set up extra chairs and tables. Double check your guest list to account for any last minute additions.

For day of advice, there is one main suggestion we have in order to make sure that your holiday meal is served smoothly: ask for help! A holiday meal is a huge task, and you can’t do this all by yourself. Get assistance wherever you can during the process, but especially during the event itself. Unless you have eight arms and super powers, cooking an entire meal and hosting guests alone is almost impossible. Having help during cleanup also is helpful so that you can get off of your feet and enjoy the meal with everyone else. After all, the holidays are about spending time with your loved ones!