Hosting Thanksgiving dinner is HARD. I’ve only hosted the meal twice but I know from that experience that its not easy to put a 20 lb bird and 15 different sides on the dinner table at once. Since moving back to Colorado I’ve been lucky enough to not need to host the family gathering.
When you are attending as a guest, the pressure is off, and aside from bringing a side dish or dessert it’s likely not much is expected of you other than your attendance. When that is the case, it’s nice to bring a hostess gift that they will really enjoy after wrapping up all the dishes and mess from the day.
When I’m looking for the perfect hostess gift, I love the variety of options I can find at Hickory Farms. With so many gift solutions to choose from, I can really select a product that is tailored to the personality of the family member who’s taken on the biggest task of the day. I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite gifts below, and outlined who I think they are perfect for! Continue Reading…
As the holiday season is just around the corner, now is the time to set yourself up for a happy and stress free celebration. No matter if you are hosting Thanksgiving, or traveling across the country for Christmas with family out of state, taking the time to prepare will ensure that you have a happy holiday no matter where you’ll be joining in on the revelry.
Holiday Home Prep for
Celebrating with Guests
Clear away clutter
If you enjoy decorating your home for the holidays, prepare your rooms by first clearing away clutter. By putting away items that are not used regularly you open up space for other decor and any gifts that may be coming into the house.
Create a box that you can pull back out after the holidays and place any non-holiday decorations that you want to bring back out after the season is over.
Stock Up on Essentials
If you are inviting family over, make sure that you have everything you need to be a successful (and stress free host). In the kitchen, check the cupboards and make sure that you have all the basic staples including flour, sugar, and baking power for an impromptu cooking backing session.
In the rest of the house make sure you have plenty of toilet paper, paper towel, tissues and cleaning supplies. Having these items on hand will mean you don’t have to run out at a moment notice if someone comes down with a cold while celebrating at your home.
Roll out the Welcome Mat
If you have plan to have guests, make them feel at home by providing all the basics in an easy to access and find place. In the bathroom you may want to include a basket with fresh towels, extra toilet paper and any toiletries they may have left behind (I love repurposing hotel bottles for this).
In the bedroom, include an extra blanket, pillows and a couple of bottles of water. It’s nice to not have to go hunting in a strange house when you need a drink late at night. If you have a wifi password, write it down and leave it in an easy to find place.
In the kitchen, place coffee essentials out in the open where they are easy to find. If your guest is an early riser they’ll appreciate having easy access to caffeine before the rest of the house gets up.
Finish Your Household Ironing
If your home is anything like mine, ironing the things I need for a well laid dinner table is the last thing on my mind, but I DO want that clean freshly ironed look if I’m inviting guests over. I usually toss tablecloths in a drawer only to iron them 5 minutes before rolling out on the table but during the holidays, thats not an easy feat to accomplish.
The weekend before your holiday celebration, plan a time that you can get ironing done ahead of time. Set out the tablecloth, cloth napkins and any dress clothes that you want to wear during the holiday weekend. No matter what I need to iron, my go to home appliance is my DW3 SteamCare Iron from Rowenta. This new iron just came out a few months ago and it’s officially changed my mind set on how to approach ironing.
With no need to adjust the temperture for various fabrics, I can iron everything I need for my home in one sitting, without needing to wait for the iron to cool or up or down. This is a huge time saver when you go from cotton napkins to synthetic tablecloths.
The Microsteam350 Sole Plate allows the steam function to be more effective than my old iron, getting set in wrinkles out in a fraction of the time – perfect for tablecloths that ended up stuffed in a drawer. There’s even a vertical function that makes it possible to iron items once they are hanging, allowing me to shake wrinkles from curtains without taking them down or run a quick steam over a dress before getting ready for a holiday party.
Getting your ironing done before guests arrive leaves your mind free for enjoying the celebration. You can always hang things up and give a quick once over with steam before setting up for the meal.
What Holiday Home Prep tips do you want to share? Leave a note in the comments!
Disclaimer: I received a DW3 SteamCare Iron to review for this post. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this post.
Photo Credits: UnSplash, TheLittleOne,
For my family, deviled eggs are a staple of any family gathering but at Thanksgiving they are a MUST have. We’ll typically start with a couple dozen and are lucky if any actually make it to the dinner table.
This easy Thanksgiving appetizer recipe is a classic family recipe with a tasty Hickory Farms twist. Simply Spicy Brown Mustard gives a slight kick of flavor that is the perfect way to personalize a dish everyone already loves.
When the leaves start to change colors and the evenings dip just a bit cooler there is nothing better than comfort food recipes to warm you up. It’s just barely starting to cool off here in Colorado. Usually by this time of year we’ve seen some snow but so far this fall the streets have been dry and the warm weather has given us time to enjoy the changing of the leaves.
I needed a bit of comfort food this week to help me feel more like the season has actually changed and we aren’t enjoying some slightly extended summer. This macaroni and cheese recipe pulls together some of my favorite fall flavors with the creamy & sharp Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese from Hickory Farms.
Apple Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Start out by grating up 2 1/2 cups of cheese. This is about 3/4 of a 10 oz package. Set the cheese aside and dice up a green apple and mince a clove of garlic. Start the macaroni boiling in a pot and cook 4 strips of bacon in a frying pan. Drain the macaroni and set the bacon aside to drain while you work on the rest of the recipe.
Saute 2 tps butter with the apples and garlic in a large sauce pan. Allow the pan to cook until the apples are soft and the garlic is fragrant.
Add your 2 cups of the pre-grated cheddar cheese to the pan alongside 1 1/2 cups of milk. Stir until the cheese has melted. You should have an almost soupy consistency. This means it’s time to add the macaroni. Turn the heat down and allow the dish to thicken. Now is the time to add the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and the crumbled or chopped bacon (save some for garnish).
Once the mixture is a perfect mac & cheese consistency, serve in a bowl. I’m a big fan of serving mac & cheese as a standalone entree but this would also work well as a side. Store any left overs in a baking dish and toss in the oven to reheat!
[tasty-recipe id=”2565″]Disclaimer: This post was brought to you by Hickory Farms. All opinions, ideas and writing are my own. I was compensated and received a product sample as inspiration for this post.
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