Despite the fact that we’re well into November at this point, I have yet to do a single thing to get my kitchen ready for the rapidly approaching holidays. If you haven’t either, then at least we’re in good company, and it isn’t to late to get ready either!
In fact, I’ve broken it down into a handful of the most important tasks. Tackle one task at a time, and soon enough, your kitchen will be in tip-top shape for the holidays, regardless of how grand or intimate your gatherings will be.
11 Tips To Get Your Kitchen Ready For The Holidays
1. Clear Out Old Food
Clear out any old food items (especially anything past its best-by date) from your pantry, fridge, and freezer. Not only will you get rid of all those expired or unwanted things that are taking up valuable shelf space, but you’ll free up room for incoming ingredients and future culinary creations.
Be sure to clean up any sticky messes if your fridge or on your shelves if you happen to have any. (This isn’t strictly related to holiday prep, but you’re already moving things around so it’s a good opportunity to take care of those messes!)
If you’re freezer’s feeling crowded, take things out of their bulky packaging to free up more space. Discard foods that show signs of freezer burn. If you have an older freezer that needs to be defrosted on occasion, you can probably gain some valuable storage space by defrosting it now.
2. Check Your Spice Cupboard
Go through your spice cupboard and check the best-by dates on everything you know you’ll use for your holiday dishes. When in doubt, spices that are over a year old could probably use replacing, as well as any that don’t smell like much of anything when you open them.
Here are some spices commonly used during holiday cooking to look for and restock as necessary:
- Poultry seasoning
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Parsley
- Garlic
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Vanilla extract
3. Clean Your Oven And Dishwasher
Your oven and dishwasher are likely to get a workout in the coming weeks, so you want to make sure they’re relatively clean and in good working order for the holidays. If your oven or dishwasher is looking particularly grimy, check out my tutorials detailing how to clean each here:
4. Inventory Your Cookware
Making sure you have all the cookware you need (and that you know where it all is) can go a long way toward making your holiday meals more efficient. Start by taking an inventory of your pots and pans—do you know where your roaster is, and where all the lids to your pots are?
Another good thing to do is check out your cookware for cracks, chips, or broken pieces so you know what needs replacing.
5. Wash Your Tableware And Linens
Since a lot of our holiday pieces only comes out once or twice a year, they might be a bit dusty. It’s a good idea to pull out any special dishes, glassware, flatware and serving pieces and give them a good wash—doing it ahead of time will ensure you’re not trying to wash a bunch of large dishes during the hustle and bustle of food prep.
Take the time to wash and iron your tablecloths and napkins too. If you like to use candles on your holiday table, make sure you have enough on hand and a lighter or matches to light them with.
6. Get Rid Of Clutter
If you’re anything like me, once the cooking begins in earnest, you need all the counter space you can get! To help free up more workspace, go through your kitchen and remove extra items from countertops, tables and shelves to declutter.
Put all these things into a storage bin or closet so you can get them back out and replace them after the holidays. With your temporarily pared-down kitchen, you’ll have the room you need to cook and bake your holiday meals to perfection.
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7. Sharpen Your Knives
Don’t settle for hacking up your turkey with a dull carving knife—take the time to sharpen it beforehand, along with your other go-to kitchen knives. Use either a sharpening steel, a knife sharpener, or take your knives to a local knife shop and get them sharpened by a professional.
8. Stock Up On The Basics
I find that if I’m going to forget about something, it’s not usually the ingredients or the table settings—it’s those everyday housewares that I didn’t think to check on! Save yourself some time and stress by making sure you have plenty of those everyday necessities. (For instance, you don’t want to finish up a big holiday meal and realize you’re out of dishwasher detergent!)
Not everyone will need all of these things, but here’s a general list of household basics you can check your stock of:
- Trash bags
- Kitchen string
- Aluminum foil
- Plastic wrap
- Ziplock bags
- Cheesecloth
- Dish soap
- Dishwasher detergent
- Toothpicks
- Batteries
- Coffee filters
- Paper towels
- Napkins
9. Give Your Kitchen A Safety Inspection
Whether or not you’ll be expecting little ones in your home for the holidays, making sure your kitchen is safe is a smart move! But if you are expecting little ones over, you’ll want to ensure they can’t get a hold of any potentially harmful objects, such as matches, lighters, sharp utensils and household cleaners, by storing them cupboards with safety latches.
And everyone should make sure they have a functional fire extinguisher and smoke detector in their kitchen. And speaking of smoke detectors, take the time to test all the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in your house to make sure they’re working correctly. Better safe than sorry!
10. Give Your Appliances A Checkup
Check each appliance you plan to use, including your microwave, stove, oven, refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, crockpots, food processor, mixer and blender, to make sure they’re working and ready for action. As you assess each appliance, clean anything that could use it.
It’s also worth checking your oven temperature to make sure it’s heating up to the correct temperature. Learn more about calibrating and adjusting your oven at the link below.
Read More: How To Calibrate Your Oven For Better Baking
11. Consider Setting Up A Drinks Station
One thing I find helpful during holiday dinners is setting up water, sodas, and any other beverages out of the main kitchen area. That way, people can help themselves to drinks without creating a traffic jam for those of us who are working in the kitchen.
You can do this for the duration of the season, which may be especially useful if you’ll have guests staying with you for the holidays. Set up an easily accessible beverage station with your coffee maker and coffee, water kettle and tea, and all the add-ins too. Put it in your living room, dining room, or wherever makes the most sense in your house so that guests can help themselves without crowding the kitchen.
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Do you do anything special to get your home ready for the holidays?
I like to do dishes the same night so I won’t dread to clean up the next morning.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Last year we used paper plates! It seems a little casual but with a lot of people it made the cleanup much easier!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I so want to not be stressed out this season so I can enjoy the company of my family and friends.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I put together a timeline for the days leading up to the holiday – with a detailed schedule for the day of the “event”. Another related tip – I keep a little supply of gifts that can be used for hostesses, guests, neighbors, etc. Generic items like candles, holiday tea towels, little holiday books, etc are not expensive and I feel better prepared for surprises.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Enjoy every moment with your family and truly be thankful for every day we have together!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My #1 tip is to just relax and enjoy your family time! Try to get everyone involved in the cooking/serving/cleaning that way no one is left alone to do everything. It’s much better this way! If you’re inviting family over for dinner have them bring their own dishes that way you don’t have to prepare as much food. The last thing you want to do is have a stressful holiday… eat, breathe, smile.. repeat! =)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I always freak out about having room in the oven for all of the sides. However, many people forget to take into consideration that the turkey needs to rest for 15 minutes and then it takes us another 10 minutes to carve it. So my tip is to use those last 25 minutes to warm up or bake the other sides since most of them don’t need much time in the oven to begin with.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Prep as much as possible ahead of time. For example, chop peppers, celery, onions, etc, measure amount needed for recipes and put in ziploc Baggie. Next take all the little bags and put those for one recipe together Ina larger bag or bowl so they are all together.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best tip is to prepare as much as you can in advance, and then relax and remember that it’s about the day and family and friends!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This year, we are going to my Partner’s Aunt and Uncle’s house, then coming home and having our own Thanksgiving Thursday evening through Friday. The kids and I are cooking everything on Wednesday. Leftovers are better anyway, and we will have enough food to last the whole weekend!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I forgot – we also had all menu items purchased by Monday this year.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I also agree to the tips about prep everything as many days in advance as possible. The table is set, silverware is clean and all serving dishes and utensils are ready for use.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have all the guests feel as comfortable as possible, if someone is better at pies and wants to make them, yes, bring them! We have so much food I also stock up on ziplock bags for everyone to take home leftovers. No paper plates used, just wash dishes as they are used and it is not a big mess. Enjoy the time with everyone that is wanting to help, let them. Be thankful for every single person that has graced your table with their presence.
My tip is to make sure I have extra disposable containers to give leftovers away in! I cant stand the clutter the day after!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Don’t forget the furniture! Double check the count of people that will be attending your soiree and make sure you have enough seats and room to make folks comfortable! Don’t forget special cases like kids and babies that may need special treatment and make sure you arrange the seats accordingly.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I do as much ahead of time as I can, and spend a lot of time planning and making lists! Love your site :))
Please log in or create a free account to comment.when I get ready for the holidays, I make sure I have the “memories”… mom’s stuffing, real mashed potatoes, homemade apple pie, juicy and not over cooked turkey…. homemade gravy, and fresh cranberry sauce !!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My tip is to make my christmas cookies early and then freeze them! This way if I have unexpected company, I pull out the cookies, put them in a gently heated oven, and then they are ready to eat! Yum!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite entertaining tip is to ‘stage’ all the tablee, chairs, table linens, flatware, centerpieces and any special decorations or chair accents two days before the feast. We can’t cook too far in advance, but I can wash all linens/ dishware, and have them labeled so I know I have attractive serveware for each dish, along with enough salt/ pepper and gravy containers. Keeps me sane the day of the dinner so I can focus on cooking.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do everything possible ahead of time! Remember that disasters make the best and funniest memories. : )
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I used a counter top roaster for the turkey. It frees up oven space and gives me time to get side dishes in the oven on time. I set my table the night before and cover with a clean sheet. Remove as company arrives. Saves me time. I also set out dishes on the table so I don’t forget something.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.After doing all you can do to have things ready, be sure to enjoy the day with family and friends. Don’t worry about things you can’t control just do what you can and make memories!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Have someone clean your house, I can only wish.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite tip is to accept help! If people offer to help cook, do dishes, bring food, let them! And remember- Good enough is Good!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I try to pre-prep as much as I can so that on Thanksgiving day I can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with family and friends.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Clear out the coat closet so that when guests arrive, they have a place to hang their items. Otherwise, everything gets dumped and your house that you spent soooo long cleaning & making perfect, is quickly in shambles!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Get the dogs groomed a week early, so shedding doesn’t ruin your cleaning!
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