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.
More Ideas You'll Love
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.
More Ideas You'll Love
Do you do anything special to get your home ready for the holidays?
In order to prepare for all of the cooking I try to go to the grocery once and get everything I need and might need. However, I always end up making a couple more trips for forgotten items.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I assign “jobs” to my kiddos (greeting people, taking drink orders, acting as my runner, etc.) to keep them involved, but out of my kitchen! :) They love it and are AMAZING helpers!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love your website. I check it daily. I love to decorate my table with lots of colors and textures. I use
Please log in or create a free account to comment.natural things from the out of doors as much as possible. Dishes or china, are what I collect and when at thrift shops, I’m always looking for unusual pieces to add beauty to my table settings. Hugs and smiles are always a nice addition to any holiday gathering!!
This one sounds like a no brainer, but make sure there is enough seating and room at the table.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Let someone else do the hosting. Just bring some type of dish or dessert that can be used.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.my tip take a breath and enjoy family & friends.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love the list, I also do a menu plan and shopping list early in November for T-Day, and again on Black Friday for Christmas baking, so I can start picking up special ingredients that keep !
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My thanksgiving tip is a tradition thats used yearly. Get a cloth tablecloth in a plain color, and have every family member or guest use a fabric marker or sharpie to write down what they are thankful for and the year. This tablecloth is brought out every year, slowly filling up with memories and blessings. Great holiday centerpiece to pull out. Happy Holidays!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I like to make a calendar of all upcoming events where my hubs or I are required to bring a dish. Then I decide which 1 or 2 dishes I could make that would cover all the fetes, potlucks, soirees, and parties and that’s what we sign up for.
It’s then pretty easy to make a giant batch of sweet ‘n sour meatballs (my go-to offering), portion into the desired number of affairs, and refrigerate or freeze until needed. Then dump it into a crock pot or festive dish, heat up, and away we go. Easy peasy for us, and no one knows the difference!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am purging my whole house and the kitchen was my starting point. I threw in the garbage pots and pants that shouldn’t be in anybody shelves; others things I took to garage sales, and now they’re going to donations. I’m keeping in my drawers what I like, use, and care to have it. Your article opened my eyes to my spices. Tonight they be in the trash. Ha-ha!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I like to cook mashed potatoes and chop/prep veggies on Tuesday and cook desserts on Wednesday. Turkey goes in the oven early Thursday morning so I have more time to relax when the guests arrive. All that’s left is making gravy and reheating foods as needed.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.To balance the craziness of the season I try and set up the parties at my house as early as possible. I create menus and grocery list so I can pick up items when they are on sale. I also try and make sure to do as much prep as I can before hand. I keep my baking for when my girls are out of school since they enjoy doing it so much. With my prep and planning, done I can enjoy baking with them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank to all for the wonderful and very useful ideas. I’ve already have done a few, but some of the other suggestions were “Light Bulb” ideas! We have asked our guest to bring a specific types of dishes to share. Most of our dishes will be prep or done on Wednesday. I like to use a couple of crockpot for the mash potatoes and stuffing (I finish off the stuffing in the oven for that crispy top).
The last few years we have been cooking our brined turkey on the BBQ, which is why our guest list has grown this year. The BBQ method frees up the oven for other dishes to finish off or stay warm till dinner is served.
To everyone, have a joyous and safe Thanksgiving Holiday with your family and friends!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite do-ahead meal prep is making the mashed potatoes the day before. The next day, put them in a crock pot to warm up. No one will ever know they aren’t freshly made.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.To me the best part of welcoming people into your home for the holidays is making it look and feel like a home. Setting the mood with low lights and candles can really help. Also, I love the scents of the seasons so for Thanksgiving it’s all about the pumpkin and apple spiced candles. For Christmas is gotta be the pine and peppermint candles that fill the air with the holiday spirit.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I get everything I can prepared early. All the chopping, dicing today. Baking tomorrow!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My tip is to do all you can before the big day, set the table, and cover it with a sheet, make dishes that you can make ahead, clean the house on Monday before Thanksgiving, make or buy the centerpiece the week before. make a list of all the recipes you need and a list of dishes you are planning to serve so that you will remember to actually serve everything you made.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I try to do as much ahead as possible, so Thanksgiving Day is more fun for everyone!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Whew! I needed your cleaning your oven tip a loooooong time ago, lol.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I sure appreciate the ease of navigating your website and your quick and easy ideas! Somehow, I seem to just make things WAY too hard, as if I am not busy enough!
Thanks for all your great tips! I love them!
My tip is to have containers available so you can send leftovers home with family/guests!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My #1 entertaining tip is to have a spotless home, starting with the kitchen and living room. thank you for all your wonderful ideas.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Annual Christmas baking with my mom in late November/early December!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This year I made my centerpiece and am quite happy with it. Some glitter and glue and turned some previous things into new !
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I like to get out all the serving pieces ahead of time, including the serving utensils, that way I’m not stressing at the last minute.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have several tips. 1. Find a place for the smokers outside your home, if at all possible, in a sheltered alcove Supply ashtrays and a metal bucket to throw cigarette butts and ashes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.2. Find a room for your pets to be comfortable in. Sometimes guests are not aware that pets are or are not allowed outside…bolting pets….uneasy pests.
3. Don’t sweat the small stuff…it happens…just enjoy your day with friends and family!