Guest Post: Frugal Holiday Entertaining

I know I talked to you all months ago about holiday planning-but now it’s time to really start thinking about it in earnest! I’m happy to semi-officially kick off this Holiday triumvirate (ie Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years) with a guest post by Steph of Problem Solvin Mom on Holiday entertaining. Make sure y’all give her some nice comment love here, and stop by her blog to say hello!

Entertaining during the holidays CAN be both stressful and expensive…but it doesn’t have to be. Planning ahead can save a lot of money and headaches during this busy time of year.

Especially during the holidays, the focus of most events is on family/friends (your guests) and the food. For that reason, I spend the majority of my planning focused on those two items. I keep my party plan in a notebook, which helps highlight what I need to be working on and helps me stay on track. My plan usually includes a guest list, menu, grocery list, cooking schedule, best case cleaning schedule, any decorations I want to purchase or make, and miscellaneous notes.

Traditional turkey dinners often served at Thanksgiving and Christmas can be very affordable. In addition to cost, it’s often helpful to pick dishes that can be fully prepared ahead of time and frozen, partially prepped ahead, or cooked in the slow cooker. When I know I’m going to be hosting a holiday gathering, I pull out my regular menu planning resources and favorite holiday recipes. I choose my menu based on the previous qualifications and make a list of ingredients. A copy of this list goes in my coupon folder and I keep an eye out for anything I can buy ahead of time, as I find items on sale. From my menu, I start writing down strategy ideas in my notebook – what I can prep ahead, what can be made and frozen, etc.

Frozen turkeys are the most affordable, often going on sale anywhere from $0.99 – $0.69 per pound. I often buy more than one when the go on sale, because we have an extra freezer. If you don’t have much extra freezer space, consider buying two smaller turkeys – they may fit your available space better. If you’re having a smaller crowd, a frozen turkey breast may be a good option. The general rule of thumb is 1 – 1½ pounds per person when deciding on the size of your turkey. We like lots of leftovers at our house, so I always estimate on the high side.

In addition to being delicious, your food can set the stage as part of the decorating for your gathering. Attractive presentation in the serving area and a nicely dressed table is often all that’s needed when decorating for a holiday party. Consider height when presenting your food – a variety of sizes and heights of serving dishes can add interest to your table. For a Thanksgiving party, mums from your flower garden or colorful leaves can serve as decorations, as well as gourds. At Christmas, a few well placed ornaments or some garland is nice.

Try to choose neutral colors when selecting tablecloths, napkins, placemats, etc, so as to stretch your budget. We have limited closet space in our home, so this trick saves us money and storage space. A few seasonal napkins laid in overlapping diamonds across the center of your table is a nice touch if you’re looking for something different for each season or holiday.

I have a weakness for napkin holders, so I figured out a way to make my own. If you’re interested in this fun frugal craft, I wrote a tutorial!

If you’re having many children at your gathering, you might consider having a special kids table. We use a card table and folding chairs, with a plastic tablecloth and printable coloring pages as placemats. A holiday video or craft may also help keep your younger guests interested.

If you like the idea of place cards, you can make your own quite affordably. Scrap booking supplies or card stock make good options for place cards and can be decorated with a nice pen, some stamps, stickers or ribbon. For thanksgiving, I like the idea of writing something on the back side of each person’s place card, letting them know why you are thankful you know them. For Christmas you might include a favorite holiday memory or recipe. In my experience, children especially like place cards!

I hope these few suggestions inspire you to do some holiday entertaining this year, without the stress or the high price tag. I’d love to hear your ideas for fun, frugal holiday entertaining!

Steph is a vehicle safety engineer, working to advance her career while focusing on her family. Part tomboy, part girly girl, she works with men all day and likes to escape into the kitchen or the craft room with her family at night. She blogs about family, frugality, cooking and craftiness at Problem Solvin Mom and dreams of staying home at least part time in the near future. You can also find her blogging about food at Sprout for Parents.

Photos by Rachel of Coconut&Lime and Bbum