Last week, we hosted our first-ever holiday gathering for family.
We’ve always been the ones to attend holiday events – never to host on the day of – and we were excited to try our hand at it all. Doug handled most of the food while I was in charge of details like prepping the house, cleaning, appetizers, and getting the ambiance/table set. At the end of it all we were left with happy hearts and tired feet; we loved hosting and definitely will be doing it again! As a follow up, I thought I’d share a little about our (super EASY!) citrus themed table decor, and also a few tips we learned during our first holiday party hosting.
Quick, Easy & GORGEOUS Citrus Themed Table Decor
I decided to do a citrus-themed table after researching some Thanksgiving table decor ideas and seeing a few images on Pinterest. I love this route for many reasons.
It’s bright, colorful, and vibrant. You can easily tailor the colors for the season. I did shades of red, orange and yellow to lean into the fall, but you could easily throw in nice builds like green or red grapes, limes, kiwi, avocado, and even bananas to vary up the color scheme and play up different seasonal elements. This setting would be perfect to do literally any time of the year!
I also love that it’s edible! Guests ate the grapefruits on their plates before or after their meals, and everyone went home with a little fruit-filled goody bag at the end of the evening, so nothing was wasted.
To accomplish this citrus-themed table decor setting was super easy.
All I did was buy multiple bags of oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and apples. I added in some pomegranates too, for more red tie-ins! I cut some in half, but most I left whole. After arranging, I added in pops of greenery – because “green is God’s neutral” and I always feel like it does such a nice job unifying decor looks – and that was it! The entire table setting took about 15 minutes, and looked like a million bucks.
Wins all around!
7 Tips We Learned While Hosting Our Holiday Gathering
While we’re not rookies with hosting in general, this was our first time hosting a holiday gathering on the day of. I think there’s a difference between general hosting and holiday hosting, just because on a holiday I think it’s important to create a special atmosphere that encourages happy memories. Here are some tips we learned on the day-of that’ll help us run an even smoother ship next time!
Clean DAYS prior to the holiday
This was our biggest mistake. Our house needed a good, deep clean, and we probably didn’t prepare well enough in this area. Hours before people arrived, I was on my hands and knees scrubbing and cleaning. This is something we definitely could have, and should have, done much further in advance. Days and days in advance, in fact, to make the day-of less stressful!
It would have been nice to just focus on the food on Thanksgiving day instead of worrying about streaks on mirrors and whether or not our floors were scrubbed. (It should be noted I don’t think our guests would have cared either way! But of course when you host, you want to put your best foot forward and have a nice/presentable house.)
Time out the food
One thing that I think Doug did a GREAT job at, that is a good note for next time, was timing out the food. He had made a plan for exactly how long each dish took to make, and planned accordingly, so that all the dishes were ready around the same time. This was key so nothing sat around or got cold!
Ambiance matters
I’m a huge believer in setting an ambiance when hosting. Ambiance is that *thing* you can’t quite put your finger on but that feels cozy and special while in someone’s home. It’s a clean house. Candles lit. Taking coats and offering drinks. Setting the table. Being warm and inviting. All those little details are things that are easy to overlook but that definitely add up to create a special gathering!
Use throw-away plates & utensils
Bet you couldn’t tell from the photos that our plates were throw-away, huh?! I’m not normally a fan of throw-away, but we decided to make an exception to help save on cleaning headaches for our first big holiday hosting event. This made the the eco-conscious lover in me cringed a little bit, BUT I do think that having throw-away plates and utensils made the clean up SO MUCH EASIER. Next time, I’ll be sure to grab more eco-friendly options, like these palm leaf dinner plates!
Think about special touches, like goody bags
Alright, alright. I know this isn’t a kid’s birthday party. But who doesn’t love leaving a gathering with a little something special?! We bought little bags that we put all the fruit from our table centerpiece in, and everyone who attended left with bags of fruit to take home with them. It was just fun to do and an extra special touch for the day that I know everyone appreciated.
Have the group participate
Just because you’re hosting, doesn’t mean the group can’t contribute! We assigned everyone who came with a side dish or dessert to bring, to help spread the responsibility out. This not only helps with cost, but it also helps with managing cooking the dishes on the day-of!
Make sure to ENJOY the day!
One thing both Doug and I noticed while hosting is that it’s so hard to actually talk to people when you’re responsible for so many dishes and details! We both felt like we were running around a lot, which was necessary to help the day run smoothly, but it also made for a whirlwind of an experience.
I have to say that the most enjoyable part of it all was once the food was ate and cleaning was done, and we got to sit down and chat with others for a bit. It all definitely made me appreciate hosting much more — so many details and things to note! And it also made me have a strong appreciation for the “helpers” who step in. Those who help clean after the meal or offer to take the trash out, so that the hosts can enjoy the day too.
Any other tips for hosting holiday gatherings? Be sure to leave them in the comments below!
PS – 10 Gorgeous Thanksgiving Table Settings That Are #Goals + Trader Joe’s Fall Flower Arrangements + A Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe Straight From A Culinary Student
