What's one thing you do to stay calm and organized on the day of a big holiday gathering, especially as a host?

Holidays can be super stressful! Especially the meal planning and preparation! And Cooking for large family and holiday gatherings is probably the most challenging part of it! As a seasoned host, I have figured out a way to make Holiday Entertaining much more fun and relaxing!! First, upon waking up in the morning, if I'm cooking a turkey, I put that in the oven! Then it's time for one of my secret holiday entertaining tips! I like to place a platter on the island in the kitchen with your favorite coffee cake sliced up, assorted fresh muffins or yummy assorted donuts! Next to that I put an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne or prosecco and a container of OJ! I find that this creates a fun and relaxed environment and sets the tone for the rest of the day! Then I take 30 minutes to set the holiday table! This way, You get to take your time and be creative with table decor and place settings! Next, I pull out all my favorite bowls, platters and serving utensils and label them with which dish I'm preparing goes with which! This helps prevent rushing around during serving time and makes the meal delivery much more relaxing! Another good secret is to prepare several of the side dishes the night before and refrigerate them overnight! All you have to do is pop them in the oven to cook and eliminate so much last minute preparation and stress!! Finally, I always prepare a few fun appetizers and make sure they are out when guests arrive!! Even If you still have a few things to finish up for dinner, guests are happy and have something to nibble on while you do all of your finishing touches!

I'm Anatole Noskov, CEO of Sparkly Maids in Dallas-Fort Worth. We complete hundreds of pre-holiday cleanings every year, so I've seen inside homes right before major gatherings. Here's what the calmest, most organized hosts do differently. *What's one thing you do to stay calm and organized on the day of a big holiday gathering, especially as a host? The hosts who seem most relaxed have one thing in common: they hire help for the cleaning and focus their energy on what actually matters - the food and the people. I've watched people stress themselves into exhaustion trying to deep clean their house, prep all the food, decorate, and be a good host all at once. It never works. By the time guests arrive, they're exhausted and irritable. The smartest hosts we work with book us 1-2 days before the gathering. We handle the bathrooms, kitchen, floors, dusting - the stuff guests will notice but that takes hours to do properly. That frees them up to focus on cooking, setting up, and actually enjoying the day. What I notice in homes after our pre-holiday cleans: they're not perfectly decorated. They're not Instagram-worthy. But they're clean, comfortable, and the host isn't frazzled. That matters more than centerpieces. If hiring cleaning help isn't in the budget, the next best thing I see working is this: clean the high-impact areas only. Bathrooms guests will use, the kitchen, and the main gathering space. Skip the bedrooms nobody will see. Skip the deep cleaning. Do the visible stuff well and let the rest go. The calmest hosts I encounter have learned something important: nobody remembers how clean your baseboards were. They remember if you were present and enjoying yourself. Outsource or minimize the cleaning so you can actually be there for your gathering. --- Company: Sparkly Maids Website: www.sparklymaids.com Location:*Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

As the Founder and CFO of Event Staff, I've managed countless large-scale events, and the secret to staying calm and organized during a big holiday gathering is to shift from reactive mode to operational flow. I treat the day like a live event—everything runs on a schedule, but it's flexible enough to adapt. Before guests arrive, I create a simple timeline that covers cooking, setup, and serving, with built-in buffer time for surprises. Every dish has a designated prep window, every serving item is labeled, and every task has an owner, even if it's just a family member helping with drinks or music. Once the structure is set, I focus only on execution. By the time guests walk in, the planning is behind you, and you're free to enjoy the moment. Calm comes from preparation, not personality—when every detail has a place, stress never finds one.

I keep it boring on purpose. The morning of a big gathering, I set the table first, music and lighting second, food last. Seeing the room "finished" calms the amygdala, and my prefrontal cortex stops trying to manage ten threads at once. Fewer open loops, less stress. I use painter's tape and a Sharpie. Every serving dish gets a small label, salad, potatoes, carving board, with the right utensil already in place. It looks quaint, but it turns helpers into instant teammates and saves me from a hundred micro-decisions. In my own home, that single trick cut pre-dinner chaos by half. I also run a 60-second reset, every hour on the hour. Step into the hallway, inhale for four, exhale for six, drop my shoulders, and name the next two actions out loud. That longer exhale nudges the vagus nerve, heart rate dips, and working memory comes back online. I pair it with one tiny win, wipe a counter or fill a water pitcher, to spark a small dopaminnergic bump. Repeat it and neuroplasticity does the rest. Fancy systems are brittle. Simple cues are kinder to your nervous system, and they make hosting actually feel like hosting.

My "one thing" is to consciously lower the stakes. I give myself permission for two or three things to go completely wrong. Before the first guest arrives, I mentally separate my 'job' as a host from my 'role' as a person. The host's job is to put on a perfect performance. The person's role is to connect with family and friends. I choose to prioritize being a person. This simple mind-shift changes everything. It takes the pressure off. In my psychiatry practice, I see how much holiday stress comes from this gap between expectation and reality. By deciding ahead of time that the turkey might be dry or the table setting might be wrong—and that it doesn't matter—I'm free to be present and actually enjoy the people I've invited.

After years managing restaurants, my go-to move is setting up zones. I dedicate one counter to drinks, another to appetizers, and keep the stove area for mains. It stops everyone from clustering in one spot and people can help without asking me a dozen questions. I stay sane and actually get to enjoy myself.

I run Black Velvet Cakes in Sydney, and we've fulfilled over 50,000 orders for every kind of celebration imaginable. The absolute game-changer for me when hosting big gatherings is what I call "the one-hour-before freeze"--I stop all prep exactly 60 minutes before guests arrive and use that time purely for setup and a quick shower. Here's why it works: we learned from our corporate deliveries to venues that timing windows matter more than perfection. I've seen $2,000 wedding cakes arrive flawless because we planned the final hour as buffer time, not decoration time. At home, I apply the same principle--if something isn't done an hour before, it gets scrapped or simplified. This single rule eliminated about 80% of my hosting anxiety. The specific trick I use is refrigerating my centerpiece dish (usually a dessert, obviously) the night before, then pulling it out during that final hour to come to room temperature while I'm setting tables and doing last checks. When we deliver cakes, we tell clients anything refrigerated can sit out for an hour before serving--it's the perfect timing window that lets you focus on ambiance instead of frantically icing cupcakes while someone's knocking at your door.

I set aside an unspoken hour until some one comes. No cellphone, no kitchen clatter, no rush work. I physically go through each area of the space-lighting, table flow, odor, background music and work at what seems wrong to be wrong instead of what appears wrong to be wrong. It reconfigures my brain back to the logistic to the atmosphere. Having gone through hosting at scale I learned that microissues cause tension, not large tasks. Guests can also get a misplaced playlist that causes them to become restless without knowing the reason. I also serve one dish at that time not to be served but to keep time. It translates that I have to make up connection not performance. Until the doorbell strikes, all the superfluous items are eliminated, such as noise, stress, perfectionism. My team spirit and energy placed in front of the first guest always determine the end of the night. Calm does not mean no chaos; calm is evidence that you created space, that it may exist without shattering you

As someone who's used to managing a million moving parts, whether that's a business or a holiday gathering, I've learned that calm comes from preparation and perspective. We've all heard of the saying "failing to plan is planning to fail", organisation is key. Two weeks before, I aim to have every plan finalised. This gives me room to adjust if needed and prevents any last-minute scrambling. The night before, I like to do a quick 'run-through', I set the table, plan the food timing, and visualise how the day will flow. That little bit of structure means that on the actual day, I can focus less on logistics and more on going with the flow and enjoying the moment. I also keep a short handwritten list of just all the priorities, things like greeting every guest warmly or sitting down to actually eat with everyone. Everything beyond that is a bonus. It's amazing how much more peaceful you feel when you stop chasing perfection and focus on connection. At Squiddy, we bring that same mindset into everything we create, comfort, calm, and moments that help people slow down and feel grounded. Hosting a holiday should never feel like a marathon, it should feel like one cosy, relaxing day!

You may already be doing one of the smartest things you can when hosting: breaking the menu into pieces and clearly handing out dishes to willing guests. It's a win-win. Folks actually appreciate being given a specific task, and it eases your load without awkwardness. In your own kitchen, you're wise to divide preparation into "pre-day" blocks. For example: One week out: What can be done now?; Four days before: Which dishes or components can be handled early?, Morning of: What must absolutely be fresh or last-minute? This way you avoid guessing and prevent being stuck with a side dish that surprises you by needing more time. Also—just like you do for your "day job"—look at your calendar, and build in buffers. Plan so that even if one task drags or an ingredient is missing, you don't derail. Finally: to avoid burnout, don't overcomplicate things. Yes, your family may love a brand-new side or dessert, but save that one "fancy experiment" for another time. And, don't shy away from letting one item be store-bought or semi-homemade instead of adding stress to the day. These tips may all add up to a day of thanks for yourself!

I assign specific tasks to early-arriving family members. People want to help anyway, so I give them real jobs instead of saying "everything's fine." My sister always comes two hours early. I hand her a list: fold napkins, fill water glasses, arrange the cheese board. My brother-in-law gets put on ice duty and trash management. Everyone has something to do, and I'm not doing everything alone. This approach turns nervous energy into productive help. Plus, people feel useful instead of standing around asking "what can I do?" every five minutes.

To prevent the "hellidays," we need to first and foremost define what we want our holidays to look like! Do you want big parties or intimate, small gatherings? Do you want to cook or cater? Decide NOW and then create a plan toward that end. Simplify as much as possible. Don't accept the world's view of what your holiday should look like. Design what works for you. Planning ahead relieves the tension and stress so you can actually enjoy it. Make lists for food, beverages, and gifts and shop as early as possible. Buy ahead what you can, and remember to have fun!

Fix the cracks before the guests arrive. That means repainting the corners, checking lighting, and ensuring every room feels alive long before the invitations go out. Too many hosts do not realize that the handle is broken or the wall dull until a week before the holiday, and then they start to get anxious. I make my space more of a story that I would like the guests to be a part of. Even the simplest house can be rejuvenated with a new paint, a couple of plants, and warm lighting. On the actual day, my rule is simple: If the house already feels loved, you won't need to impress anyone. You'll just be welcoming them into your peace. That's the best kind of hosting -- not perfection, but preparation.

While it can be common for people to feel overwhelmed when hosting larger holiday gatherings, it is possible to host these types of events with low stress and anxiety. Oftentimes, people place heightened or perfectionistic standards for the gathering and can also worry about the party being "fun enough" or making sure everyone is having a good time. An effective strategy for being less stressed when hosting gatherings is to ask yourself, "What can I do differently to enjoy hosting instead of trying to perfect it?" Then the goal is to work on implementing these changes; at first it will likely feel uncomfortable and that is okay. However, overtime, this process can help transition hosting gatherings from being stressful to enjoyable.

The main thing that keeps me calm and organized is a checklist. Something that maps out the experience I want my guests to have from the time they walk in the door to the time they leave. Cocktail at the door, appetizers, meal, music playlist, activities, parting gift, thank you notes if they brought a gift etc. Having a list gives me peace of mind and ensures I won't forget anything too. More organized = less stress and impressed guests who feel loved and valued.

I turn on the candlelight as my personal reset mechanism. The small flame creates a sense of balance which helps me remain present in the moment even when the kitchen becomes chaotic and music plays loudly. I create a single peaceful area that remains untouched until visitors enter the space. The visual calmness of this space brings me peace through its combination of soft lights and fresh flowers and silk robes draped across chairs. The preparation of this space serves as my anchor to maintain balance before the arrival of guests creates energetic chaos.

I've hosted big gatherings at both of my companies' holiday parties for years, and the one thing that keeps me calm is doing a complete "zone reset" at 6 AM the day of. I physically walk through every single space guests will touch--entryway, bathroom, kitchen--and do one last wipe of high-touch surfaces and counter clears. It takes maybe 20 minutes, but catching that one smudge on the bathroom mirror or clearing that random pile of mail off the counter prevents the 3 PM panic spiral. The biggest shift for me came from my ten years as a basketball official. In officiating, you learn that the game flows better when you handle the most contentious call early and decisively--it sets the tone. For hosting, I apply that by tackling my most annoying prep task first thing in the morning, usually prepping vegetables or setting up the drink station. Once that's done, everything else feels manageable. I also keep a simple "day-of" checklist taped inside my pantry door with exactly five items on it, max. When I hosted our company's BBB Torch Award celebration dinner last year, my list was: ice, backup paper towels, bathroom check, music playlist queued, one empty counter for coats. That's it. Trying to remember ten things creates chaos; five specific things creates calm.

I'm a systems nerd who's built two home service companies from the ground up, so my answer is probably predictable: I run what I call a "reverse timeline" the morning of. I literally work backward from when guests arrive--if people show up at 4pm, I write down 3:45pm (light candles, put out appetizers), 3:30pm (get dressed), 2:00pm (shower), and so on. It sounds rigid, but it actually makes me way calmer because I'm not guessing what should happen when. The other thing I do--and this comes from years of managing cleaning teams--is I accept that three things will look "messy" during the party, and I decide what those are ahead of time. For me, it's always the kitchen counter, the coat situation, and whatever surface people put their drinks on. I just mentally release those spaces so I'm not scrambling to wipe down the counter while someone's mid-story. The last hack is I do one full walkthrough of my house the night before as if I'm a guest seeing it for the first time. I look for the weird stuff--the bathroom hand towel that's kind of grubby, the baseboard by the entry that has visible dust, the mirror with toothpaste splatter. Those tiny things bug people subconsciously, and fixing them takes 10 minutes but buys you so much mental space the next day.

I learned a trick on MasterChef Canada that changed how I host. Before anyone arrives, I get everything ready, all ingredients and tools laid out. It stops the kitchen scramble, so I can actually hang out with my guests instead of frantically searching for things. That little bit of extra prep time beforehand makes all the difference.

I always have the day-of planned out. Not just in my head, but actually written down on a physical piece of paper. Ahead of time, I think about everything that needs to get done that day, how long each of those tasks will take, and what time I need to do them at. (I also try to get as much done before that day as possible too). Then, I create a list, with times, of my tasks for that day, and spend the day checking them off as I accomplish them. This helps because I don't actually have to spend that day thinking about what I have to do and stressing about accidentally forgetting something. It's already figured out and planned.