Holiday Hosting for Beginners

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If you’ve never hosted the holidays before, the stress can be real! From making the house shine to perfecting every bite, the task can be daunting. We’ve rounded up a delicious buffet of holiday hosting tips guaranteed to make you look like a seasoned pro. 

Plan Ahead

(You’ll thank yourself later for getting a head start on cleaning, cooking, and other hosting details.)

• Cook Ahead: A rookie hosting mistake is to assume that all cooking has to happen just before your guests arrive. But a range of dishes, from casseroles to stuffing to dessert and rolls, can be made ahead of time and easily re-heated.
• Clean Ahead: While you’ll want to vacuum and spot clean just before guests arrive, deeper cleaning of the bathroom, living room, and dinning spaces can happen 2-3 days in advance. 
• Share the Load: Depending on your guest list, it may make sense to share cooking and planning duties with trusted friends and family. Most people mean it when they say: “let me know what I can bring!”
• Free Up Closet Space: A winter gathering means that every guest will arrive wearing a coat. Free up some closet space ahead of time or have a designated spot in mind.
• Let the Kids Help: Invite your kids to participate in hosting by assigning them small tasks. Not only will it help lighten your load, but they’ll also feel proud to know they’re contributing. “Greeter” and “coat taker” are ideal jobs.

Keep it Sustainable

From disposable plates to single-use décor, holiday hosting can end up creating a lot of unnecessary waste. Embrace your sustainable values and impress your guests with eco-friendly touches that stand up for the planet—and let your personality shine. 

• Ditch the Disposables: Say no thanks to disposables (plates, cutlery, cups). Instead, check out local thrift shops and markets for unique hosting décor like plates, tablecloths, and retro touches. If you purchase linens that need a quick clean up, spritz any visible stains with biobased Laundry Stain Remover. Then wash with Power + Liquid Laundry Detergent, boosted by 6 enzymes and surfactants for serious cleaning power.   
• Simplify Recycling/Composting: Simplify recycling and composting by labeling your bins with what can/can’t go in them. This will make it even easier to reduce waste.
• Bonus Tip: Try to serve beverages that come in aluminum cans instead of glass bottles since they’re more widely accepted at recycling facilities. 
• Leftover Smarter: Invite party guests to arrive with their own reusable food containers. This will not only help divvy up all that extra food (so you’re not stuck with 3 pounds of sweet potato casserole), but it will also minimize single-use plastic. 

Tackle Post-Party Clean Up Like a Pro

Just the thought of post-party clean-up can make even seasoned hosts anxious. Seventh Generation has you covered with biobased cleaning solutions for every type of holiday mess. Here’s a breakdown of our top products for holiday clean up.

• Foaming Dish Spray: With 3 grease fighters, Seventh Generation Foaming Dish Spray (Link opens in new window.) saves you scrubbing time* for speedier dish doing—perfect for holiday hosting. Our thick foaming action breaks down stuck-on food, so you don’t have to. Just spray, wipe, and rinse. Your casserole pans and pie plates will be clean in no time! *compared to our hand dish liquid
• Auto Dish: After you load up the dishwasher, reach for our Dishwasher Detergent Packs (Link opens in new window.), available in Free & Clear or refreshing Lemon scent. They’re made with an enzyme-rich dishwashing formula that goes right to work on pesky, stuck-on food and gets the job done the right way every time. 
• Biobased Laundry Detergent: Tackle dirty and stained linens with one of our powerful, biobased laundry detergents (Link opens in new window.) that fight tough stains with Safer Choice Certified formulas. 

While there’s no such thing as completely stress-free holiday hosting, we hope these tips help you find some balance so that your holidays are full of joy and delicious memories without being overwhelming. Happy holidays from our family to yours!