When I blogged about menu planning a few weeks ago, my message was about saving time and money.   For special occasions, though, we want to make a meal to delight our guests.  For those events, we focus on the guests, the food and the presentation. 

     Menu planning is always a help, making impressive meals easier!  The process is similar, regardless of the focus of your meals. 

1. Start with cleaning up your kitchen, cleaning out the fridge and clearing some work space!
2. Consider your guests, family traditions and other logistics.  For example, I need to make sure there are ample veggie options for the vegetarians coming to Christmas dinner, and someone in the family does not onions.  We also have a Christmas Birthday in the house, so we always have birthday cake for dessert!  Logistically, count guests and plan your servings accordingly.   Remember it’s better to have leftovers than not enough.
3. Make your menu.  Determine if and what anyone else is contributing to the meal.  Let those folks bringing items know what time dinner will be, so they know when to arrive and can determine if their dish needs to come hot or cold to your meal.
4. Look at your recipes, check what you have on hand and make your grocery list.  Shop at least a few days ahead of time, so you can start your prep, though you may have to run out for forgotten items or last-minute purchases.  Our menu for Christmas, and my grocery items and notes in parentheses, are as follows:
1. Ham with glaze (my MIL brings the ham, buy cranberry sauce and marmalade for the glaze, I have the rest)
2. Baked sweet potatoes (MIL will bring)
3. Baked or mashed potatoes (have)
4. Biscuits (have)
5. corn casserole (a family favorite, check sour cream, I have the rest of ingredients)
6. green bean amandine or Christmas (petite) peas with lemon zest (buy veggie, and almonds or lemon)
7. A pear, walnut and pomegranate spinach salad I am cobbling together from 2 recipes, choosing my favorite parts of each.  (here is one, Kraft special spinach salad, the other is from FamilyCircle.com) Should be very pretty and colorful on the table.
8. Turtle brownies for the birthday boy (buy cake mix and caramel, have condensed milk)
9. Cheese cake with raspberry sauce (have most ingredients, buy graham crackers and frozen raspberries)
5. I really love cooking a big holiday meal for my family.  But it takes time in the kitchen on those special days, so I do as much as possible ahead so I can still enjoy my guests.  I can do the following a day or 2 before:
   1. Clean out fridge
   2. Make glaze
   3. Scrub potatoes
   4. Shred cheese for biscuits
   5. Sugar walnuts
   6. Bake desserts, make raspberry sauce
   7. Ice / chill wine and beer
   8. Check table linens
6. One of my favorite tips:
   1. Wash serving dishes and roasting pan ahead of time, leave them on the counter.   
   2. Write item name on a card (or click here to see my porcelain cards) and leave card on corresponding serving dishes;
   3. Place serving dishes on server or table to make sure there is room for everything.
   4. Helpful guests can place the items in the correct dishes with the correct cards.  Let others help you!!
7. Check the cook times on your items, then move back from your dinner time to determine when items go in the oven to have them all done at the same time.  For example: 
   1. (4 hours prior) Bake Ham
   2. (90 minutes prior) Bake sweet and regular potatoes (or mash them)
   3. (75 minutes prior) Assemble and bake corn casserole
   4. (half hour prior, take out ham to make room) Bake biscuits
   5. (Last half hour) Steam and assemble vegetable, assemble salad, set table

     What are you doing for Christmas Dinner?  And what can you do ahead of time to make things go more smoothly?  Use menu planning to make a great Christmas Dinner for your guests, while allowing you a chance to get out of the kitchen to enjoy them!  Merry Christmas!