How to host a holiday bash

Simplify the season with tips to host a holiday event without all the stress and all the work.

Story by Amy Steele and Lynn Haley •  photography by John Gaucher

Before you’ve even hauled the decorations out of the basement, the holiday season has landed, and with it, hosting commitments ranging from an open house to the full meal deal with turkey and all the trimmings.

First things first – park your cape and let go of holiday heroics. You don’t have to make everything from scratch. In fact the less time you spend cooking on the day of your event, the more time you can channel into garnishing, serving and hosting in your own unique style. With a few make-ahead tips and a healthy dose of practicality, you’ll be laughing all the way to the eggnog.

Mix up the menu

Who says you have to stick to the tried-and-true? Pete Desrochers, a longtime restaurant reviewer and culinary writer in Edmonton, recommends hosting a tapas event to give party-goers a break from the heavy foods of typical holiday menus. “I like to suggest quality instead of quantity,” he says. “People get satiated with so many events to attend.”

In a typical tapas evening, guests sample a variety of tastes, flavours and textures introduced at a casual pace over two to three hours. Everything can be prepared ahead of time and you can even buy many of your tapas pre-cooked. Your sole cuisine commitment the night of the event is re-heating.

Cold dishes can include mini veggie wraps, chilled grilled shrimp, or a selection of unique cheese chunks and fruit pieces. Add a touch of the exotic with a funky dish of mixed olives (jumble up different varieties and skewer them with coloured toothpicks) and a bowl of spiced mixed nuts. For hot dishes, consider chicken wings, small quesadillas cut into little triangle wedges, mini quiches or pastry brie bundles.

Wade Sirois, co-owner and chef at Infuse Catering in Calgary, agrees that it’s a good idea to surprise your guests with something other than the traditional ham or turkey.

“People get fatigue from the flavours of the season that tend to be rich and heavy,” he says. His suggestion is to do something ethnically themed, such as a traditional Mexican meal or Asian cuisine. “It can be more memorable in a good way,” he says.

Get a little help

Don’t be afraid to ask friends or family to pitch in. Most will be more than happy to bring a favourite appetizer, put the finishing touches on the salad or pour a few drinks. But getting a little help also means it’s okay to buy things pre-made. Don’t be embarrassed to buy your dessert or your appetizers. As long as your food is still good quality and tasty, guests will appreciate your efforts.

You can even buy fresh, prepared meals at places like Sunterra Market that simply have to be heated up at home. Or, better yet, you can hire your own personal chef. Dean Mitchell, a personal chef at Saffron Catering in Calgary, says people often hire personal chefs when they want to spend time with their friends rather than in the kitchen. Personal chefs can do anything from making a single menu item, which you can then transfer into one of your own serving dishes for a more personal touch, to assisting you with all aspects of preparation and cleanup.

Many people feel like they have to prepare everything from scratch at a holiday event or else it’s not good enough. But Mitchell thinks that’s an outdated perspective. People should factor in how much time they’d spend shopping, cooking and cleaning. “What is your time worth to do it?” he asks. “Is it worth the stress level?”

Alternately, you can help yourself out by cooking as much as possible in advance. “Prep ahead of time so you can sit down and enjoy your dinner and your guests as well,” says Debi Nielson, who teaches cooking classes in Calgary.

That may seem easier to do with a tapas event or a more informal gathering, but what about a more traditional sit-down holiday meal? According to Edmonton chef Brad Smoliak, with the right techniques, you can do almost all of your cooking ahead of time – including mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables – so that the only thing left to do on the day of your holiday meal is the turkey (see his make-ahead holiday menu on page 18).

Match your menu to your guests

Find out if your guests have allergies or are vegans or vegetarians so you’re not faced with having nothing to serve them. Also, consider whether children will be attending so that you can be sure to have child-friendly options on your menu.

That goes for drinks as well. Are your guests beer and wine drinkers or should you make sure you have some non-alcoholic punch or “mocktails” on hand for non-drinkers? If you’re catering to wine drinkers, it makes sense to get a little advice from the experts. Staff at a boutique wine shop can help you choose a wine that will pair well with your meal, says Jeff Last, manager of Bin 905 in Calgary. “Wine was created as a partner to food,” he says. If your guests are cocktail drinkers, try mixing drinks with ginger and pomegranate or ginger and cranberry for a seasonal flavour.

Set the mood

With all of that extra help you’re getting and your prep work done in advance, you should have some time for a little decorating and ambiance setting. Pam Fortier, owner of Decadent Desserts in Calgary, likes to think of a holiday party as a sensory experience. “It’s theatre in a sense. It’s setting the stage and letting it unfold,” she says. She likes to have a fire lit in her fireplace and food simmering so that when her guests arrive the aroma of her cooking will already be in the air.

Dishes and decorations don’t have to be over-the-top to make a statement. For a tapas event, the only accessories needed are side plates along with a batch of colourful cocktail napkins and glasses. You can buy plastic rings at most kitchen stores that snap onto the side of the plate and hold a wine or beer glass, allowing for a free hand.

You can also step out a little when it comes to serving. For an appetizer, three to four large grilled shrimp fill up a martini glass, making a perfect one-size serving. Fruit pieces take on a whole new look when skewered onto toothpicks, stuck into a variety of pears arranged on a long platter and garnished with rosemary sprigs and cranberries. Chinese soup spoons (which you can find in your local China town) are the perfect vessel for one-taste samplers.

Jaclyn Labchuk, co-owner and event planner at Infuse Catering, suggests choosing a single colour such as red or green or blue and pairing it with a metallic (gold or silver) to create a Christmasy feel. Place pillar candles of varying heights in festive shades on a ceramic dish for a holiday glow or evergreen boughs for a simple look and a wonderful scent.