Planning LO's First Christmas at Home

je2161

We are having the whole family (parents, grandparent, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) over to our house for Sophia's First Christmas. It should be a busy weekend between getting the house spotless and preparing some dishes. Is anyone else with an infant in the house having a lot of guests over for Christmas?

We are so excited to have everyone over, but I want to stay with the guests in the living room as much as possible. I am making stuffed shells, but am thinking about how I can save time with its preparation. I'm thinking about storing the pre-boiled, pre-stuffed shells in the refrigerator until it's time to throw them in the oven, but have yet to do a test-run to make sure the edges don't dry up. Any experiences? 

Which tips/tricks will you employ to make Christmas prep easier?

freeerin

I told my husband that we can host his family for dinner if they each bring a dish and then help with the cleaning afterward.  We're travelling by car 9 hours the next day to visit my parents, so we need the help!  Luckily my brother in law is bringing the turkey and so we'll just have side dishes to prepare.  I'm going to be busy enough cleaning and packing before the big event.

suv75

I'm hosting an Italian style dinner for 9 adults, 5 kids and my baby. Eggplant parm, chicken vesuvio, risotto, meatballs, bread, salad, pasta. All I can make ahead of time is the sauce. I'm going to be exhausted but have cleaning lady coming today and gifts all wrapped. Just have to do food shopping Friday and cook Sunday am for dinner at 3pm.

nugget0411

totally make them ahead of time!! maybe even stick them in the freezer so they keep their shape and take them out that morning and stick them in the oven...you could even stick them in frozen.

that sounds yummy!!! good luck! and don't stress too much - if your family loves you they'll understand and jump right in to help!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

smiling76

You can make those ahead--put sauce all over it and then wrap in foil and put in fridge or you can freeze them. I've done both and they worked out great.  I'm doing the same thing and also buying a ham--that pretty much just goes in the oven for a while.  I'll probably remove the ham to "settle" and then bake the shells (if I recall they don't take more than maybe 20-30 min or so??)

I'm also doing some appetizer type things that are simple.