The holiday season brings a little more intensity to your pantry organization and the foods you need to have on hand. Either you are hosting a ton more (hint hint me, I can’t help it!) or you are attending more parties and want to be prepared with a dish to bring. Get your pantry in order ahead of time and you will have more time to spend with your family over the holidays. Some of these tips are exactly the same as my Party Ready Pantry post but others have changed.
My pantry will look different from yours but use this as inspireation for how you want to set up your holiday pantry!
Here are my suggestions:
– What is your favorite dip (mine is buffalo chicken wing dip)? Make sure you have the ingredients on hand as well as whatever you need to accompany it. PRO TIP: Cream Cheese is in almost everything so buy the family pack during the holidays.
– Snacks (chips, pretzels, etc.) Stock up on chips, pretzels and all of those goodies that are easy to pull out last-minute. My absolute favorite snack during the holiday season is chex mix. If you are like me make a tripe batch and divide it up into gallon size bags to pull out when needed. Homemade chex mix will keep for up to 6 weeks if you make sure it is properly sealed and it f you put it in a cute holiday tin it makes a great, quick gift.
– Juice boxes! Day to-day we avoid juice boxes but when we have guests over it is SO much easier than getting kids individual drinks. I usually end up with a mishmash of juice boxes in the basement fridge from various events so I only restock when necessary.
– Adult Beverages. This is a great time of year to take inventory of your bar and restock. I usually keep a box of white and red wine on hand during the holidays (classy, I know!).
– Napkins as well as disposable plates and silverware. Go the extra mile and get the festive stuff! When I’m really organized I also keep a brown kraft paper roll handy so I can roll out a tablecloth (added bonus the kids can draw on it!).
Start with what you want to have on your menu….here is what I like to have the the holiday season.
Menu
Chex Mix
Chicken Wing Dip
Chicken
Dinner Rolls
Green Bean Casserole
Mac & Cheese
Christmas Cut Outs
Then stock your pantry accordingly based on your favorite recipes!
- Chex Mix – Homemade is key and so easy. Use your favorite recipe!
- Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip ingredients and Wheat Thins ****Even if you don’t keep an entire meals worth of items on the ready I highly suggest having stuff for a dip or appetizer. It is nice to throw something together on your way to someone else’s house too!****
- Chicken – I use the Perdue Oven Ready Chicken. Freeze and Thaw Out before use.
- Frozen Dinner Rolls – I LOVE the Rhodes dinner rolls. Stock up with a couple of bags and pull out individual rolls as needed.
- Green Bean Casserole – Use your favorite freezer casserole.
- Mac & Cheese – Either buy a couple of boxes of your favorite Mac and Cheese or make a freezer Mac and Cheese. Usually I make homemade Mac & Cheese during the holidays and save the boxed stuff for the summer.
- Christmas Cut Outs or your favorite holiday cookie. Cookies freeze really well but if you are anything like me you will have plenty on hand!
This is my list and hopefully inspiration for you to build your party pantry based on what you like to eat/drink. Really it is just about taking time to think through what you need and setting it aside for when you have people coming over!
Happy Hosting & Happy Holidays!