by Patti Beckert

Created on: November 13, 2009

With the holiday season once again upon us, it is time to decide who is going to host the traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings. The first thing to remember is that this should not be looked upon as an obligation but an opportunity to share your home with friends and family who might otherwise not have anywhere to go for the holidays. Attitude can make or break a party so be sure you are really up to the task before beginning to plan your function. If you aren't, then don't be afraid to ask someone else in the family to take the reins this year. You're sure to find someone who is eager and willing to host the parties.

Once it's decided that you are the lucky recipient of the party lottery this year, you should start to plan your party as early as possible so that you can spread the various tasks out over a longer period of time, thereby freeing you up to enjoy yourself as much as your guests.

Figuring out how many people will be attending the gathering, as well as if children will be attending, should be the first thing to do on your list as it will determine not only how much food to prepare, but what form of entertainment will be required for your guests. Once you have a count of guests, you can begin to plan the meal and before and after dinner activities.

Planning the Meal -

When planning the meal portion of the gathering, here are some rules of thumb to follow with regard to how much food to prepare to be sure that there is more than enough to go around.

*Turkey - For each adult guest, figure on one pound of uncooked turkey, and for each child, figure on a half pound of uncooked turkey. A pound of uncooked turkey ends up being around a half pound of turkey per serving. This will allow for a few leftovers. If you want more leftovers, then buy a few more pounds of turkey. So, if you are hosting a party where there will be 6 adults and 4 children, you would buy at least an 8 pound turkey, and if you want leftovers, then a 10 to 12 pound turkey would be sufficient.

*Ham - If the ham has a bone, then figure on 2 servings per pound. If the ham is boneless, then figure on getting a little more out of a serving per pound, i.e. 3 servings. So, again, if you have 6 adults and 4 children and you have a bone-in ham, figure on buying a 5-7 pound ham, and for a boneless ham, a 4-6 pound ham should suffice.

*Beef Roast - Depending on whether you are serving a prime rib roast or a standing rib roast, you should figure on serving portions for adults

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