Tips for Easy Holiday Hosting + Mom’s Easy Apple Crisp

Today we’re breaking down a few simple tips for stress-free holiday hosting along with a (super simple) family favorite recipe!

With the holidays fast approaching, it’s a great time to prepare for both planned and unexpected holiday gatherings. Whether you’re hosting a large party or want to be able to entertain at a moment’s notice if neighbors drop by, we’ve got you covered! And by now, you know we like to keep things casual around here, with easy to implement, practical tips. Bonus: We’re also including my mom’s family apple crisp recipe that can be prepared ahead of time for a stress-free get together!

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After last year’s kitchen renovation, we’ve learned how this space functions most effectively for day-to-day use, but we’re fine tuning the ways to make the most of it when guests arrive. In order to be as prepared as possible, we used the ‘My List’ tool on HomeDepot.com to build a set of additional seating and kitchen accessories so we’re ready for spontaneous celebration. Below are our favorite tips to help you do the same!

1| Keep Folding Chairs On Hand

Gone are the days of cold, hard metal folding chairs! These stunning solid wood cane back chairs barely hint at the fact that they fold flat for easy storage. They’re compact enough to be stored in the back of a coat closet or hung on the wall in garage or basement with a truly minimal footprint. Sure, the functionality is great, but what really sets these chairs apart is the comfort! The padded linen fabric seat is as comfortable as any dining chair we’ve ever sat on and truly had us questioning if we should swap these in as our full-time kitchen chairs.

We’ll keep our vintage alley chairs in the mix for the time being, but these will be great to have on-hand when unexpected guests pop by or when Lucy has friends over for play dates. Or maybe we’ll eventually shift them up to the Red House once we land on a dining table. Time will tell!

2| Stock Up On Bulk Dinnerware

A fact of life, especially when kids are in the mix, is that glasses and dishes will inevitably break. In order to avoid being stuck with odd numbers of plates, bowls or glasses, we’ve gotten into the habit of purchasing a few extras of each to keep in deep storage. We often find that the boxes that fragile items like dishes are shipped in are also perfect for storing them for the long haul.

This also future-proofs against discontinued items. If your favorite dishes are no longer in production, you’re not stuck with a dwindling quantity that won’t meet your needs forever! To keep ourselves prepared, we chose this Stone Lain Celina 32-piece dinnerware set with service for 8. They look fantastic and they’re dishwasher and microwave safe for easy cleanup when the party’s over.

We also stocked up on this buy 8, get 12 pack of red wine glasses. Something as simple as serving water in a wine glass can elevate a meal into feeling extraordinary! Don’t forget to save the sturdy box these come in; it will be much easier to store until the next gathering!

3| Pre-Make Dishes the Night Before

Another easy way to keep holiday hosting fun is to prepare food and drink in advance! We do things like batch cocktail mixers, pre-roll and freeze cookie dough balls and keep a serving of this apple crumble topping frozen so we can dice a few apples and whip it up at any time. You can find the full recipe card below, but the idea is very simple. Fresh apples are diced and covered with an oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon crumble then baked to perfection. It’s a delicious and slightly less guilty pleasure than many other desserts. (Kim always says I can justify any dessert, I suppose it’s true!)

My mom has been making this family-favorite recipe for decades, and I can hardly remember a holiday gathering without it. I hesitate to say it, but I might actually prefer to have it with a cup of coffee for breakfast over as dessert after dinner. Either way, it’s incredibly easy to double the crumble mixture and freeze it. My parents even split the mixture up into individual servings, so all they need for a quick dessert is a couple of fresh apples!

4| Consider the Clean Up

Hosting is fun! Cleaning up after the gathering is not. These are facts of life. To make cleanup a breeze, we selected great-looking items that are all microwave and dishwasher safe. No more soaking, no more hand-washing delicate glassware and no more putting off the dishes until the morning. Once the party’s over, we’ll run the dishwasher while we sleep and unload it in the morning.

Much like the folding chairs above, dishwasher safe glasses and dishes have come a long way! When the leftovers are plentiful, we often plate out individual meals and store them in the fridge, so lunch is just a quick microwave away. The Home Depot carries thousands of on-trend products to fit your style and complete your project so you can design your home from top to bottom in the style that’s right for you!

Easy Apple Crisp

And now, a recipe! Let us know if you give this easy dish a try and what you think! It’s always a crowd pleaser, and it only looks like you worked hard all day.

What other helpful suggestions would you add to make holiday hosting a little easier this year? Drop them in the comments below, and happy hosting!