Making Bills of Fare is a rather outdated concept, but industrious housewives used to do it all the time. Creating a menu and having some premade items will make sure you can spend time getting the important dishes right. The rest can be assigned to other people, picked up at the market, or forgotten altogether. Then you can focus on your family and making memories together.

There are several things that can be made in advance. I start stuffing my freezer every October with pumpkin or zucchini bread for easy breakfasts items. Then I whip up a few batches of my favorite gingerbread cookie recipe, cut them out in fun shapes and freeze unbaked. Figure out what parts of your menu can be done ahead and do a little bit at a time.

Trying new recipes is always fun for me, but I learned a long time ago that you never use a new recipe for company. Practice your recipe ahead of time. No one wants to find out 30 minutes before company arrives that the recipe was wrong. If you don’t have time for that, stick with family favorites—they are favorites for a reason, right?

Unless you plan to send everyone home with a to-go container, it is a good plan to have an idea how much food you actually need. Serving sizes can be smaller the more items you have on the menu.