What I Learned From My Mom About Holiday Entertaining

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Now that I’m 25, I’ve finally reached the point where I am taking the lead on holiday entertaining at my house – and Lord knows I’m nervous as heck! Although I have perfected a few staple holiday dishes – like my green bean casserole and oatmeal crisp – I’m still nervous about the idea of making an entire turkey. Since the season is all about food and fellowship with loved ones, these three lessons from my mom are crucial for creating an environment during the holidays where lasting memories can be made.

Before I get into the lessons, let me explain how fantastic of a holiday party thrower (is that a word?) my mom is. She always prided herself in being able to have a clean house full of laughter and satisfied bellies, and Costco was integral in making that happen each Thanksgiving and Christmas. I grew up going to Costco every other Sunday with my family to stock up on food and household goods, and the holiday season always meant two or three carts full of items necessary for hosting dozens of people at our house. So it made perfect sense for me to return to the familiar and head to Costco to purchase some Procter & Gamble goods to help to clean the house before and after a holiday gathering. Ok, here’s what my mom taught me about holiday entertaining:

Lesson 1: A clean home is an inviting home

Before we even started cooking, my mom would have us clean the house from top to bottom, especially our rooms, since we often had overnight visitors during the holidays. The Swiffer Duster is perfect for reaching long forgotten and hard to reach corners, and small enough to give a little one so that everyone can pitch in!

Lesson 2: Make sure there is enough food for everyone

Now I still don’t understand the need to buy a 26 pound turkey, but hey – my mom ensured that there was AMPLE food to go around with enough for takeaway packs. One of my favorite desserts to make that doesn’t require a lot of work and easily feeds a large crowd is oatmeal apple crumble. It’s such a filling dessert, the perfect balance of savory and sweet – but it can get quite messy to make with oatmeal, cinnamon, and sugar flying everywhere, so I will need Bounty towels to clean up!

Lesson 3: Clean up immediately so you can relax with everyone else

My mom always had us start cleaning up the right after the first round of food was served, because no one wanted to single out one family member to have to do the dishes while every one else played games or watched sports! Being able to throw everything, especially my oatmeal crusted glass pan, into the dishwasher with Cascade Action Pacs is essential to my cleanup process!

Now that I’m an adult and creating my own holiday memories, Costco is definitely the place I can go to get what I need to cook tantalizing meals that leave guests satisfied, and clean up all the mess happiness afterwards! Costco household items, especially those from Procter & Gamble, were and will continue to be a large part of my ability to channel the selfless holiday spirit my mom did so effortlessly!

Be sure to check out Procter & Gamble’s household goods for your holiday entertaining! What are your tips for entertaining lots of guests?