This post has been sponsored by HoneyBaked Ham. All opinions about their fabulous products are 100% my own. #HoneyBakedEaster
Don’t start stressing but Easter comes early this year. Lucky for you I am sharing five Practical Tips for Planning a Traditional Easter Dinner.
Tip One: Get ready early
Now don’t go rolling your eyes at me. I know what you are thinking.
How am I going prepare a traditional Easter dinner fully dressed without getting messy?
Make your apron your best kitchen friend! Plus making the time to take care of yourself first will ease the stress of hosting.
Think of it this way. You would much rather be caught freshening up than just stepping out of the shower when the first guest rings the doorbell?
Tip Two: Set the table ahead of time
Several days before each dinner party I always set the dining room table. Seeing all the pretty china and crystal laid out makes me happy. Setting the table ahead of time also allows me to create a tablescape to be proud of. Click here to see my tips for thrifty table setting ideas.
Setting the table in advance may give you time to create a few DIY projects like a Moss Covered Easter Basket or this Pottery Barn Inspired Polka Dot Table Runner.
Another huge time saver is to pre-plan what food is going into which dish. Typically I gather all the serving pieces I would like to use then label them with the name of each food from the menu plan. Labeling may seem silly but it is an easy way for others to help you plate up food for the party.
Tip Three: Used tried and true recipes
Hosting a traditional Easter dinner is not the time to experiment on new recipes. That quinoa, acorn squash, and water chestnut casserole may look good on Pinterest but it is better left for another time.
Do not stress yourself out whipping up a new recipe when you have ten people coming to your house for Easter dinner! Instead rely on your tried and true recipes to complete your menu plan.
I can never go wrong with my Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits or Black Forest Trifle Dessert.
Tip Four: Self Serve Drink Station
Provide a self serve drink station for your guest allows them to help themselves to which beverage they would like. It is a huge help and time saver to you too!
A kitchen counter is a perfect spot for a drink station. For a traditional Easter dinner I would provide sweet tea, lemonade, and ice water for my guests.
Tip Five: Accept help
Never turn away an offer for help when hosting a dinner party. It makes your guest feel good to contribute and takes the pressure off of you to provide all the food. Whenever we gather as a family each of us brings at least one dish to share. My mother makes a fabulous broccoli salad and my sister-in-law creates wonderful desserts.
Relying on trusted companies like HoneyBaked Ham is another tremendous help. HoneyBaked Ham tastes delicious, is convenient and simple to serve to my family for our Easter dinner. Our family has enjoyed their hams for years as we celebrate Easter and other holidays.
For our traditional Easter dinner I served a mini ham and a roasted turkey breast. Each were incredibly flavorful and delicious.
My children loved the sweet, crunchy glaze on the outside of the HoneyBaked Ham. I loved not having to worry with prepping and cooking a ham by myself.
HoneyBaked Ham has a variety of sides available too. We loved the broccoli rice casserole. It went perfectly with the other dishes our family brought.
Right now HoneyBaked Ham is offering this exclusive, limited-time offer for planning your Easter meal:
Click here for $5 off any purchase of $50 or more!
Offer valid 3.14.15 – 4.4.15. Must present coupon at time of purchase to receive offer. May not be combined with any other offer. One coupon per person at participating retail store locations. While supplies last.
Looking for Easter tablescape inspiration? Click here for Thrifty Table Setting Ideas for Easter!
Your comments totally make my day!
They give me huge motivation to keep creating and having fun with my 3 Little Greenwoods!
I link up with these fun parties!
Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and/or is a sponsored post. I may receive compensation in the form of monetary compensation or product compensation in exchange for my review. I take pride in reviewing only products that fit my brand and will be beneficial to my readers. And while this post is sponsored or contains affiliate links, all the opinions are my own. Why do I do this? It will help me keep this DIY’ing Mama crafting for another day! For more on my disclosure policy click here.
These are great tips! I must admit that I’m not particularly good at accepting hell, but I am working on it, and setting the table early is a good idea.
Asking for and accepting help is so important! Especially for big family dinners! 😉
Tip one is so important. My mom was always a last minute, throw things together type of person and it drives me absolutely insane. I am a planner. I love to have every detail thought out before things happen. I love the table settings too by the way!
Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Shelly!
I don’t get to host Easter this year but I AM hosting a birthday party this weekend and all these tips are a great for any event or party! You’ve also made me hungry. That ham looks so good!
That Honeybaked Ham was FABulous! Thanks so much for the wonderful comment!
This post is just beautiful! The food looks amazing, the table looks amazing….. it is all beautiful! Great tips too!
Your tablescape is beautiful! I love HoneyBaked Ham. We always get a ham and turkey from there for Christmas. I never thought about using them for Easter. I just may do that this year!
Hey Jen! I hope you were able to pick up some Honeybaked goodness this Easter!
Girl, we think just alike. I use all of these tips except for #5. I always think I can do it all and I don’t allow anyone to help with the cooking. I need to change in that area. All the girls clean-up afterwards so I don’t have to. Your table is beautiful and who doesn’t love a honey baked ham? I’m crazy over your moss-covered basket, too. Gorgeous!
great tips. self serve drink station is very helpful and i think ill be doing that at my daughter’s bday party. if i had a separate dining table, i would do that. set tables are always so pretty. im a big planner so i love posts like these.
I’m a huge planner too! Lists and organization makes me so happy! Happy Easter!
It’s amazing what some fresh tulips can do to a table. Makes it so bright and cheery! I love the simple decor, too. My in-laws tend to supply the meals for the holiday. I just make homemade bread. That is usually their only request. LOL
Homemade bread is AWESOME! I hope you had a wonderful Easter with your family!
Great tips, Ashley! It makes me happy to know I’m not the only one who labels the serving dishes! My family always looks at me like I’m a little nutty for doing that, but it’s so helpful! Your tablescape is lovely. It all looks so vibrant and beautifully styled.
Love your gorgeous tablescape, and I always label my serving dishes too!
What a beautiful Easter tablescape and dinner! I love cooking ham on Easter, it’s so easy!
Beautiful table and the ham looks amazing.
Thanks so much, Candi! The Honeybaked Ham was sooo yummy! Happy Easter to you!
This is a lovely setting! Usually our Easter setup is a mishmash of everything, so I would love to walk in to a beautiful dining room like this. Great tips!
Happy Easter, Erica! Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment on my thrifty Easter tablescape!
What a beautiful table! Thanks so much for linking up at Motivational Monday! Hope to see you link up again tomorrow.
You did a WONDERFUL job on your table display! I Wish I was coming over! 😉 I did this event too, and I am loving how you set yours up!
What a wonderful compliment! Thanks so much Krystal!
Hi,
I thought it looked just lovely. I have those same plates in that pattern and the larger pattern designs, and the pink depression ware small serve plate that your using for your biscuits, I have my great grandmothers. Your design had inspired me, thank you, it all looks just wonderful….
Oh how I would love to collect more pink depression glass! I’ve got a large platter and a few small plates but need more. Thank you so much for your sweet comment! Please come back again!
Great tips and beautiful tablescape! I really should use my apron more often! It would really save on time changing into new clean clothes. I should also pre-plan out which food is going on which plate/platter before the cooking even starts. I do like to set my table and press the napkins the day before or the morning of. It saves so much time. Thanks again for the tips! Stopping in from the Friday Share with Learn To Blog.
Great minds think alike! Now put on your apron! 😉
That looks simply amazing! We are going to grill out. We quit doing traditional dinners many years ago, but I do miss those from when I was younger.
We actually grilled out too! My husband cooked a pork loin on the grill to go with the yummy ham. 😉
I’ve not yet hosted Easter dinner, but when I do, I’ll remember this post 🙂 thank you so much for the tips!
Wow! Your table is so beautiful and everything is presented is such a lovely manner. Your family is very lucky 🙂 Happy Easter.
Thank you so much, Sheila! Wishing you a Happy Easter weekend!