Easter and Eating in Close Quarters

My parents just recently moved to New England, so for the first time since before college, I was able to go home for Easter dinner. Most of my extended family lives somewhere in Massachusetts or New Hampshire, but the uncle who usually hosts Easter lives at least 4 hours from campus, so I've never been able to attend that gathering. This year, however, my family volunteered to host, which was quite the endeavor. We ended up having to fit 16 people into our relatively small new dining room (which we did manage, barely), and since it was the first time our family was hosting a major holiday, we obviously needed to make a good impression.

Tips for Impressing your Relatives during a Holiday Gathering (on a budget, and with limited space and time)



1. Pick a decorating theme. Since this was Easter, we went with a general springtime/picnic thing. We used paper plates (doubly useful for theme and for clean up), covered the tables with an earthy burlap fabric, and instead of traditional place cards, wrote everyone's names on individual small flowerpots, planted with a daffodil or a hyacinth.

2. Pick a menu that's varied and interesting, but which includes things that are easy to throw together. Maybe even cheat a little and buy a prepared dessert. For our meal, we had:

Baked Ham
Portabella Mushroom Quiche
Spring Mix Salad w/Orange Vinaigrette
Roasted Asparagus
Scalloped Potatoes
Portuguese Sweet Bread
Lemonade, Ice Tea
Carrot Cake
Of these dishes, the only thing that was really difficult was the quiche and the bread, and probably the ham to some degree (but as a vegetarian, I had nothing to do with that part of the prep). However, a well presented salad is impressive, as is a homemade dressing (ideally, make clear that is it homemade by serving in a mason jar, also going along with your picnic theme), and roasted asparagus and scalloped potatoes are also good dishes that maximize impressiveness and minimize work.

3. Somehow fit everyone into your dining room, make sure not to seat anyone who doesn't get along near each other, and make sure not to trap the adults in the seats that are difficult to get to, because the younger cousins are less likely to mind the small spaces.

4. Now eat and bask in the praise from all the attendees.

Good luck with your future holiday meal planning!