‘Tis the start of the holiday season! We love this time of year and all of the family gatherings, get-togethers with friends, and of course festive food and decor! Inevitably as we prepare for the events of the holidays, a bit of panic might creep in from time to time if you feel rushed or that you may have forgotten something (horrors!). As a pre-holiday gathering, our team sat down together to brainstorm and create this list of 10 helpful tips for a stress-free holiday season.

Tips for Stress-free Meals

• Set the table at least 2 days before the holiday dinner, including serving dishes and place cards. Use post-it notes to indicate what food is going in what dish – saves time and hassles on “the day”.
• Set up your bar ahead of time, make a list of what you need for mixers, liquors, wine, beer, etc. Having a big crowd? Opt for pitcher cocktails (sangria, holiday punch, etc.) which can be made ahead of time.
• If you run out of oven space, your crock pot can act as a food warmer for side dishes.
• Turkey done too soon? Wrap it in aluminum foil and place it in a large cooler – your bird will stay warm and moist. If you need to reheat, put the turkey in the oven with a separate pan of chicken broth. The turkey will reheat without getting dry.
• Don’t abandon your guests to do dishes after the main meal! Before dessert is served, subtly move the dirty dishes to a table or plastic bins in the garage and deal with all the clean-up after your guests are gone.

Tips for Stress-free Gift Wrapping and Giving

• Buy large rolls of gift wrap in plain colors or designs and embellish wrapped presents with stickers, bows, floral picks, beads – get creative!
• Wrap the top and bottom of shirt boxes, shoe boxes, etc. separately. The gift recipient can just lift off the box lid instead of tearing the paper and you can re-use the already wrapped boxes from year to year.
• Forget to get a gift for someone? Buy/wrap a couple of generic gifts (bottle of wine, gift cards) and keep under the tree.
• Use an over-the-door shoe organizer on a closet door to keep tape, tissue paper, name tags, scissors, bows, ribbons and other gift wrapping items handy and convenient.
• Wrap empty Pringles cans or empty aluminum foil boxes. They are the perfect size containers for giving holiday cookies or other goodies!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Signature Design Team!

Signature Design Interiors provides customized decorating, remodeling and staging services for busy individuals and professionals who are looking for turnkey service. From start to finish, we handle ALL of the details for you from budgeting, drafting floor plans for fit and function, sourcing furnishings and remodeling materials, and finally project managing the entire back-end process of ordering, measuring and installing until the last detail is complete. We serve the Washington Metropolitan area including - Washington, DC; Northern Virginia – McLean, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Arlington, Alexandria, Annandale, Burke, Tysons Corner,  Centreville, Chantilly, Oakton, Falls Church, Clifton, Fairfax, Fairfax Station, Great Falls, Gainesville; Loudoun County - Ashburn, Brambleton, Dulles, Sterling, Leesburg Montgomery County MD - Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring; Prince Georges County Maryland, MD - Bowie, Laurel, Upper Marlboro. We will also travel to assist with vacation homes.