Small Houses and Holiday Dinners
Serve Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner for Many with Limited Space
Many small houses lack dining rooms, which make hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for extended family and friends challenging. If there is a dining room, it is often too small for a large holiday dinner party. Here are some creative ideas to make the most of your space and still invite everyone on your list to your holiday festivities.
Serve Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner Buffet Style
The most efficient use of a small house or apartment is to serve dinner buffet style. Serving dishes can be lined up on the counters and kitchen table and guests can serve themselves.
Benefits
Guests can sit where they want in the living room or kitchen. It may be necessary to borrow chairs so that enough seating is provided for all guests, but chairs are usually easy to borrow or inexpensive to lease, if needed.
Drawbacks
With limited table space, guests may have to eat with their plates in their laps or while holding them in their hands. The foods served should require minimal cutting, as this can be difficult without adequate table space. Drink cups are often hard to manage while juggling plates and utensils.
Use Card Tables to Create a Makeshift Dining Room for Your Holiday Dinner
Rearrange the furniture in the living room to create a wide-open space for a makeshift dining room. Borrow, buy or rent card tables that can serve as informal dinner table seating.
Benefits
Guests are able to sit around the holiday table for the meal. Tables can be decorated in a festive way. Serving dishes can be placed on an extra card table set off to the side to keep the dining table free of clutter. Tables can immediately be taken down after dinner to allow the guests to mingle in the living room.
Drawbacks
If card tables are borrowed from various people, they may not be of a uniform size. Varying heights and widths make it necessary to use a small square tablecloth for each table, rather than one big one.
Eat Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner in Shifts
Feed children before the adults to make the most out of table space and dinnerware.
Benefits
Anxious, hungry children get to eat first and can then play while the adults are eating and relaxing. Parents are available to tend to younger children while they eat and then free to enjoy their own meal with minimal interruptions.
Drawbacks
The children and adults miss the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company at the dinner table.
For some ideas on how to decorate the table for holiday dinners read Place Cards for a Holiday Dinner by Elece Hollis.
