Easter is just 6 days away. Whether or not you have begun planning for the day, consider the steps you can take to make this a special holiday for you, your family, and your community.  Each day this week, I’ll suggest an area of planning for Easter and list tasks and reminders to keep you on track.  See yesterday’s post on creating your Grand Plan for Easter.

Members to ListPlanIt will find lots of tips and tools for Easter planning in Holidays & Occasions.  Not yet a member?  Join today and get organized to make your holidays less stressful and more meaningful.

Tuesday – Easter Dinner

• Menu
  There are certain things that are traditional for an Easter meal: ham or lamb, scalloped or roasted potatoes, spring vegetables, eggs, etc.  If you haven’t already, decide what to serve for your family’s Easter dinner.  Will you be having guests? Request to know their contribution so you can fill in the gaps and have a wide variety of dishes.  Don’t forget to consider appetizers, main course(s), side dish(es), bread, salad, dessert(s), and drinks.
• Shopping
  Once you have the menu and know what you are serving for Easter dinner, it is time to round up the supplies.  Be sure to comb your recipes and add every ingredient to your shopping list so that you are not stuck in the middle of preparations without a necessity.  Don’t forget spices, flowers, paper goods, meat thermometer, etc.
• Timeline
  In order to make the dinner preparations flow smoothly, prepare what you can the day before.  Then create a timeline for Easter day that includes all of the festivities plus the prep and cooking time of each dish so that you know when you need to get started and what needs to go in the oven and when.
• Table Setting
  If you are planning to have guests in your home, you need to consider seating and table space for eating.  You may need to bring the card table up from the basement or borrow one from a neighbor.  Will you be using a tablecloth?  Will you provide any decorations (candles, decor, etc.)?  Are your good dishes and cutlery clean and ready for use?  Do what you can today to prepare for the big meal.

What is on your Easter menu?