The Big Lesson Chrissy Teigen Wants You To Learn About Holiday Hosting

Who isn't curious about how celebrities manage holiday hosting duties? You would think everything has to be perfect, but the contrary is true. Things can be simple and even a little messy, and it's all okay. At an event celebrating the launch of the limited-edition collab Maison Boursin X Chrissy Teigen: No Occasion Required, we spoke with celebrity and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen, who shared a big lesson about holiday hosting. "I used to be really hard on myself about wanting to make every single thing fully from scratch, and I don't have that kind of pressure anymore," she told us. "I want to find joy in the holidays." That joy includes playing a board game, relaxing, and showering her children with love. 

"If I can get those moments like that by saving some time in the kitchen, it's really perfect," she added. Finding that joy during the hectic holidays means taking her apron off. But when the apron is on, she isn't afraid to take shortcuts in the kitchen, which is one of her tips for hosting a stress-free holiday party. 

One of the shortcuts Teigen mentioned is to use canned cranberry. When asked if she's a canned cranberry girl, she enthused, "Yes, actually I am. And I leave the lines too. I don't chop it up for anything ... Once I let myself go and just resigned myself to being a canned cranberry gal, life became very easy."

With canned cranberry, Chrissy Teigen no longer has to chop the ingredients and marinate cranberries and orange juice overnight. "I just want a slice of it [canned cranberry] over things," she said. "Yeah, that's one big difference that I have this year is that I'm really happy with things that make my experience easier so I can really appreciate and enjoy all the little moments in between, enjoy my family, enjoy the people that have flown in for this experience, enjoy the board games that I usually watch them playing when I'm in the kitchen, chopping so much."

We get it. Let it be what it is. However, if a slice of red gelatinized cranberry sauce doesn't sound appealing to you, we'd like to recommend a simple extra step. Here's how to make cranberry sauce look more appetizing before serving: Stir up the slices of canned cranberry in a saucepan with some spices and citrus flavor, like lemon zest or juice. 

We also had a chance to ask Chrissy Teigen about stuffing. We thought she'd suggest an oyster stuffing or even a cornbread one. But like with canned cranberry, simplicity is key for our down-to-earth celebrity. Nostalgia plays a role too. She stated, "I like classic, really. There is a classic stuffing that I do love very much, and I have tried to replicate all the different herbs to try to make it my own. But I'm nostalgic when it comes to holidays and I like the things that I grew up on." After all, everything tastes better when we are still kids, and as adults, everything tastes better when we nurture our inner child.

"I just like a really herby toasty white bread stuffing," Teigen added. "I'm not really into cornbread and sausage and apples and things, and I do believe that it should be a pile of mush. I know a lot of people are against that, but I like everything together on the plate, blending into each other, covered in gravy." We agree with her here: A blanket of gravy makes everything better. In honor of Teigen, we'd recommend you use the convenient store-bought kind, and if you're thinking of elevating it in some way, shape, or form, here are 12 ways to make store-bought gravy taste homemade and better.