How To Plan The Ultimate Holiday Party Buffet

It isn't the holiday season without a few parties to celebrate. For many, there's nothing more exciting than hosting family and friends for the ultimate holiday feast. But planning out your own holiday buffet can be tricky; you have to handle everything from cooking each dish to setting up the buffet properly. 

If you want your holiday party to go down as the greatest buffet of the year, you'll need to avoid making any rookie mistakes. Our holiday buffet guide will help you handle everything flawlessly — from planning each dish all the way to serving dessert. It doesn't matter if you've never hosted a buffet before or if you consider yourself a buffet expert; you're bound to find tips and tricks to help make your serving experience ten times better. Clean out your fridge, clear up some counter space, and read on to see how you can be the perfect host to your very own holiday buffet.

Preparing for a holiday buffet can be hectic, and there's nothing worse than your guests arriving to an overwhelmed host. If you want to keep your guests busy while you're setting up the buffet and cooking in the kitchen, make sure to prepare a hosting platter ahead of time. Think of premade items that can go on a tray or charcuterie board — like dips, crackers, breads, cheeses, fruits, meats, and more. You can prep these platters long before the party starts (or just buy them pre-made if you prefer) and set them out before your guests arrive so they'll have something to snack on while they wait for food.

Party platters are often nonperishable (or at least safe to leave out at room temperature) so you don't have to worry about leaving them out for long periods of time. A platter will also help hold your guests over if things get delayed in the kitchen — giving you extra time to cook and set up without having to worry about entertaining.

There's bound to be one buffet dish that's going to take much longer to cook than all the rest. If you have meat as a main dish, for example, you might want to get started on it long before your guests arrive. Cooking your main dish early will give you more time and kitchen space to focus on sides and dishes that have shorter cook times, which can be done closer to the time your guests will be arriving. Plus, you never want to leave a main to the last minute — if things go wrong or take longer than expected, you'll end up leaving your guests hungry. It's always better to be missing a side than the main dish. 

If you're cooking a main like meat that needs to rest or a dish that needs to cool, you'll also be able to safely let it sit for a little while before serving it, giving you extra time to set up the rest of your buffet if you time things properly.

Cold dishes are a must for any buffet. That's because you can make them well ahead of time — even up to a day beforehand if you want to (as long as you're storing them in the refrigerator, of course). There are so many delicious cold appetizers and cold sides that you can make early on — and none of your guests will know they weren't made right before they arrived.

Whether you want to cook your cold dishes in advance or on the day of your buffet, you should always cook your cold dishes early — you can leave them to sit in the fridge while you cook everything else, and you don't have to worry about them going bad or needing to be reheated if you leave them in the fridge for a while. Just keep in mind that you should never be storing cold dishes past three to four days in the fridge — to be safe, serving guests food that has been made only one day ahead is best. Remember that you also won't be able to keep buffet leftovers as long if they've been prepared in advance.

Chafing dishes are fairly easy to find and are one of the best ways to keep your food hot during a buffet — they're often used by caterers and even restaurant buffets. These dishes will warm the food as it sits out, so you don't have to worry about anything going bad while you eat (and go back for seconds).

A chafing dish has a container for your food that sits above a tray that can be filled with water. Beneath the tray is a small fuel holder. Place water into the container and light your fuel. Once the water is warm, place your container of food directly on top of the water. The chafing dish will warm the water underneath the food, keeping it warm without cooking or burning it. 

No chafing dishes? No problem. You can warm the dishes you're planning on serving food in to help the food retain more heat while it's being served. Either serve food in the tray it's been prepared in or place heat-safe dishes into the oven for a few minutes before you're ready to plate your dishes. Just make sure to let your guests know ahead of time that the dishes set out for them may be hot to the touch.

To help your dishes retain even more heat, you should also cover them — ideally with aluminum foil, as it's easy to use to cover any dish and is most effective at keeping your dish warm. 

It's easy to keep cold dishes from getting too warm at a buffet — even when you want to leave them out for a while. Just place them on a tray filled with ice cubes and check in on the temperature of the dishes every so often.

If the ice cubes begin to melt, you can continue adding more ice to the tray throughout the buffet. You can even put your cold dishes in a cooler with ice packs or ice cubes if you'd prefer. This also makes cleanup easy at the end of the night.

If you're not keeping your food at the proper temperature (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit for cold dishes and above 140 degrees Fahrenheit for hot dishes), harmful bacteria will start to grow after two hours. Buffets can run long, so make sure you're either planning on storing your leftovers safely before two hours have passed or that you have the proper tools needed to help you store your food at safe temperatures. It might even be a good idea to grab a thermometer to have on hand, so that you can check to make sure your food is still safe to serve. Keeping leftovers from food that has been stored on the counter too long (or continuing to serve food at a buffet that hasn't been kept at proper serving temperature) can make you and your guests dangerously sick.

Worried you don't have the means to leave your dishes out safely? You can also split each buffet dish in half, storing one half in the fridge and leaving the other half out for guests to eat. Once two hours have passed, swap out your trays and you'll be good to go for another two hours.

If guests are taking home their leftovers, don't forget to account for their commute time. Give your guests a cooler or put their leftovers in the fridge for a while before sending them home.

One question beginner buffet hosts often have is: How should I arrange my holiday buffet? It's actually quite simple; you should just follow the order a regular meal is served in. 

Buffet-style entertaining usually means that you'll serve every dish at the same time. So, when you're setting food out, line up all of your appetizers first. Then, you can put main dishes next, followed by sides. This will help guests choose how much of each item they want on their plate. Desserts should go at the very end of the line in their own section — if you're not choosing to serve them separately, that is. 

Buffets should always go one way, so that guests don't run into one another while grabbing food. Plates, of course, need to go at the start of the buffet so that guests can serve themselves. But a rookie mistake would be putting all of your plates, napkins, utensils, and other serving tools at the very beginning of the buffet line.

You might think it's useful for your guests to be able to grab utensils up front, but you really don't want to make guests hold a handful of utensils and napkins while they try to serve themselves food. Instead, put only plates at the start of the line. At the very end of the buffet counter should be a utensil and napkins station (and drinks, if you're not serving them in a separate area). This way, no one will have to juggle multiple items while serving. Plus, they'll also know exactly what utensils they need for the items they ended up getting — no need to double back for a surprise soup spoon. 

You may also want to provide extra, smaller plates for desserts. These can go towards the end of the buffet line in front of the dessert section. They can also sit at the front of your dessert area, if it's separate from your main buffet. If you're serving desserts after the rest of the buffet has occurred, hold the dessert plates back until dessert is served.

You don't have to keep your food in a perfect single-file line for your buffet. Maximize counter space by serving two or three dishes in the same area. Just make sure your dishes are staggered by height; large bowls, tall trays, and pedestal dishes can be served towards the back, while short dishes and plates should be kept up front for easy access. This will help ensure your guests can easily reach the dishes and serve themselves without incident — and it will make your buffet setup look amazing, too.

If you're making food for those with dietary restrictions — like gluten-free or vegetarian food, for example — you don't want it to get mixed up with the rest of your dishes. Even if you label your dishes, it's too easy for a guest to accidentally drop some food into another tray or mix up which serving utensil they're supposed to use, contaminating foods that are meant for guests with dietary restrictions. 

Gather all foods for those with dietary restrictions into a different section to avoid any mixups — this can be as simple as putting them at the very start or very end of the dish line. These foods can follow their own order rather than the order of the rest of the buffet; for example, at the end of the entrees section before the dessert station, you might place a gluten-free appetizer option, gluten-free entree, and gluten-free dessert.

A buffet-style party can often mean that you don't have the chance to tell your guests about everything that's in a particular dish. You might have guests that are contributing their own dishes to the lineup — and serving everything at once means that it will be more difficult for guests to remember what they can and can't eat. 

To help your guests know more about each dish, you can use place setting cards or notecards to indicate major allergens. This way, guests will know right away what it is and what's in it. A few major allergens to consider could be gluten, dairy, meat, seafood, nuts, or soy. Don't forget about things like sauces and broths that are in a dish, like chicken broth or oyster sauce. You can also use these ingredients cards to let your guests know which dishes are intended for those with dietary restrictions, such as if a dish is nut-free or dairy-free.

In a restaurant-style buffet, you'll probably see desserts set out in the final section of the buffet. But if you're limited on counter space or are worried about a dessert going bad while dinner is being eaten, you can wait to serve desserts until later.

In a home hosting space, guests won't usually feel like they need to grab a plate of dessert with their dinner — and they won't mind getting back up to serve themselves more later. You can always let your guests know that dessert will be served after dinner — this will give you time to clear dinner dishes and pack up dinner leftovers before bringing out dessert.

If you're not planning on having multiple small or pre-portioned desserts for guests to enjoy, make sure you cut up all of your desserts before you serve them. A full cake might look pretty, but you don't want guests to have to serve themselves. Cut all desserts into single-serve portions before you serve them — and if other people are bringing desserts to enjoy, make sure you cut those, too. This will reduce time spent waiting in line (and will ensure you have enough servings for everyone).

If you want to maximize the look and practicality of your buffet, you need to set up a drinks station. Having a drinks station ready ahead of time means that your guests will be able to get drinks for themselves before dinner is served. It will also create a clearer division between who is trying to grab a drink and who is waiting to get food from the main buffet. 

A separate drinks station will also leave you with more counter space for the main buffet — and if you're planning on allowing guests to select or even mix their own drinks, you should always give them a separate area to do so in. If you don't, your buffet line will end up being far too long.

A bar cabinet, bar cart, side table, counter island, and similar kitchen or dining room spaces can all be used as a temporary drink station where you can gather bar tools, wine, drink mixes, or prepared drinks. You can even use something as small as an end table to hold drinks. 

Don't forget to also set out an area where guests can get themselves water — like a jug of water or bottled water station. This can be in its own area or with the rest of the drinks, but it should always be clearly available to guests as soon as they start to arrive.

Still not sure where to put your drinks? Thoroughly clean out your kitchen sink, plug the drain, and dump a bunch of ice inside. Then, you can bury canned and bottled drinks — like soda, beer, and wine — underneath the ice for guests to grab. This is by far the least messy way to keep drinks cold for hours without wasting precious refrigerator space. 

Plus, it's easy to clean up once the party is over — just remove the leftover drinks, run some hot water over the ice, and you're good to go. If you're planning on using this hack, just make sure you and your guests have another accessible sink to wash your hands.

If you don't want guests to serve themselves drinks and don't want to deal with mixing up a different drink for each guest, you should definitely have a few jugs of drinks handy. There are plenty of great cocktail pitcher drinks you can mix ahead of time that your guests will love. You can also create a mocktail jug to have on hand for guests who aren't drinking. It's a cheaper, more effective way to serve a large party drinks.

Wondering how many pitchers you need? Assume each guest will be having about one full drink per hour of the buffet, and calculate your pitcher needs from there. You should always have at least one full-size non-alcoholic drink pitcher, too — even if you're not sure how many people will be drinking it.

If you want to get rid of your leftovers because you don't have the space, there will likely be plenty of guests who will want to take them home. If that's the case, you'll need to have enough containers for all of your guests to take home — or you can just let them know ahead of time that there will be leftovers that they should bring their own containers for.

Once dinner is starting to wrap up, check if anyone brought any dishes that need to be washed. If someone contributed a side or brought some dessert, wash the dish they brought the item on so it will be ready for them to take home as soon as they need to leave.

You can also do this before the buffet even begins — just put the food your guest contributed on a serving tray, wash their food container, and return it to them once they leave. This way, your guests can head out whenever they want to — and you won't have to worry about frantically cleaning loads of dishes just to get your guests out the door.