Before we had kids, I had it all worked out. If we were planning to have people over for a “major event” (a.k.a. party or similar gathering) and I wanted to have the house in decent shape, I had a standard plan:
I’d clean the house two or three days before the event and then I’d spend the last day or two cooking, baking, arranging, etc. I knew that Chad and I (and even the cat) could keep things orderly and clean for that time period, so cleaning ahead made sense. I wasn’t scrubbing floors at the last minute and yet I knew our guests wouldn’t encounter cobwebs, dust bunnies (well, large dust bunnies anyway) or sticky spots around the house.
But with kids… that plan just doesn’t work. The very thought of cleaning two days before a party or other gathering — and expecting the house to stay clean until the get-together — just makes me laugh.
Why, in a mere 24 hours: my house can accumulate a new layer of dust and dirt; brand new face- and finger-smudges magically appear on the TV, windows, and other surfaces; the floor develops mysterious stains; crumbs galore gather for Crumb Conventions under the table.
There is simply no point in cleaning too far in advance.
But I really don’t like when everything has to get done at the last minute: the cleaning, the cooking/baking, and whatever other prep work is necessary. I’m not even very picky about the condition of the house, but even I can find plenty of things that need to be done.
I’ve been a mom for almost ten years, so you’d think I’d have figured something out by now. But I don’t. Partially, because I think I’m challenged in the time-management area. And partially because we host “major events” so rarely… I just haven’t had much practice.
As things stand now, I do a mixture of advance work and immediately-before work.
Ahead of time:
I cook, bake, or assemble ahead any foods that I can. I clean areas that I think can stay clean for 48 hours (such as the guest bathroom, since I can lock my children out of that room). I make lots of lists including everything else that has to get done, so I don’t forget something at the last minute.
Immediately before:
Everything else. The vacuuming, the mopping, the cooking, the table-setting and/or buffet-arranging, and all items from the aforementioned lists. Usually with kids underfoot.
This routine technically works, but I still feel frazzled the day of, and don’t feel like a very relaxed hostess until things are well underway.
So I’m curious — how do all of you handle hosting “major events” and all the prep work you have to do, knowing you’ll have kids around? Do you clean ahead of time and then tie your children to their beds so they can’t make a mess? (An idea I’ve considered, yet haven’t implemented.) Do you convince your husband to take all children out of the house the day of the event, so you can do all the preparation alone? Do you have an arsenal of crowd-pleasing make-ahead recipes? (If so, please share.)
In case you haven’t guessed, I have a “major event” coming up in less than two months, so I’d love to hear any tips or advice (or recipes!) you have.
Well I don’t have the kid factor but you wouldn’t believe the mess one grown man can make. So like you, I’ve learned to leave a few things till last, namely the vacuuming, mopping, bathroom, etc. I can do it all in a quick 45 minutes. I also try to do all the prep stuff, especially where food is concerned, in advance. Finding this rhythm has helped a lot, although I still stress whenever I have people coming over.
As they've gotten older, I've put the boys to work too.
Amazingly when they are involved they are less likely to mess it up again–except their room & even that isn't too bad.
They are starting to see what is involved and that has helped perspective. They are also less messy (smeary fingerprints, spills, etc are not as common) than they were even two years ago.
My husband is a gem at the last minute cleaning. He vacuums and does bathrooms. Also we often divide the cooking. Especially when the weather is nice the main course is grilled.
I used to stress myself out and think I had to do it all. Then I started to wonder why I was the only tired one before the party. "Delegate!" I say.
I think you could probably vacuum a day in advance. I don’t have a vacuum so I’m guessing.
I would get 90% of the food done before the afternoon of the event. Just spend the hour before heating and displaying as needed.
I once read a tip that you should put scoops of ice cream in paper muffin liners and put them in the freezer. That was the portions are already done and you don’t have to wait for the big container to thaw.
Cleaning for a major event? Ha! I can’t even seem to manage the day to day cleaning these days. I did well with just one kid, but when #2 came along, all things went to pot! I believe that I, too, am “time-management challenged”.
Hope you can get some good advice from someone else!
Well, if you’re really reading the Host right now, I predict that you aren’t getting much house-cleaning done at all.
I love the fact that you’ve now given me a very legitimate reason for procrastinating about cleaning the house!!
Seriously, I try to do deep cleaning and straightening beforehand–tackling those piles and things that are out of place, as well as mopping (which I don’t do nearly as often as I should). Then the day of, I can do last minute straightening, and give the bathrooms, floors and furniture a good once-over.
My kids dropped a whole bag of sugar on the floor JUST AS COMPANY WALKED IN the other day.
Entertain outside: my new plan.
I do all the cooking, prep, and clean areas that will stay clean that morning.
Put kids in their room for rest time and clean rest of the house.
Plop kids in front of video while i clean their room, which was destroyed during “rest” time.
Keep them outside until company arrives.
Sometimes I clean after they are in bed the night before, then plan a whole day out of the house for the day of the event.
Entertaining with kids running around is crazy!!
Oh, and when you figure this out, let me know.
Since we might have to SELL OUR HOUSE. Which means we will have to keep it CLEAN, like, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Ahhhh!!!!
Oh it's so hard to do with kids around! I tried to do deep cleaning a day or so before and the upstairs where all the kids bedrooms were & hoped no one saw up there! When the 4 kids were old enough I put them to work where I could. My hubby was good with helping the day of….it's a good idea to do some food ahead of time too. Casseroles with salad and bread are fairly easy; grilling outside with sides done ahead of time might work too and desserts are usually easy to do ahead. It gets better when the kids get older! I didn't think to tie them to the bed but sometimes plopped them in front of a movie.