How I Get Ahead Before A Holiday Weekend

Holiday weekends always sound relaxing in theory. Then somehow it’s Thursday afternoon, the fridge is empty, everyone suddenly remembers they need hamburger buns, and the grocery store parking lot looks like a scene from an action movie.

This year feels a little different because we’re still settling into our new house. There are still boxes in a few corners, things I haven’t found yet, and more projects on my list than I care to admit. Which is exactly why I don’t have the energy to turn every holiday weekend into a huge to-do (right now).

I used to think I needed to fully prepare for holiday weekends. Deep clean the house. Make multiple desserts. Stock the fridge like we were expecting company for a month. Maybe become the kind of person who owns a beverage dispenser. Pure craziness.

Now? I mostly just try to make things easier on Future Me. And honestly, that’s made holiday weekends a lot more enjoyable (for everyone, haha).

I don’t do giant prep days anymore because they usually leave me tired, cranky, and questioning all of my life choices before the weekend even starts. Instead, I do a handful of things earlier in the week that make everything run a little smoother. Nothing groundbreaking. Just practical stuff.

I Figure Out Food Earlier Than I Want To

This is probably the biggest one. Not because I’m organized. Because I’m not always. But holiday weekends get chaotic fast, and I’ve learned that waiting until Friday afternoon to decide what we’re eating is a great way to end up standing in a crowded grocery store wondering why I do this to myself every single year. A few days before the weekend, I usually make a simple plan:

• what we’re grilling
• which sides actually matter
• what I already have and/or can work with
• what needs to be used up first
• what I can buy instead of making or make instead of buying (depending)

And I keep it realistic. Not imaginary-Pinterest-hosting-a-backyard-party realistic. Actual realistic for me. Sometimes that means burgers and homemade pasta salad. Sometimes it means hot dogs and chips because it’s hot outside and nobody’s looking for a culinary experience. We just need some festive togetherness.

I Prep Ingredients, Not Entire Meals

I used to think getting ahead meant cooking everything in advance. Now I mostly prep ingredients instead. Things like washing fruit, shredding cheese, chopping onions, making cookie dough, or mixing a marinade take very little effort earlier in the week and save a surprising amount of effort later on.

I Do A Reset, Not A Deep Clean

I repeat, I do not deep clean before a holiday weekend. The baseboards will survive, I promise. What actually helps is spending 30 minutes doing a quick reset the day before. For me, this usually that means:

• emptying the dishwasher
• wiping down the bathrooms
• vacuuming the main areas
• clearing the counters and wiping them down
• taking care of the mystery leftovers in the fridge
• making sure we have clean towels

That’s it. A reasonably clean kitchen and an empty sink make the entire house feel more under control than it actually is.

I Do Some Decorating

As much or as little as I want to do. If going completely overboard makes me happy, I do that. If not, I don’t. The point here is the no pressure attitude towards it.

I’ve been slowly pulling out my patriotic decor this week. Mostly tiny flags. More tiny flags than any one person probably needs, actually, haha.

A few red, white, and blue touches always make the house feel a little more like summer to me. And for whatever reason, I’ve been having way too much fun with it this year. If you’re decorating too, I’ve shared a few of my favorite things here.

I Stock A Few Easy Things

One thing I’ve learned is that people eat constantly on holiday weekends. Not meals. Just eating. Someone’s always wandering through the kitchen looking for something good. So I make sure we have a few easy things ready to go:

• watermelon
• berries
• chips and dip
• crackers and cheese
• popsicles or fudgcicles
• sandwich ingredients
• cookie dough
• sparkling water

Again, nothing fancy. Just enough that I don’t feel like I’m preparing food every time someone opens the refrigerator. They can grab and go.

I Get The Boring Stuff Out Of The Way

Before the weekend starts, I try to handle all the normal life things. Laundry. Gas. Errands. Trash. Grocery pickup. The less regular life hanging over my head, the more the weekend actually feels like a break. Otherwise Sunday evening turns into six loads of laundry and a long list of things I forgot to do, and I hate that.

I Stop Trying To Make It Perfect

This one was hard and it took me the longest to learn. It’s easy to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make holidays look and feel memorable, but the funny thing is, most of the memories come from the simplest things anyway.

The weekends and holidays I remember most are usually the ones with burgers on flimsy paper plates, dessert before dinner, leftovers the next day, and everybody hanging around the kitchen talking for way too long. Not the ones where everything looked perfectly styled.

Now I mostly focus on making things easy, comfortable, and low-pressure. Ironically, I think that’s usually what makes them memorable in the first place.

A Few Things I Usually Make Ahead

If you’re curious, these are a few things I often prep before a holiday weekend because they genuinely make my life easier:

• pasta salad
• whipped cream
• cookie dough
• overnight oats
• cut fruit
• burger patties
• no-churn ice cream
• hard-boiled eggs
• simple dessert bars
• wash lettuce and vegetables

While I’m doing all this, I usually have my favorite summer playlist playing in the background. It makes putting away groceries and washing lettuce feel slightly less like a chore.

The Goal Here Is Easier, Not Perfect

These days, I’m not trying to create a picture-perfect holiday weekend. I’m mostly just trying to avoid driving all the way into town, standing in in a crowded grocery store on Friday afternoon wondering why I didn’t buy ketchup three days ago like I should have. And honestly, that’s been working pretty well for me, haha.