Holiday Meal Planning When You’re Already Busy (My Real Kitchen Routine)

Lisa Caplet
Dec 12, 2025
6 min read

December always arrives like a burst of cold wind — dramatic, a little chaotic, and just unexpected enough to catch you mid-sip of leftover Halloween hot chocolate. One moment you’re sweeping up golden leaves, and the next you’re juggling school concerts, Secret Santa gifts, potluck sign-ups, teacher notes, holiday cards, and a grocery list that somehow never matches what’s actually in your refrigerator.

It’s the month when even the most organized among us feel the edges fraying.

And when you add cooking into that mix?

Forget it.

Holiday meal planning feels like a marathon you didn’t train for — especially when the world keeps insisting that you need to produce Pinterest-worthy meals, host magical gatherings, and try three new holiday side dishes you saw online at 11 p.m. when you should’ve been sleeping.

But here’s the truth that most people don’t say out loud:

December is not the month for complicated cooking.

This is the month for simple holiday cooking

• Practical December meal prep

• Family-friendly winter meals that nourish more than they impress

• Decisions that make sense for your real life

This is the month for gentle, doable routines — not gourmet aspirations that lead to tears on the kitchen floor next to a burnt pan of candied pecans.

So today, I’m walking you through the exact real-life system that keeps my raised-ranch New England kitchen steady and sane all through December. It’s supportive, flexible, comforting, and shockingly easy to maintain — even when schedules get wild and the sun sets before 4:30 p.m.

These aren’t “tasks.”They’re lifelines.

Let’s dig in.

Why December Cooking Is Hard — And Why That’s Okay

Before we jump into routines and rhythms, we need to acknowledge something important:

December is objectively harder than other months.

You’re not imagining it, and there’s nothing wrong with you. There’s simply more to juggle.

Here’s what makes holiday meal planning especially tricky:

The days get dark earlier, draining your natural energy
Kids are tired and overstimulated
Schedules fill up with events, school obligations, and holiday errands
Grocery stores feel chaotic and crowded
Your mental load triples (“When is the cookie swap?” “Did I buy wrapping paper?”)
Comfort food cravings rise
Patience drops

This is why simple holiday cooking is so important. It’s not about low effort because you’re lazy. It’s low effort because you’re human.

And when you work with the season instead of against it, everything becomes more manageable.

New England Tip: Keep a warm drink nearby while cooking during dark evenings — even warm water with lemon. The psychological lift of “cozy warmth” helps more than you’d think during long, cold weeks.

Step 1: Create a Weekly Meal Rhythm (The December Lifesaver)

This is the backbone of my entire holiday meal planning system.

And it’s so easy, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start years ago.

A meal rhythm is not:

A strict menu
A complicated plan
A color-coded calendar with 30 recipes

A meal rhythm removes decision fatigue by giving your dinners categories, not instructions.

It reduces your choices down to something manageable.

So instead of asking, “What should I cook?” you ask…

“What’s my soup this week?”

“What pasta sounds good?”

“What slow-cooker recipe feels right?”

You’re not choosing from the whole universe — you’re choosing from a tiny corner of it.

Here’s the December rhythm I use every single year:

Monday — Soup Night

Warm, nourishing, and endlessly adaptable.

Great for leftovers and easy to stretch with bread or salad.

Tuesday — Pasta Night

Your “barely functioning” night.

Jarred sauce counts. Buttered noodles count.

Wednesday — Slow Cooker Night

A gift to tired people everywhere.

Dump, walk away, dinner appears.

Thursday — Leftovers

Not laziness. Not giving up.

A built-in strategy that saves your sanity.

Friday — Comfort Meal

Shepherd’s pie, meatloaf, roasted chicken — whatever brings warmth.

Saturday — Breakfast for Dinner

Fast, cheap, cozy, universally loved.

Sunday — A Holiday Treat

Not a meal — a moment.

Cookies, cocoa, a festive snack, or charcuterie.

Why This Rhythm Works:

It aligns with real life.

It reduces decisions.

It supports winter energy.

It protects your mental bandwidth.

New England Tip: On soup nights, add a slice of local crusty bread — bakeries often sell discounted day-old loaves that toast beautifully. We like the local Italian restaurant's Garlic knots. They also have gluten-free knots, so my family members with Celiac disease can enjoy them as well.

Step 2: Add 1–2 Simple Holiday Specials (Without Exhaustion)

Here’s where the magic comes in — the part of simple holiday cooking that feels nostalgic without pushing you into burnout.

Every week, I pick one or two small festive extras. Not full meals. Not elaborate feasts. Just tiny touches.

Ideas for Holiday Specials:

Gingerbread pancakes
Easy cranberry-orange quick bread
A winter salad with pomegranate seeds
A simple charcuterie board
A “hot cocoa night.”
Roasted cinnamon apples
A batch of soft sugar cookies
Candied nuts (5 minutes on the stove)

These little rituals do more for December joy than any complicated meal ever could.

New England Tip: Keep a small basket with cocoa packets, marshmallows, seasonal teas, and a cinnamon shaker. A simple “winter drink station” makes evenings feel magical with almost no effort.

Step 3: Prep ONLY Two Things a Week

This is the part that surprises people the most:

I no longer do massive December meal prep.

Years ago, I would attempt freezer meals, chopped veggies for the week, breakfast sandwiches, muffins, containers of rice… it was too much.

Now I prep only two things, and they make the entire week smoother.

1. Prepped Vegetables

You choose the ones your family uses most.

For me, it’s:

Chopped onions
Diced carrots
Celery
Garlic
Peppers

This makes it unbelievably easy to throw together:

soups
omelets
pasta dishes
rice bowls
casseroles
roasted sheet pans

2. One Cooked Protein

This is my true holiday meal planning secret weapon.

Make one of the following:

shredded chicken
browned ground beef
turkey breast
baked chicken thighs
cooked sausage

Use it in:

tacos
pasta
rice bowls
soups
quesadillas
casseroles
stuffed peppers
wraps

It doesn’t seem revolutionary — but these two prep steps are the reason my December kitchen stays functional.

Everything else becomes optional.

New England Tip: Roast your weekly protein with winter herbs — rosemary, sage, thyme. The smell alone makes the whole house feel seasonal and soothing.