Don’t you just love the holidays? The festive atmosphere. The general good will. And, mostly, the great big feasts. But amid all the joyous celebrations come the usual pressures attached to making the feast, intensified by the need to create bigger and better dishes than the year before. How do you avoid the holiday stress while still offering the best tasting, most sumptuous fare?

Catering companies in Dubai know the hard work that goes behind the making of a feast. No matter what sort of celebration you might be having this holiday season, i.e., with the entire family, with friends, or with business associates, Dubai caterers offer these valuable and practical ways to do holiday feasts — sans the stress.

Plan ahead.

Planning ahead of time is crucial. Even when your celebration is meant for a small party, things can still go wrong without the right preparation. So make sure you have your venue picked out, the theme (if any) figured out, the invitations sent out (or emailed), and the caterer selected.

During the holidays, especially, the best caterers get hired in advance — months and months ahead even for bigger parties. So book your caterer months ahead of the feast.

Work on the menu with your caterer.

If you already have a caterer in mind, it’s safe to say that you’ve sampled the food and know that the dishes are going to taste spectacular. The next step would be to plan the menu. Think about crowd-pleasing items, such as mini sliders, smoked salmon, barbecued anything — any finger food served in a creative, new vessel.

Know dietary restrictions and apply them into your feasts.

The best feasts are going to be inclusive of everyone on your guest list. Indeed, the holidays are meant for indulgence but you are bound to have people in your party who are restricted from eating salt-heavy foods, meat products, dairy products, nuts, and even gluten.

Surprise your guests with the entrées and the dessert.

Don’t be a scrooge where food is concerned. By all means, stick to your budget. But this does not mean you should hold back on the creativity and wonder of food. Instead of the usual open-face turkey sandwiches, why not do a turkey sausage roll with pomegranate and pistachios? Instead of the usual cakes, why not have a sundae bar with all the colorful, delectable toppings?

Consider the possible problems that may come up.

Whether the feast is meant for your entire family or for business associates, it pays to be prepared for any eventuality. Maybe your caterer gets stuck in traffic (yes, heavy traffic does occur in Dubai). Maybe the venue’s facilities need repair. Maybe you go over your number of guests because some people failed to RSVP.

Create possible solutions to potential problems before the celebration, and you will find fewer (if not zero) stressful moments as you celebrate the holidays.