99 ways to get ready for the holidays

KITCHEN
35 Get a jump-start on New Year’s resolutions by clearing out your kitchen junk drawer.

36 Clean your neglected stainless steel surfaces.

37 Condition your wooden butcher-block surfaces with nut-free, food-grade wood oil.

38 Pull paper clutter off the side of your fridge to make room for holiday cards, snapshots or other mementoes.

39 Got plenty of plates? If not, stock up on plain white ceramic side plates from the dollar store or über-affordable Kitchen Stuff Plus, so you’re never caught short when guests arrive. (Stash them in a “Party Box” and break ‘em out for every shindig: less stress each time.)

40 Ditto for glasses. The easy choice is IKEA red wine glasses. They’re suitable for practically everything.

41 Purge your fridge. Pickled fiddleheads? Ancient mustard? Old miso paste? Clear it out to make room for platters of party trays and leftovers.

42 Replace the baking soda box in your fridge. Who wants onion-scented petit fours?

43 Buy extra coffee beans so you’re never caught short. Stash the extra bag in your freezer.

44 Stock your pantry with bottled bubbly mineral water.

45 Stock up on frozen heat-and-serve appetizers and hors d’oeuvres if you’re not a from-scratch kind of guy or gal!

46 Make sure you’re stocked up on napkins, chopsticks and paper towels.

47 Sharpen your knives. You want to carve the bird like a Food Network pro!

48 Keep kitchen order even if you’re normally a clean-once-a-week kind of person. That way if guests drop in all you need to do is a fast tidy-up.

49 Check your fire extinguisher.

50 Clean the microwave: it takes a beating this time of year!

51 Be prepared with dog treats for furry guests. Also have an emergency kit of rags, newspapers and spot remover on hand in case of any accidents.

52 Keep some kid-friendly snacks in your freezer in case small fry visit unexpectedly. Mini frozen pizzas, waffles, and fluffy sliced bread (even if you normally eat multigrain!) are very useful.

53 Brie, manchego, smoked cheddar or Edam cheese, along with a reliable not-so-perishable counterpart like apricot or fig jelly: Have them in your fridge at all times!

54 Ditto the crackers. Always have some on hand, no excuses!

55 Bake up a storm one Sunday and freeze the results so you’re all set for any school parties, office cookie exchanges, coffee ‘n’ cookie potlucks and so on.

56 Plan your holiday meal menu.

57 Put together your ingredient-shopping list, breaking it into fresh, last minute ingredients and non-perishable ingredients that can be purchased in advance.

58 Put out bowls of nuts or fruit – they look festive and are a healthy snack too.

59 Keep a bottle (or three!) of bubbly in the fridge: Champagne, cava, Prosecco or brut – it’s all good!