A true marker of adulthood is when you plan and host your first holiday dinner. There is no day quite like it. However, at some point, probably about six hours before you'd like to serve your dinner, you'll look around a kitchen that resembles a war zone, at a beloved dish that looks nothing like it should, and you'll wonder how your uncle, mother, or grandmother ever managed to pull it off. They did, of course, and with a little luck so will you.

The first step to surviving making this dinner with your sanity intact will be proper planning. There is more to a successful holiday dinner than just cooking it. Where will everyone eat? Do you have enough dishes, glasses, silverware, and serving pieces for the meal? Make a list of what you need, and then acquire it. Take into account which guests are coming. Your friends probably will be happy to sit on the floor on pillows and eat on mismatched plates, while your grandmother-in-law might be a little picky.

The next step in planning is coming up with your menu. This is an area where emotions run high. Thanksgiving, to me, means my grandmother's stuffing. A dear friend says it is not a holiday without green bean casserole. However, unless the family is moving their celebration en masse to your house, you probably won't be cooking for the crowds that we usually associate with holiday dinners.

If this is your first holiday hosting, you might not want to take on too many dishes at once, so take a good look at your list and think about editing it down to something comfortably manageable. While you'll surely want to take into account some of the sentimental favorites, and maybe a new favorite of your own, plan on keeping it rather simple. You'd be surprised at how people will still enjoy a scaled down dinner. Concentrate on the quality rather than the quantity of the dishes. Gather your recipes and prepare your shopping list. Take one last review of your kitchenware to make sure you have all of the tools you need.

Now that your kitchen is in order, let's move onto the food list. Make a list of the items you'll need for all of the dishes and double-check it so you can avoid running out to the store on the holiday for last minute items. If the meal is based on a ham, turkey, or roast as a main dish, be sure that you've got it or ordered it a couple of days ahead of time. You can then move forward to buying the rest of your needs for your drinks and sides, holding off until the day or two before for the most perishable foods.

The next step is to prepare your kitchen. About a week before the holiday scrub your kitchen top to bottom. Clean out your pantry and your refrigerator. Try to live off of food you already have in your kitchen to save space and money. Check everything you will use to cook and serve your dinner. Put everything you will need in easy reach. Even if this requires rearranging your cabinets, the time it will save on the big day will be worth.

Now the best way to ensure a stress free day is to get out your recipes the night before and review them so you can schedule the prep and cook times. Try and prepare any dishes you can the night before if possible. These simple steps in advance will really pay off and make your whole day go much smoother. Put your list in a convenient spot and check of the tasks as you go. Take a deep breath, and try to remember to enjoy the day!