Holiday Hosting Hacks: 15 Cheap DIY Tricks That Make a Small House Ready for a Crowd

These holiday hosting hacks are for anyone who said yes to the big family dinner and then looked around a small house and panicked a little. You do not need a bigger dining room or a fat budget. You need a few smart, cheap DIY tricks that make the space you already have work harder. Real hosts are sharing their whole setup online right now, like this start to finish Thanksgiving hosting video that pulled in hundreds of thousands of views. Below you will find 15 ideas for seating, serving, coats, kids and cleanup. Most use things you own or can grab for a few dollars. Ready to make room for everyone..

Holiday Hosting Hacks: Two Tables, One Tablecloth

Short on table space? This is the trick that solves the biggest problem first. Push a folding table right up against the end of your dining table so the tops line up. Then throw one long canvas drop cloth or a flat bed sheet over both. Nobody can see the seam, and suddenly you have one long farm style table that seats ten or twelve. Drop cloths from the hardware store are cheap, they wash well, and the natural color looks like expensive linen. Add a simple runner down the middle and nobody will guess there is a card table hiding under there. If the heights are a little off, slide a folded towel under the shorter legs. Isn’t it nice when the fix is this easy..

You will need: a folding table, a canvas drop cloth or flat sheet, a table runner, a folded towel for leveling.

How to make it: 1. Line up the folding table with your dining table. 2. Level it with a folded towel. 3. Drape the steamed drop cloth over both. 4. Add a runner down the center.

Extra Seats From What You Already Own

Chairs are always the first thing to run out. Before you rent or buy, walk through your house and look at what can hold a person. A piano bench, a sturdy storage trunk and a padded ottoman all work at the table. For a real bench, set a thick wood plank across two strong wooden crates and top it with a long seat cushion or a folded quilt. Tuck a throw blanket over the ends and it looks cozy and planned. This is one of the best holiday hosting hacks because it costs almost nothing and you can take it apart the next day. Just test every seat yourself first. Would you rather find the wobble now or in the middle of dinner?

You will need: two sturdy wooden crates, a thick wood plank, a long seat cushion or quilt, throw blankets.

How to make it: 1. Set the crates on their sides at each end. 2. Lay the plank on top and check that it does not rock. 3. Add the cushion or folded quilt. 4. Drape a throw over each end to hide the crates.

Holiday Hosting Hacks for Coats: A Pop-Up Rack

Where do the coats go when twenty people walk in at once? In most small homes they end up in a pile on your bed. Skip that with a pop-up coat spot. An over-the-door hook rail on a bedroom or closet door holds six or more coats in seconds. If you have a nook or a closet with no rod, a tension rod and a few wooden hangers make an instant coat closet. You can even hang a tension rod across a hallway alcove for one night. Add a small basket below for hats and gloves. It keeps the entry clear, it saves your bedspread, and guests know right where to grab their things when it is time to leave.

You will need: an over-the-door hook rail, a tension rod, wooden hangers, a small basket.

How to make it: 1. Hang the hook rail on a door near the entry. 2. Fit a tension rod in a nook or empty closet. 3. Add hangers to the rod. 4. Set a basket below for hats, scarves and gloves.

Self-Serve Drink Station

If you spend the whole party refilling glasses, you never get to sit down. A self-serve drink station fixes that. Use a bar cart, a dresser top or a low bookshelf in a corner away from the kitchen traffic. Set out a glass drink dispenser with cider or water, a stack of cups, a wooden tray with napkins and a small bowl of sliced oranges or cinnamon sticks. Put an ice bucket on the bottom shelf. Guests love it because they can help themselves, and you love it because people stop crowding the fridge. Keep it far from the stove so the cook has room. Doesn’t that sound easier than playing waiter all night?

You will need: a bar cart or dresser, a glass drink dispenser, cups, a wooden tray, napkins, an ice bucket.

How to make it: 1. Clear a dresser or cart in a corner. 2. Set the dispenser on a wood tray to catch drips. 3. Stack cups and napkins next to it. 4. Fill the bottom shelf with ice and extra drinks.

Holiday Hosting Hacks With Dollar Store Cake Stands

Pies, cookies and rolls take up a lot of room when every plate sits flat. Go up instead of out. Glue a dollar store plate on top of a short glass vase or a sturdy upside-down glass cup and you have a cake stand. Stack two or three of them and you have a tiered dessert tower that frees up half the table. E6000 glue holds strong once it cures, so make these a few days early. White plates look classic, but clear glass and gold rims look fancy too. These stands are so pretty that many people keep them out all season. Want a set to give away? They also make a sweet hostess gift.

You will need: dollar store plates, short glass vases or sturdy glass cups, E6000 glue, rubbing alcohol.

How to make it: 1. Clean each plate and glass with rubbing alcohol. 2. Run a ring of glue on the rim of the glass. 3. Center the plate on top and press. 4. Let it cure for 24 to 72 hours before using.

Kraft Paper Place Cards

Place cards sound fussy, but they actually make hosting calmer. Nobody hovers around the table wondering where to sit, and you get to put the chatty uncle far from the cousin he argues with. Buy a pack of kraft paper tags and some twine. Write each name with a nice pen, then tie the tag to a mini pinecone, a small apple or a little gourd. Set one on every plate. It looks thoughtful and cozy, and it costs maybe three dollars for the whole table. Guests often take them home as a keepsake, and that is one of the holiday hosting hacks people remember. Who knew such a tiny thing could make the table feel so special?

You will need: kraft paper tags, twine, mini pinecones or small apples, a black pen.

How to make it: 1. Write each name on a tag. 2. Cut short pieces of twine. 3. Tie a tag to each apple or pinecone. 4. Set one on every plate.

Holiday Hosting Hacks: The Bookshelf Buffet

In a small house, the dining table has to do one job: hold people. So move the food somewhere else. A low bookshelf, a console table or a sideboard makes a great buffet. Clear the top, lay down a linen runner and use a few risers, like upside-down bowls or wooden boxes under a cloth, so dishes sit at different heights. Line everything up in order: plates first, then mains, sides, rolls and cutlery at the end. The flow stays smooth and nobody reaches over grandma for the gravy. This is one of those holiday hosting hacks you will use every year. Do you have a piece of furniture against a wall that could pull double duty?

You will need: a low bookshelf or console, a linen runner, wooden boxes or bowls as risers, serving dishes.

How to make it: 1. Clear and dust the top. 2. Lay the runner over risers at the back. 3. Arrange dishes from plates to cutlery. 4. Leave room in front to set a plate down.

Mason Jar Cutlery Caddies

Forks and napkins always seem to vanish right when the line starts. Put them in plain sight with mason jar caddies. Wrap a band of burlap ribbon around the middle of each jar and hold it in place with a dot of hot glue. Add a few turns of twine on top for a farmhouse look. Fill one jar with forks, one with knives and spoons, and one with rolled napkins. Set them in a small wooden crate at the end of your buffet. They are quick, cheap and easy to wash after. You can use the same jars at summer cookouts too. Isn’t it great when one craft works all year long?

You will need: three mason jars, burlap ribbon, twine, a hot glue gun, a small wooden crate.

How to make it: 1. Wrap burlap around each jar and glue the end. 2. Wind twine over the burlap and tie a bow. 3. Fill jars with cutlery and rolled napkins. 4. Set them in a crate at the buffet.

Label the Leftovers Station

After the meal, you will have more food than your fridge can hold. Make it easy for guests to take some home. Set up a small leftovers station with a basket of cheap dollar store containers, a roll of masking tape and a marker. Guests fill a container, write their name and the dish on a strip of tape, and stack it by the door. No one has to ask, and you do not end up with six pounds of stuffing. It also means you get fewer containers back missing lids. Put the station near the kitchen but out of the cook’s path. Holiday hosting hacks like this one make the end of the night feel generous and calm.

You will need: dollar store food containers with lids, a roll of masking tape, a marker, a basket.

How to make it: 1. Stack containers and lids in a basket. 2. Set the tape and marker next to it. 3. Place it near the kitchen exit. 4. Tell guests to help themselves after dessert.

Guest Sock and Slipper Basket

Do you have a shoes-off house? Then guests may feel a little awkward padding around in thin socks on a cold floor. A basket of cozy socks at the door makes everyone feel welcome. Grab a big thrifted basket and fill it with fuzzy socks in mixed sizes from a discount store. Roll each pair so it looks neat. Add a pair or two of simple slippers for older relatives. Place the basket next to a small bench or a boot tray so people have somewhere to sit. It turns a house rule into a warm little gift. Many guests will even wear their socks home, and that is okay. It is a cozy touch people remember.

You will need: a large thrifted basket, rolled fuzzy socks, a few slippers, a boot tray.

How to make it: 1. Wash and dry the socks. 2. Roll each pair tightly. 3. Fill the basket with socks on top and slippers on the side. 4. Set it next to a boot tray and a small bench.

Holiday Hosting Hacks for the Bathroom

Your bathroom gets more use during one holiday dinner than in a regular week. Help guests out with a small tray of basics so they never have to call out for help. Put rolled hand towels in a little basket, add a spare roll of toilet paper in plain sight, a pump bottle of hand lotion and a small dish of mints. A tiny vase with a sprig of pine or eucalyptus makes it smell fresh too. Set everything on a wood or marble tray on the counter or the back of the toilet. It takes ten minutes to put together. Have you ever been a guest who could not find the extra roll? This little tray saves the day.

You will need: a small tray, rolled hand towels, a spare toilet paper roll, hand lotion, mints, a small vase.

How to make it: 1. Roll the towels and stand them in a basket. 2. Set the basket, lotion and mints on the tray. 3. Add a spare roll in plain sight. 4. Finish with a sprig of greenery in a vase.

Kids Corner Table

Want the grown-ups to actually finish a meal? Give the kids their own spot. Cover a coffee table with a sheet of kraft paper from a roll and tape the edges down with painter’s tape. Fill a few small jars with crayons and markers and set them in the middle. Kids can draw all over the table, and when the party is over you just roll up the paper and toss it. Add floor cushions or a few pillows around it so they can sit comfortably. If the kids are old enough, draw a few tic-tac-toe boards to get them started. It keeps little ones busy and happy, and the adults get to talk for once.

You will need: a roll of kraft paper, painter’s tape, small jars, crayons and washable markers, floor cushions.

How to make it: 1. Roll kraft paper over the coffee table. 2. Tape it down under the edges. 3. Fill jars with crayons and markers. 4. Toss floor cushions around the table.

Mismatched Thrift Store Dishes

Not enough plates for twenty people? Do not buy a whole new set. Head to the thrift store and look for plates in one color family, like blue and white, cream and gold, or soft green. They do not have to match. When the colors are close, the table looks collected and planned, like something from a magazine. Most thrifted plates cost under a dollar each. Pair them with napkins in one solid color so the look feels pulled together. After the holidays, keep them in a bin for next year or use them for cookie gifts. This is one of the prettiest holiday hosting hacks, and it is also the greenest. Which color would you pick for your table?

You will need: thrifted plates in one color family, napkins in one solid color, a storage bin.

How to make it: 1. Pick a color family. 2. Collect plates in that range. 3. Wash them well. 4. Mix patterns and add matching napkins.

Entryway Clutter Bins

The first thing guests see is your entry, and that is also where the backpacks, mail and dog leashes pile up. Before the crowd shows up, do a fast sweep with a few fabric bins. Toss in the shoes, bags, mail and random stuff, then slide the bins onto a shelf or under a bench. An over-the-door organizer on the closet door can hold hats, gloves and small things too. It takes about fifteen minutes, and the space instantly looks calm and roomy. You can sort the bins after everyone leaves. The goal is not a perfect house. It is a clear path so guests can walk in, take off their coats and feel welcome.

You will need: three or four fabric storage bins, an over-the-door organizer, a bench or shelf.

How to make it: 1. Set the bins by the door. 2. Toss in shoes, mail and bags. 3. Slide bins onto a shelf or under a bench. 4. Hang the organizer for small items.

Holiday Hosting Hacks: Set Up a Dish Duty Station

The secret to a happy host is a fast cleanup. Before guests arrive, run and empty the dishwasher so it is ready to take a full load. Set a plastic dish bin in the sink filled with warm soapy water, so dirty forks and knives can soak right away. Stack a pile of clean tea towels next to a drying rack. When people offer to help, and they always do, they will know exactly where to go. Many hands make it quick, and you will not wake up to a mountain of pots. Out of all these holiday hosting hacks, this is the one your future self will thank you for. Ready to host with a smile?

You will need: a plastic dish bin, dish soap, a stack of tea towels, a dish drying rack.

How to make it: 1. Empty the dishwasher before guests come. 2. Fill a dish bin with warm soapy water in the sink. 3. Stack tea towels by the rack. 4. Point helpers to the station after dinner.