If you are hosting Easter this year, I would like to share some tips with you that have helped me stay sane when I hosted the holiday.

1. Cook and bake as many dishes as you can ahead of time. I have an Easter baking recipe that I share with you below that is easy and can be made up to a week in advance. I highly recommend baking your Easter desserts the day before. It really helps me reduce stress on Easter.

2. Organize your kitchen into baking / cooking stations the night before. I know this may sound crazy, but I have found that it helps me every time I cook a Christmas meal. I take out all the ingredients for each Easter recipe that don’t need to be refrigerated. I pull out the recipe and place all the ingredients that go into that recipe next to it, along with any saucepans or measuring cups or spoons you might need. I also try to organize them from the longest to the shortest cook time so I know what to start with first.

3. Select the Easter recipes you want to use one week in advance. This helps me make a shopping list of all the ingredients I need. That way I can get to the grocery store and buy everything I need long before the day.

4. Use or borrow appliances to make work easier. I still remember the first Easter I had at home. I must have spent at least half an hour slicing potatoes. If I had borrowed a food processor with a slicer from a friend, it would have made that day so much easier. If you don’t have the right appliance for the job or can’t borrow it, find a different prescription.

5. Recruit helpers! Friends and family who have come to your Easter party are often more than happy to help out with any last minute little things. My husband has become the official potato masher at all the holiday gatherings we have at our home! Those last 30 minutes before food is ready can sometimes get a little crazy. It’s okay to ask for help.

Extra Easter Recipe: Chocolate Easter Nests

This has been one of my favorite Easter baking recipes for as long as I can remember. I loved helping mom put candy in these for the “eggs”.

Crush the cookies so that they are quite thin. Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave until soft. Add the peanut butter to the melted chocolate. Mix, put in a large bowl and add the shredded wheat. Spoon mixture onto wax paper. Form each one into a nest. Chill until firm. Store in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to set them, place some jelly beans in each nest. It is a sweet and tasty Easter delicacy.