Do You Need a “Hosting Pantry”? Fall Hosting Tips and Our Team’s Favorite Game Day Recipes

There is something about October that makes the house feel a little busier.

Football is on. Friends are stopping by. Halloween is around the corner. And somehow, Thanksgiving suddenly does not feel that far away.

If you are usually the one hosting, this is also the time of year when you start noticing things. Where did we put the big serving tray? Do we have enough glasses? Why are the cocktail napkins in a completely different room? And where is that one bowl we always use for chips?

None of these things seem like a big deal until you have people arriving in 20 minutes and you are opening every cabinet in the kitchen looking for something you know you own.

Which got us thinking about hosting pantries, one of the latest home organization trends we’ve been seeing. If any of these hosting headaches sound familiar, a dedicated hosting pantry might be exactly what your home is missing!

So, What Exactly Is a Hosting Pantry?

First things first. We are not saying you need an entirely separate pantry just for hosting. For most homes, it can be much simpler than that.

Think of a hosting pantry as a designated area for the things you tend to reach for when people come over. Serving trays, extra glasses, pitchers, snack bowls, table linens, paper products, beverage supplies, serving utensils, and maybe the slow cooker that seems to make an appearance every football Sunday.

Instead of storing those things wherever they happen to fit, you give them a place based on how you actually use them. For one family, that might mean a few shelves. For someone else, it could be a cabinet or beverage area. If you entertain often, it might even influence the way your entire pantry is designed.

The point is not to create more storage just for the sake of having more storage. It is making the space you already have work better when your house is full of people.

Think About How You Actually Host

Here is something we talk about a lot when designing storage: how you use a space matters just as much as what you need to store in it.

The same goes for hosting.

Think about the routines that happen in your home every day, and the ones that show up when you have people over.

What are you constantly reaching for? What tends to pile up? Which items never seem to have a designated place? On game day, are you pulling out the same snacks, serving pieces, napkins, or drinkware every time? Those little patterns can tell you a lot about how your space should be organized.

If certain items are always used together, keeping them together can make everyday routines and hosting feel much easier. If something is constantly ending up on the counter, it may be a sign that it needs a better home. And if you are always searching for the same things before guests arrive, your storage may need to work a little harder for you.

Good organization is not about where something is “supposed” to go. It is about creating a space that supports the way you actually live, whether it is a regular Tuesday night or a house full of people on game day.

Create a “Grab and Host” Area

This might be one of our favorite ideas for anyone who hosts regularly.

Create a section of your pantry that is basically ready whenever people come over. Call it your “grab and host” area.

Maybe it holds your favorite serving pieces, extra napkins, snack bowls, drink supplies, disposable plates, or whatever else tends to come out when company arrives. It does not have to be huge, and it definitely does not have to look picture perfect.

The goal is simply knowing where everything is when you need it.

Because searching for the bottle opener while someone is standing behind you holding a bowl of buffalo chicken dip is not exactly the relaxing evening you had planned.

What About All the Awkward Stuff?

You know the stuff we mean. The oversized platter. The tall pitcher. That giant serving bowl that does not stack with anything. The appliance you absolutely want to keep but only use a handful of times each year.

These are usually the things that end up shoved onto the highest shelf because there is nowhere else for them to go.

But those pieces matter when you are planning storage.

When we think about a pantry, we want to know what actually needs to live there. What do you use every day? What comes out when people are over? What is currently taking up space somewhere simply because you have never found a better place for it?

Sometimes the answer is deeper shelving. Sometimes it is adjusting shelf heights. Sometimes one designated spot solves the whole problem.

Your storage should make sense for the things you actually own.

Not Everything Needs the Best Seat in the House

If you host every weekend during football season, your game day supplies probably should not be buried behind something you use twice a year.

At the same time, the Thanksgiving platter does not need to take up one of the easiest shelves to reach for the other 364 days of the year.

This is where storage zones can really help. Keep everyday items easy to reach. Give hosting essentials their own area. Save those higher or less convenient spaces for the things you only pull out occasionally.

Same pantry. Better use of the space.

And a lot less searching when the doorbell rings.

Okay, now for the important question... What Are We Eating?

We could probably talk about pantry organization all day, but it is game day so let’s start talking about what we are eating!

For fun, we surveyed the Wow Your Closet office on everyone’s favorite game day snack, and buffalo chicken dip took the win. So, naturally, we had to provide you with a good recipe!

Wow Your Closet’s Game Day Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

You’ll need:

• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
  
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  
• 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
  
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
  
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  
• Sliced green onions for topping, optional
  
• Tortilla chips, crackers, celery or carrots for serving
  

To make it:
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Mix the chicken, cream cheese, buffalo sauce, ranch and half of the shredded cheeses until combined. Spread everything into a baking dish, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until it’s hot and bubbling. Add green onions if you’d like, then serve it warm.

Our only advice? Make more than you think you need. The office vote suggests it won’t last long!

One Last Hosting Tip

Matching containers. Your serving pieces do not need to coordinate. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with putting the bag of chips directly on the counter because everyone is going to eat them anyway.

What helps is having a home that works with you when things get busy. It may seem like a small thing, but when you are trying to enjoy time with family and friends, not having to search for the bowl you use once a year, the pitcher you know is somewhere, or the bottle opener that somehow vanished can make hosting feel a whole lot easier.

Maybe that is what a “hosting pantry” really is.

Not another room you need in your house. Just a pantry that knows company is coming.

Now, who’s bringing the dip?