Host a Spring Holiday Celebration

By Nancy Mucciarone, Syracuse University

Whether you celebrate with dyed eggs or matzo, being away from home during the holidays can cause some serious homesickness. But just because your family is dining without you doesn’t mean you can’t have a celebratory gathering of your own. Follow our tips to host an Easter or Passover dinner that all of your friends will remember.

Save the Date
If you’re planning an Easter dinner, survey your friends to see who will be at school on April 24 to get a head count of guests to expect. For a Passover Seder, invite your friends to join you at sunset on April 18. If you have both Jewish and Christian friends, choose an evening to celebrate that works for everyone. Send either an e-vite or a Facebook event invitation for a budget-friendly way to make the dinner official.

Set up Your Space
Nothing says “celebration” like some festive decor, so head to your local dollar or party store and stock up on everything you need to get your pad holiday-ready:

Table setting
For more intimate gatherings of 10 or fewer guests, cover the table with an Easter- or Passover-themed tablecloth. If your table isn’t big enough for all of your guests to sit, set it up buffet-style. “Many parents put out flowers for every holiday, so putting some tulips in a vase on the table will remind most people of home,” says Hannah Dalton-Ameen, a senior at Syracuse University.

If you want to get fancy with matching plates and glasses, most discount marts or dollar stores sell dinnerware, glassware and utensils that look much pricier than they actually are, so stock up. If you can’t afford all that, then purchase decorative paper plates and plastic-ware as a cheap alternative. We doubt your guests will be going, “Dahling, did you notice she didn’t provide salad forks?” As long as they don’t have to eat with their fingers, we’re sure they’ll be gracious.

Holiday decor
If you’re feeling extra-fancy, decorate the rest of your space for the holiday too. Blow up blue and white balloons for Passover or pastel balloons for Easter, or have a mix of colors if you’re celebrating both. Most party stores will have a section in front with decorations for any upcoming holidays too, so see what you can find.

Chow Down
Aside from good company, the best part of any holiday gathering is the food -- so don’t skimp. If you don’t have a ton of money for groceries, ask each guest to bring a dish. Says Dalton-Ameen: “Turn your dinner into a potluck.” Be sure to discuss beforehand who is bringing what so you end up with a range of different foods.

Easter
Traditionally, ham is served for Easter, but the side dishes that go along with it vary from family to family. “Have everyone bring a dish that reminds them of home,” says Dalton-Ameen. As for the meat, most grocery stores offer precooked ham for Easter, so head to the store and pick one up for easy hosting. (Note: If you’re entertaining Jewish guests for an Easter-Passover celebration, skip the ham and go with a kosher meat instead.)

You could host a brunch or dinner -- it’s up to you. Here’s an easy microwaveable potato casserole recipe that goes well with ham and can be served any time of day:

Cheesy Potato Casserole (serves six)
5 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon salted butter
1 tablespoon minced chives (optional)

1. Toss potatoes and onions into a large glass casserole dish, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 10 to 12 minutes (or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork).

2. Remove casserole from microwave (careful, it’s hot!), and stir sour cream into the potato mixture. Add shredded cheese and toss lightly. Dot the top with butter.

3. Microwave an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until cheese is melted. Sprinkle chives over the potatoes, and serve while hot.

You could serve homemade sugar cookies or cupcakes for dessert, or just pass around an Easter basket filled with candy. You may also want to have fun dying eggs after dinner, then stage an Easter egg hunt around your building.

Passover
If you want to host a traditional Seder, Syracuse University senior Kimberly Morgenbesser advises enlisting a friend who has held one before, since it is typically quite an intricate affair. The ceremony usually takes three hours, says Morgenbesser, so it may be easier to do an abridged version with your friends.

Start with the Seder plate, which holds six symbolic items: maror (grated horseradish), chazeret (bitter herbs), charoset (fruit-and-nut paste), karpas (parsley or celery), z’roa (lamb shank bone or roast chicken wing) and beitzah (hard-boiled egg). Also, be sure to have three whole matzos on the table, along with a bowl of saltwater -- and don’t forget the Haggaddahs, or books that guide the Seder. “Everyone gets to read a different part,” says Morgenbesser. “The book has prayers and songs and readings about the food and about what happened during Passover.”

After the readings, serve the food. “You usually have matzo ball soup, gefilte fish and a few other traditional foods, but there’s been different food at every Seder I’ve been to,” says Morgenbesser. Traditional menu items vary by family, but beef brisket is a common main course. If you don’t have access to an oven, you can always pick up a fully cooked slow-roasted chicken from your grocer’s deli. And if you do, try this classic recipe for spinach kugel, a traditional casserole-like side dish made using matzo.

Simple Matzo Spinach Kugel (serves eight)
3 10-ounce packages of frozen spinach (thawed and strained)
4 matzos broken into small, nickel-sized pieces
7 lightly beaten eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Butter or cooking spray (to grease the pan)

1. Set over to 350 F.

2. In a bowl, cover matzo with warm water and soak for about 5 minutes. Then, use a strainer to drain.

3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and pour into greased 9- by 13-inch pan.

4. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour.

5. Allow kugel to cool and serve in squares.

Traditional Seder dessert consists of the Afikomen (a piece of matzo secretly swiped from the table and hidden by the leader of the Seder during the meal), but be sure to pick up a can of coconut macaroons to satisfy the sweet tooth.

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/Liliboas