If you have already decided how many guests will be at your table, then calculate the number of dishes using the formula that professional chefs usually use when setting banquets: 2/2/1, that is, 2 appetizers (meat, fish, vegetable), 2 salads and 1 hot appetizer.
Plus one large hot dish. This is the minimum, which can be supplemented according to your taste and desire. Dessert should not be given the main place at the table, because by the time it makes its spectacular appearance, the night’s gluttony will have lasted for more than an hour. A simple cupcake, gingerbread cookies or a light cheesecake are what you need to maintain the festive atmosphere and not die from gluttony.
The first thing on the shopping list is drinks, especially champagne. You need to buy them now – on New Year’s Eve, prices will skyrocket and the range will narrow.
Every year before the holiday, there is an acute shortage of ready-made tartlets and cake layers in stores, this is also worth keeping in mind. As for jars (peas for Olivier, pickled tomatoes and peppers, fish for salad, etc.) – they can also be bought earlier, nothing will happen to them for sure.