Holiday cooking has a sneaky little habit of pretending it is all about joy, sparkle, and cinnamon. Then, right when you are feeling festive, it body-checks you with a sink full of dishes, three timers going off at once, and one relative asking whether the gravy is “supposed to look like that.” Enter Barbara Costello, better known as Brunch with Babs, whose popularity is built on exactly the kind of practical, grandma-smart advice people actually use.
The trick she swears by is wonderfully unglamorous, which is probably why it works: deal with holiday dishes before they become a disaster. In Babs-style terms, that means soaking dirty dishes right away instead of letting them fossilize into a post-dinner science project. And once you look closer, this simple move opens the door to her bigger philosophy for stress-free holiday dishes: do the easy prep early, soak the mess before it hardens, and stop trying to be a heroic one-person catering company.
It is not flashy. It is not trendy. It will not earn you a standing ovation from your casserole dish. But it can absolutely make your holiday kitchen calmer, cleaner, and far less dramatic.
The Trick in Plain English: Soak Now, Relax Later
Babs’s dish-cleanup hack is simple enough that it almost feels rude. Once the meal is over, gather the dirty plates and utensils into dish bins, fill them with hot water, and let them soak while you spend time with your guests. She also adds citrus peels and baking soda, which helps with odors and makes the whole setup smell less like “leftover gravy panic” and more like a person in charge of her life.
This works because dried-on food is half the battle. The longer mashed potatoes, cheesy casseroles, gravy drips, and sticky glazes sit on a plate, the more elbow grease they demand later. A hot soak softens residue while buying you something every host wants and almost never gets: breathing room.
There is also a psychological victory here. When dishes are corralled into bins instead of sprawling across every surface like a crime scene, the kitchen already feels more manageable. The mess is contained. The meal is still over. The evening is not hijacked by immediate cleanup. That is the kind of low-drama magic holiday hosts dream about.
How to Use the Babs Method Without Overthinking It
Start by placing a dish bin or deep basin near the sink before guests even arrive. Think of it as setting a trap for chaos. After the meal, stack dinner plates together, keep utensils separate, and fill the bin with hot water. Add a few citrus peels if you have them and a sprinkle of baking soda. Then walk away.
One important note: do not toss sharp knives into a mystery bath. Nobody wants the holiday memory that begins with, “Well, I reached into the soaking bin and…” Keep sharp items separate and wash them carefully by hand.
If you use a dishwasher, this hack still helps. The soak loosens the gunk, which means less scrubbing before loading. If you hand-wash delicate dishes, it helps even more, because you are not standing there chiseling gravy off serving ware like an archaeologist of Thanksgiving Past.
Why This Little Cleanup Trick Matters So Much
At first glance, soaking dishes sounds like a cleanup tip. In reality, it is a holiday hosting tip. The point is not just cleaner plates. The point is protecting your energy.
Holiday meals tend to come with two kinds of stress. The first is culinary stress: oven timing, reheating, carving, serving, and the eternal fear of forgetting the rolls. The second is recovery stress: leftovers, dishes, counters, spills, and the kitchen that suddenly looks like it hosted a wrestling match between butter and flour. Babs’s trick targets that second wave before it can flatten you.
It also supports a smarter hosting rhythm. Instead of disappearing into the kitchen the minute everyone finishes eating, you can sit down, laugh, refill drinks, or at least pretend you are a relaxed person in a sweater commercial. That shift matters. The best holiday hosts are not the ones scrubbing pans while everyone else is eating pie. They are the ones who build systems that let them enjoy the day too.
The Bigger Babs Lesson: Make-Ahead Cooking Is the Real Secret Sauce
The dish-soaking trick makes sense because it reflects Babs’s larger approach to holiday cooking: do what you can before the pressure peaks. Across interviews and recipe coverage, the same theme keeps showing up. She likes dishes that can be assembled the night before, sauces that can be made in advance, and menus that do not force the cook into last-minute chaos.
That is why her make-ahead gravy advice gets so much love. Gravy is one of those holiday foods that somehow becomes a national emergency at 4:37 p.m. People treat it like a live television event. But Babs has long pushed the opposite idea: make it ahead, freeze it if needed, and reheat it when the meal is near. Suddenly, one of the most stressful parts of dinner becomes one of the easiest.
The same logic powers her famous overnight breakfast casserole. It is popular for a reason. Holiday mornings already come with enough moving parts: kids up too early, coffee not ready soon enough, wrapping paper multiplying across the floor like rabbits. A breakfast casserole you assembled the night before feels less like a recipe and more like a gift to your future self.
Holiday Dishes That Love a Head Start
If you want to build a menu around the Babs mindset, choose dishes that improve with a little time or at least hold up well after prep. Good examples include make-ahead gravy, overnight breakfast casseroles, baked egg dishes, roasted vegetables, soups, cranberry sauce, scalloped potatoes, and breads baked the day before.
These dishes reduce same-day pressure for one simple reason: they do not need your full attention at the exact moment five other things need it too. Some can be baked in advance and reheated. Others can be assembled, chilled, and baked later. Some, like soups and sauces, may even taste better after the flavors have had time to settle in and get friendly.
This is how make-ahead holiday meals become the foundation of a calmer celebration. You are not cutting corners. You are staging a strategic retreat from unnecessary stress.
What a Stress-Free Holiday Kitchen Actually Looks Like
A calm holiday kitchen is not spotless. Let’s not get delusional. It is simply organized enough to function.
That means appetizers set away from the main cooking zone so guests do not hover where you need to move. It means a refrigerator with a little actual space in it. It means labeled containers, an empty dishwasher if possible, and a realistic menu instead of one designed to prove your worth as a human being through side dishes. Babs’s advice consistently points back to the same truth: preparation beats perfection.
One smart move is dividing your workload into stages. Shop early. Chop sturdy vegetables a day or two ahead. Make gravy in advance. Assemble casseroles the night before. Set out serving dishes before cooking starts. Put a soak bin near the sink. None of these tasks is dramatic on its own, but together they create the kind of kitchen rhythm that makes the day feel manageable.
And if you are hosting a crowd, give yourself permission to lean into foods that scale well. Casseroles, big-batch sides, soups, and braised mains are your friends. Twelve individual made-to-order brunch plates may sound charming until you are sweating over a skillet while everyone else is already on their second mimosa.
Do Not Forget the Food Safety Part
There is one place where “I’ll deal with it later” is not cute, and that is food safety. A relaxed holiday kitchen still needs a few firm rules.
Perishable food should not sit out for hours while the party rolls on. Leftovers need to be refrigerated or frozen within two hours, and reheated leftovers should be brought back up to a safe temperature. Egg dishes, casseroles, stuffing, poultry, and reheated leftovers all deserve proper temperature checks. Translation: your food thermometer is not optional. It is one of the least glamorous but most useful tools in the room.
If you make gravy, casseroles, or sides ahead of time, cool them properly, store them in shallow containers when possible, label them, and reheat them thoroughly. Holiday cooking is supposed to create memories, not a group text about who now has a stomachache.
How to Build Your Own Babs-Style Holiday System
If you want the easiest version of this strategy, think in three buckets: prep-ahead, soak-ahead, and store-ahead.
Prep-ahead means choosing dishes that can be made or assembled before the big day. This includes overnight casseroles, sauces, chopped ingredients, baked desserts, and gravy.
Soak-ahead means setting up your cleanup before you need it. Put out the dish bin, have hot water ready, and let plates soak instead of crusting into little monuments of regret.
Store-ahead means making room for leftovers, labeling containers, and having a plan for where everything goes after dinner. Because nothing says “holiday spirit” like balancing a pan of stuffing on top of three yogurt tubs and hoping the fridge door still closes.
Once you start thinking this way, holiday hosting stops feeling like an endurance sport and starts feeling like a well-run kitchen with a decent soundtrack.
The Real Reason People Love This Babs Trick
The internet loves a good shortcut, but people love Babs because her advice does not sound like a stunt. It sounds livable. Soaking dishes immediately is not revolutionary in the flashy sense. It is revolutionary in the “why was I making life harder than it had to be?” sense.
That is the appeal of the entire Brunch with Babs brand. She gives people practical ways to lower the temperature of everyday life. Her best holiday guidance is not about performing perfection. It is about creating enough order that you can still enjoy your own meal, your own guests, and your own house.
And honestly, that may be the most valuable holiday trick of all.
500 More Words of Real Holiday Experience: What This Looks Like in an Actual Home
I have seen enough holiday kitchens to know there are two versions of the same dinner. In version one, the host is technically present but spiritually trapped in a hot oven door reflection, trying to remember whether the casserole came out, went back in, or exists only in theory. In version two, the host still has plenty to do, but the work is staggered. The gravy was made ahead. The breakfast casserole for the next morning is already in the fridge. The dirty dishes are soaking instead of glaring from the sink. And somehow, miraculously, this person is sitting down for ten full minutes with a drink and a plate.
That difference is not talent. It is systems.
The first time you try a Babs-style holiday strategy, it can feel almost suspiciously easy. You put out a soaking bin before dinner. You clear plates straight into hot water instead of stacking them dry. You make one key dish the day before. Maybe you even move the appetizer tray out of the kitchen so guests stop gathering directly in front of the oven like it is a fireplace in a ski lodge. Suddenly there is space to think. Space to move. Space to notice that the holiday is actually happening while you are in it.
One of the biggest surprises is what happens the next morning. Holiday cleanup usually has an emotional hangover. You wake up, walk into the kitchen, and feel accused by every pot and platter. But when dishes have already soaked, leftovers are packed, and the next meal is partly prepped, the room feels manageable. Not perfect. Not magazine-ready. But sane. And sane is a beautiful design style in December.
There is also something deeply comforting about advice that assumes you are a normal person. Not a TV chef. Not a lifestyle robot with twelve ovens and no family interruptions. Just a person trying to make a good meal without melting down over serving spoons. That is why Babs’s holiday wisdom lands. It respects the reality of the home kitchen. The baby will cry. The dog will lurk under the table like a furry vacuum cleaner. Someone will ask where the ice is while standing directly next to the freezer. The solution is not to become superhuman. The solution is to reduce friction wherever you can.
So yes, the dish-soaking trick is small. But it represents something bigger. It says you do not have to wait until the mess is terrible. You do not have to let every task pile up into one exhausting final act. You can soften the cleanup before it hardens. You can make the gravy before the guests arrive. You can assemble breakfast before Christmas morning chaos begins. In a season that often celebrates doing more, that kind of gentle efficiency feels almost rebellious.
And maybe that is why the trick sticks. It is not really about dishes. It is about protecting the part of the holiday you wanted in the first place: the laughter, the stories, the second helping of something delicious, and the rare, wonderful feeling that you are not just hosting the memory. You are actually inside it.
Final Thoughts
If you want stress-free holiday dishes, start with the Babs approach: soak early, prep ahead, store smart, and stop saving every task for the last possible minute. The citrus-and-baking-soda dish bin may be the headline-friendly trick, but the deeper lesson is even better. Holiday cooking gets easier when you stop treating the day itself like the only day that exists.
That means yes, soak the plates. But also make the gravy ahead, assemble the casserole the night before, move snacks away from the stove, and let the refrigerator do some of the heavy lifting. Because the true holiday flex is not a spotless kitchen or a dramatic tablescape. It is serving a great meal without looking like you just ran a culinary marathon in dress shoes.
