Redefining Holiday Gathering

The holidays are about gathering, not grinding away in the kitchen. Yet between shopping lists, tight oven schedules and endless piles of dishes, many families find themselves too exhausted to savor the season. Enter the Lowcountry’s new holiday tradition: gourmet take-home dining. With restaurants and bakeries offering elegant, chef-crafted menus to enjoy at home, locals can skip the stress without sacrificing flavor or festivity. From multi-course feasts to indulgent desserts, businesses like Halls Signature Events and Crumb & Butter Pie Company are redefining holiday dining—allowing you to give yourself the gift of time, relaxation and delicious meals.

Halls Signature Events Make Gourmet Gatherings Easy

For Charleston families, few names are as synonymous with celebration as Halls. The award-winning Halls Chophouse’s catering arm, Halls Signature Events, is welcoming back its popular Holiday To-Go Kits—an offshoot of the beloved “Halls at Home” culinary line. The program first launched in 2017 with a Thanksgiving package, and what began as a small offering has since grown into a highly anticipated tradition. “We never envisioned what it would become; it’s become huge,” says Jerri Heater, general manager of Halls Signature Events. “But our menu has stayed consistent throughout the years, combining beloved Halls’ favorites with traditional holiday classics.”

Guests can expect the same attention to detail and signature hospitality that define the restaurant experience. Every kit is fully cooked, with detailed reheating instructions for those picking up a day early. If you’d rather skip the oven altogether, hot and ready-to-serve meals are also available on Thanksgiving Day through an organized, drive-through-style service. Each order is carefully timed and prepared so that it’s fresh and ready when guests arrive for pickup.

Beyond Thanksgiving, Halls Signature Events offers year-round to-go packages for football gatherings, boat outings and intimate family dinners. They’ve even created breakfast-in-bed kits, and private chefs can bring the full Halls experience into homes and vacation rentals across Charleston, Sullivan’s Island, and Isle of Palms—perfect for birthdays, anniversaries and bachelorette weekends. First-time guests can rest easy knowing every meal is fully cooked, comes with clear reheating instructions and can be customized to include favorites not listed on the menu. Halls’ goal is simple: make every event effortless, delicious and memorable.

Customization and flexibility are part of what keep families coming back. Heater notes that even if a specific dish isn’t listed on the menu, regulars know they can ask. “If someone wants our creamed spinach and it’s not listed, of course, they can have it,” she says.

At its heart, Halls’ mission is about creating moments through food. “Life has become so busy for everyone, and the little precious free time that we get, we need to be spending with those we love,” Heater says. “By offering this service, we can help guests slow down, sit back and enjoy their friends and families without worrying about the cooking.” To book your To-Go Kits, go to: restaurantcateringsystems.com/hallssignatureevents/?form=ordering

Butter & Crumb Make it Easy as Pie

Dessert and side dishes are often the trickiest part of a holiday menu—that’s where Kelly Moreau, co-owner of Butter & Crumb Pie Company, says her team loves to step in.

“Helping to take the pressure off side dishes and desserts during the holidays is our specialty,” says Moreau. “We love to work with customers on menu ideas and pairings, such as our Mushroom & Caramelized Onion Pie as a side to beef tenderloin or rack of lamb, and our French Tomato & Corn & Cheddar pies as perfect sides to roasted chicken or turkey.”

Butter & Crumb’s lineup includes both sweet and savory options—everything from Pumpkin Praline Pie and Carrot Cake to Chicken Pot Pie and Corn & Cheddar Pie. The best part? Many of their handmade pies go straight from freezer to oven, no thawing required. “Our advice is to make sure to plan ahead and stock your freezer with our sweet and savory pies so you can be effortlessly ready for company and guests that drop by,” Moreau says.

For customers, that preparation has been a game-changer. One woman wanted to bake her grandmother’s recipe but dreaded tackling the crust. Butter & Crumb shipped her frozen all-butter crusts so she could confidently make the family favorite without stress. Stories like these inspired the bakery to offer pie crusts as part of their holiday lineup.

Moreau says the key to stress-free entertaining is knowing where to lean in for a little gourmet help. Serve pies warm with ice cream, caramel or homemade whipped cream, and they’ll feel seamlessly part of your holiday feast. As Moreau puts it, “They look and taste homemade, so no one would ever need to know you brought in a little gourmet help.” For more information go to: butterandcrumbpies.com.