You know it’s the holiday season when you’re scraping frost off your car, when Starbucks brings back the red cups, and when the winter jackets come out of the closet. The holidays are a magical time when we reconnect with family and friends and celebrate everything we have to be grateful for.
But what if your kitchen isn’t ready for your holiday baking and hosting? If your oven takes too long to heat up, your fridge is on the fritz, and your dishwasher doesn’t wash anymore, it may be time for new kitchen appliances.
Here are some great new appliances to get your home holiday-ready!
A fridge for your leftovers
You can’t keep your leftover turkey or homemade butter tarts fresh without a well-performing refrigerator. If it’s been a while since you bought a fridge, here are some cool new features that will make holiday baking and entertaining easier:
- Ice-makers: While not a new fridge feature, having a built-in ice maker for the holidays can be very helpful. It means you always have a steady supply of cubed or crushed ice for holiday beverages.
- QuickMeasure function for water: Many fridges have a built-in filtered water dispenser. But this fridge from Jenn Air has a QuickMeasure function, which displays how much water has been dispensed in ounces, cups, or liters.
- Multiple temperature compartments: Today’s fridges sometimes come with a third compartment that can be accessed independently of your fridge or freezer. It can be individually temperature-controlled to your liking, based on what you plan to store inside it.
Make clean-up a breeze with a dishwasher
When hosting dinner or cocktail parties over the holidays, you want to spend time with your guests, not hidden away in the kitchen, cleaning up and washing the dishes. That’s why a reliable dishwasher will be your saviour this holiday season!
Here are some popular features and options for today’s modern dishwashers:
- Hidden or exposed controls: For a sleeker look, choose hidden controls you can access when opening the door.
- Third-row option: Many people love models with a third row for large cutlery and glassware.
- Quiet operation: You don’t want gurgling and noise from your dishwasher while conversing with your guests in the kitchen.
- Delay start: This allows you to time-delay the start of your dishwasher for after your guests have gone home for the night.
- Heat dry option: If you’ve forgotten to do your dishes the day before your dinner party, use the heat dry option, and your dishes will come out dry and warm at the end of the cycle.
- Clean sensors: This dishwasher from GE includes CleanSensor wash, which uses laser technology to detect how dirty your dishes are and adjust the water and cycles accordingly.
Cooking yummy meals and holiday treats
Your cooktop, oven, or range is a must-have for holiday baking and cooking. Here are some options to consider in your cooktop or oven that will make holiday cooking tastier:
- Induction cooktops: Induction cooktops heat your food faster and more evenly than other cooktops. You just need to ensure your cookware is compatible (if a magnet sticks to the bottom, it’s good to use). Faster cooking means you can make more holiday goodies!
- Convenient Bridge Element: This Frigidaire range top includes a Convenient Bridge Element, which allows you to combine two elements to cook a larger griddle or pan.
- WiFi Enabled ovens: Some ovens from LG include WiFi connectivity via their ThinQ app so you can monitor cooking mode and remaining time. It also works with Google Assistant, Alexa, SideChef, and Innit.
- AirFry or convection baking: You can air fry your favourite foods directly in the oven without buying a separate air fryer for the counter.
- Double range ovens: If you need to cook multiple dishes or goodies at different temperatures, get a range with two independent ovens. You can cook two batches of cookies at a time or slowly heat your holiday pies for dessert while dinner cooks.
Reheat your leftovers in the microwave
Don’t let all those delicious dinner leftovers go to waste. You'll want a good microwave for quick reheating of holiday dinner leftovers. Here are some microwave features that you’ll enjoy this holiday season:
- Turntable free: You can maximize space in your microwave by choosing a model without a turntable, like this microwave from Maytag.
- Sensor cooking: Use the sensor cooking options for popcorn, melting butter, and reheating leftovers (they adjust the cooking power and time based on the food you’re cooking).
Is there still time to order new appliances before the holidays?
At West Coast Appliance Gallery, we carry many popular kitchen appliances in-house. If not, we can order them for you and check the delivery estimate. We also know money may be tight during the holidays, so we’ve partnered with Fairstone to offer financing for many of our home appliances.
We also offer expert advice to help you pick the perfect appliances for your home. Let us know how you use (or want to use) your kitchen appliances, and we can help you pick out the best combination of appliances to meet your needs.
(If you’re not ready to buy a new kitchen yet but need your current appliances repaired before the holiday season, we do that too. We serve the Victoria, BC area. Learn more about how to book an appliance repair technician for your under-warranty and out-of-warranty appliances today).