With Thanksgiving coming up, some may be in a panic because you're hosting your first Thanksgiving for family and friends. Some may be hosting their umpteenth Thanksgiving but are looking for tips to make it easier. Even for a seasoned host, it may feel overwhelming, especially when you invite a lot of people. We have several tips to help reduce the stress of hosting your Thanksgiving.
Make a Plan
It's always best to start planning a week or two prior to Thanksgiving day. Experienced hosts can probably get away with planning a week ahead of time, but new hosts should start planning about three weeks out. Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday of November, so start planning during the first week of November.
Once you know how many people are coming, you need to figure out where everyone will sit. If not everyone fits at the table, consider smaller tables for children or lap trays to help people balance their plates if you're eating in the living area.
You'll also need to figure out if you have enough plates and flatware. You may need to purchase more, depending on the number of people you are inviting. For extra-large crowds, you can consider using strong paper plates, such as those from Hefty. Don't forget extra plasticware – people will need them for dinner and dessert.
If you plan on hosting for many years, you can forego the paper products and invest in enough dinnerware for your guests.
Generally, Thanksgiving in our corner of Tennessee is chilly, so unless we have an unusually warm day, plan for inside. Also, determine if you're doing a buffet-style. Generally, if you have a small space or have more than six to eight people, it's easier to set the food up buffet-style on the counters. That leaves much more room on the table.
Create a Menu
When creating your Thanksgiving menu, take into consideration the time you have to prep, cook and store menu items. Many people just go with the simple classics, which is fine. However, if you want to make something special, such as stuffing that takes three days, make sure you have the refrigerator space for everything.
You can store stuff in coolers on your deck; however, you'll have to plan to get enough ice, which takes time. If it's cold enough, you have the entire outdoors to store refrigerated items – but it needs to be about 40 degrees. Much colder, and everything will freeze. Much warmer, and you'll have a problem with rotting food.
Once you have the menu created, make a grocery list. If you divide the list into perishables and nonperishables, it will make shopping easier. You can purchase nonperishables early in the planning stage when you have more time. Make time to pick up perishables the Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Purchasing the Turkey and Ham
Whether you are having only turkey or turkey and ham, purchase them as soon as possible and freeze them. For every four pounds of turkey, you'll need one day to thaw it in the fridge. You'll also need about three-quarters of a pound of turkey for each person unless you are also making ham or other meat. If so, figure about one-half pound of each meat per person.
Confirm Your Guest List
In most cases, people ask if they can bring something – let them! Even if they don't ask, assign something to nearly everyone. Generally, the host makes the turkey and a few side dishes, but if you have enough people to make all of the side dishes, that makes your job that much easier.
When you assign something for someone to bring, make sure you clarify what you want so there are no surprises.
Decorate Your Home
About a week before Thanksgiving – or earlier, if you want – decorate your house for Thanksgiving. Dig out the table centerpiece if you have one and other Thanksgiving decorations so you won't be running around like a chicken with its head cut off the morning of.
If you planned on special napkins or other items for Thanksgiving, dig those out and make sure they are where you can easily find them.
Check Your Grocery List
About a week before Thanksgiving, check your grocery list and make sure you have all the nonperishables you need. If you have room in the freezer, you can also pick up frozen items, such as vegetables.
Clean Up!
Clean your home to make it ready for guests. If you do most of the cleaning earlier in the week, you'll have less to do on Thanksgiving morning or the day before. If some of your guests are staying overnight, make sure the guest rooms are ready, and you have plenty of towels and other linen.
Check Your Thanksgiving Cooking Tools
If you have a roaster, plug it in and make sure it works if you haven't used it for several months. Make sure crockpots work, especially those you will be using as warmers. Finally, make sure you have enough pots and pans to cook everything you want to cook.
Start Cooking Early
Start prepping a couple of days before. Casseroles are often better on the second day, so make items such as corn casserole and green bean casserole one or two days before if you have the refrigerator space.
You can also make pies one or two days before. If you are making cakes or cookies, make them a week before and freeze them.
If you have a crockpot warmer, put vegetables such as creamed corn, succotash, pre-made and mashed butternut squash and sweet potatoes in the warmers a few hours before dinner and turn the warmers to high. By dinnertime, they will be hot enough, and you'll be able to turn down the heat. Butternut squash and sweet potatoes freeze well, so you can cook them a week ahead of time, mash them and store them in the freezer.
You can peel and cook potatoes ahead of time and store them in the fridge. Thanksgiving day, you'll just need to heat them, mash them and add butter, milk, salt and pepper.
Thanksgiving Day
This is the day when you should get up early. Make sure you are ready, and the table is set at least an hour before guests are set to arrive. There's nothing like thinking you'll jump in the shower a half-hour before dinner and having someone show up early.
If you give yourself an hour of leeway, you'll save a lot of scrambling. Things to do Thanksgiving morning while the turkey is roasting include:
- Empty all the trash cans and line them with a second bag. When the first bag is full, all you need to do is remove it – the second bag is already in and ready to go.
- Clean the kitchen and have the counter space cleared and ready for bowls and platters of food if you're doing a buffet.
- Remove precious items from the living room, dining room, and other areas where they might be broken by kids roughhousing.
- If people are putting their coats on a bed, cover it with a sheet to protect your duvet or quilt from the elements.
- Make sure the bathrooms have extra toilet paper and towels. Light a candle in the bathrooms for a nice touch.
Tips for Making Thanksgiving Easier
Additional tips include:
- Store cooked dishes in the microwave. It's insulated, so it will keep dishes that are done a little early warm for about a half-hour. Just don't forget it's in there – you don't want to turn the microwave on and dry it out.
- Pour gravy into a thermos to keep it steaming hot. You can also use a thermos to keep soups and sauces warm.
- Place a rug near the door to help with tracking mud inside and for people to store their shoes and boots if they are removing them.
- If you or a neighbor have pigs or your dog eats table scraps, keep a 5-gallon bucket near the sink so people can scrape their plates into it when they are finished. It keeps the trash from getting too heavy. Just be sure to remove cooked turkey bones from the scraps before feeding them to your dog.
We at Miller Farms wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!