Save Time On Thanksgiving So You Can Enjoy It

Preparation can go a long way to help save time on Thanksgiving. We can all use the extra help because hosting a meal at your house can be a little stressful. But hosting a meal at your house on THANKSGIVING can leave you crippled with anxiety for days leading up to the day of the festivities! (Too dramatic??? Maybe.) But that is what it feels like to me. The need for everything to be perfect, on time, not to mention delicious, has kept me up at night. For tips of how to get a good night’s sleep so you are ready to entertain when company is on your doorstep, click here!

Make a Plan

I knew that I needed to have a plan and needed to try to get as much of the work done before the big day as I could. Depending on how big of an event you plan on having, if there will be overnight guests, if anyone is helping out with the food, there are many things that you can do the days, weeks, and months before.

These are some of my best suggestions for getting some of the prep work out of the way so you can enjoy the day with family and friends. And be thankful for some sanity on Thanksgiving!

Guestlist

Before worrying about groceries and meal prep you will need to plan for your guests. If you have a more formal event, you will need to send out invitations and record RSVP’s as they come in. Or if you are like me and have a family event, you just need to check in to see if all the “regulars” are coming and if they are bringing a plus-one. Once you have a final head count the planning can really begin.

Menu

Once you know how many guests you will have, you can plan your menu for your thanksgiving meal. For our thanksgiving, we go pretty traditional; turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, pumpkin pie, but that may not be your thing so you may need to do some Pinterest searches to find the dishes you would like to serve!

I am lucky enough to have family members that are willing to help out to take some of the load off of me. My mom cooks the turkey at their house and then brings it over so that I have oven space for the dressing. Then usually someone brings the bread, pies and maybe an appetizer or vegetable.

Grocery List

Once I know what I am responsible for, I make a grocery list. This is helpful to do at least a few weeks ahead of time so the nonperishable items can be bought as soon as possible or when they are on sale. You also won’t have to worry about items being hard to find like they are when you wait until the last minute. #beentheredonethat 

I also like to make sure that I have enough serving dishes and utensils, dinner and dessert plates, glasses and silverware. If not, a quick trip to the store or an order on Amazon can take care of that!

Decorate

The decorating part is probably my favorite. Even if I weren’t hosting a thanksgiving meal I would still be doing this, so it doesn’t feel like work or an additional item on my to-do list. You can go all out and have beautiful table settings and name cards or you can go with a simple centerpiece.

I tend to take the simple route and make the food the main attraction. I do like to decorate the rest of my house to get a nice festive, fall feeling. That you can do as soon as Halloweeen is over. Or before, if you can handle your husband’s eye-rolls. 

Food Preparation

Last but certainly not least; the food. There are many items that can be prepared beforehand to save time on Thanksgiving and be either frozen or refrigerated. If you are making your pies, pie crust can be made and frozen along with homemade stock which is also healthier than store-bought.

I make the mashed potatoes the day before and transfer them to a slow cooker so that I can just heat them up the next morning. This does dry them out a little so I always stir in more milk and butter as they warm up. 

Another dish I make the day before is the dressing. I’m not a stuff-the-turkey kind of girl and my dressing recipe comes from my grandma and is one of my favorite foods. So, it is definitely a staple on my holiday table.

 It does take about three hours in the oven so getting it all prepped and in the pan the day before saves some time. Then it just has to be popped in the oven and creates the most wonderful smell for your guests to enjoy as they arrive.

Don’t Forget the Small Stuff

I know the turkey is usually the main attraction but there are some other odds and ends that you don’t want to forget to add to your list; drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Do you need ice or extra wine glasses? Will you provide any activities if kids will be in attendance? Do you have enough seating for everyone? Is football a tradition you also celebrate on Thanksgiving and do you have a large enough area for that to be enjoyed with some snacks or leftovers?

Enjoy!

After all that preparation Thanksgiving day should be a breeze! You can enjoy more of your day and spend it with the people that make it meaningful to you. What part of hosting Thanksgiving stresses you out the most? Do you have any tips or tricks to help you plan ahead and be prepared? I’d love to hear them! Happy Thanksgiving!