Is there such a thing as a stress-free Thanksgiving? Actually, there is! With just a few time saving tips, you can help ensure that your Thanksgiving plans go off without a hitch!
Create a seating chart for dinner– Having a seating plan for Thanksgiving dinner will save you some time, rather than having your guests taking 20 minutes to figure out where they want to sit. Make sure that your seat is the closest to the kitchen area, so you can easily move back and forth as needed. Your partner should be seated across from you. Those who are left-handed need to sit on the corner seats. If your mother and your Aunt Clare don’t get along, then don’t seat them near each other.
Do non-food preparation work early– Don’t wait until Thanksgiving morning to discover that you don’t have enough napkins to go around or your best China is a bit dusty. The week before Thanksgiving, ensure you have enough dinnerware, napkins, utensils and serving dishes and that they are washed and dried.
Make some dishes ahead of time– One thing that will make Thanksgiving Day easier is to prepare several dishes in advance. So, what can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge? You can cut vegetable sticks for vegetable platters and store in Ziploc bags. Dips, sauces and spreads can also be prepared in advance and stored in airtight containers. Most soups can be made ahead of time, as can desserts like cheesecakes and cookies.
Ensure you will have enough food for everyone– The last thing you want is to spend hours preparing a Thanksgiving feast and then run out of food. As a general rule of thumb, per person- one pound of turkey, 1 medium potato or yam, ¾ cup of stuffing, 3 ounces of carrots, 1/3 cup of gravy, 2 dinner rolls and one 3-inch wedge of pie.
Not everything needs to be made from scratch– Believe it or not, you don’t need to cook every part of your Thanksgiving meal from scratch. It really is okay to purchase a few parts of the meal. For instance, you can purchase your pies from the local bakery or you can buy your appetizers from the frozen section of your local grocery store.
Do you have any Thanksgiving time saving tips to share?
It’s a smart idea to do as much ahead of time as possible. There is so much that can be done in advance, so why not?
We stampede to my in-law’s for Thanksgiving, and it’s sad to say, I’m pretty much stress free, but these are some of the things I know she does, like early prep.
Those are great tips for the day and being organized will definitely help. It is a great idea to prepare what you can in advance.
There’s nothing better than getting a head start for all the preparations. I think these are awesome tips for anyone who’s planning to host Thanksgiving in their homes.
Great tips so everyone can enjoy their holiday! I love the last tip: Not everything has to be from scratch!
Your last tip is the best and hardest one for me. I love to make everything from scratch but it’s just not possible when feeding a massive group!
Making a few dishes and do some prep the night before is my secret weapon. I love crossing things off my to do list a day early! Leaves more time to spend with the ones I love!
My biggest tip is don’t feel like you have to buy everything at once. Make your list early and then start buying things each time you go shopping. Save the fresh stuff for a few days before. I also like the idea of not having to cook everything. For instance, you can buy pre-made crusts for pies and then just make the filling.
I try to keep our menu simple so there’s less to cook. I order all my desserts so someone else does all the work. I set the table the night before and I use festive paper plates for dessert for less dishes to wash. And I have a beautiful set of bake ware that came with rubber lids. I just pop the lid on at the end of our meal and put in the fridge. It makes for quicker clean up and again less dishes.
Great tips! Thanksgiving can get super stressful, especially when you are the one doing all of the cooking. I’ll be following some of these tips for sure.
I’m all for a holiday season that is free from stress. Thank you for sharing these wonderful tips!
These are some great ideas, We dont celebrate Thanksgiving, but I dont see why these tips wont work for holidays like Diwali around here 🙂
These are great ideas! I really can’t believe we are already almost to Thanksgiving week. The holidays have truly just snuck up on us and I know these tips are going to help a lot next week!