Plan a stress-free Thanksgiving

Whoever was the unlucky one to pick the ‘host’ card for Thanksgiving dinner, now is not the time to self-destruct; we’ve got your back.

Yes Thanskgiving is basically the one meal a year that gets it’s own name and it’s own day, but don’t think of the host title as a punishment, think of it as a privilege. Look at the bright side: you don’t have to travel anywhere, you don’t have to exchange glances with the menacing cat st your great aunts hourse, and you don’t have to drink from her antique, Thanksgiving glasses anymore either. Being the host means more comfort for you, while you serve your friends and family the most comforting food of the year. If you’re still worried, here are a few tips and tricks to planning a stress-free Thanksgiving this year.

Plan Ahead 

As simple as this sounds, this will be your biggest life-saver, stress-reliever. The good news is Thanksgiving dinner is the one meal we eat on repeat, so you’re really not reinventing the wheel here. Things you do want to plan ahead are number of guests/ seating? Time? What dishes will you use? Things other than the meal, especially if you follow a traditional meal year after year.

Accept Help

While your dishes may be the same year after year, your guests will still most likely offer to bring something. It’s etiqutte not to show up empty-handed, so let them help. As your guests start to ask, assign them something. Drinks, especially drinks. With so much thought centered around the meal, drinks can be easily forgotten; don’t forget the drinks!

Write it down!

Lists, notes, and more, writing your ideas down as soon as you have them will be a lifesaver! If you prefer the “type it down” method, that’s fine. Just get your ideas out where you will remember them later. For example, write down recipes weeks ahead of time and write down a separate list of ingredients. One helpful tip is to organize your list by fresh and dry ingredients, and buy your dry ingredients as soon as you can, leaving th fresh produce for the day of.

Make ahead meals

If you’ve never heard of make-ahead meals or used them for Thanksgiving, they will surely be your new Thanksgiving Go-to’s. These meals can be prepped and almost fully made a day or two before the big day. All you have to do the day of is stick it in the oven. It really doesn’t get any easier than that! For a full list of new and traditional make ahead makes you can create, click here.

Know your limits

Don’t bite off more than you can chew, as the host you already have the biggest job of the holiday. If you’re also hosting overnight guests, if you have your own family to care for, if you have a small kitchen, these are all factors that can affect the ‘big day’. So enlist help and make as many accommodations/ plans ahead of time (see our previous tip). As many meal preps, shopping trips, and guests rooms you can get done and setup beforehand, leaves more time for cleaning, decorating, and of course, sharing quality time with friends and family the day of.

Relax a little this holiday season, we’ve got you covered.