4 Tips to an Easy Thanksgiving

4 Tips to an Easy Thanksgiving

Hosting a crowd for Thanksgiving this year?  Nervous about pulling it off?  Never fear!

We had NEVER hosted anything remotely complicated as Thanksgiving, and we ended up hosting 14 people last year in our home without a hitch.

My secret to success?  I’m telling you, preparation is the name of the game.  Think of every possible thing you could do before Thanksgiving day, and DO those things.

Here are 4 tips in particular that made my hosting experience so much easier.

 

1) Empty your coat closet and fill with hangers.

Okay, if you don’t know this little entertaining secret already, listen up!  So you’re not dumping coats on your bed (or on the floor) and creating mass chaos, take a minute to empty out your coat closet and stock it with a bunch of empty hangers.

So orderly and organized!  And then when everyone leaves, you can just direct them to the coat closet (instead of to your bedroom).

 

2) Assign serving dishes ahead of time. 

Make sure you know where each part of the meal is going so you don’t have to scramble when it’s time to eat!  I learned this trick from one of Ina Garten’s (aka the Barefoot Contessa’s) books.

 

 

I took out each dish and wrote on a post-it note:  “Turkey”  “Mashed Potatoes” “Stuffing”.  I even put serving utensils in each dish.  MAN, what a time saver.

 

3) Delegate!

By delegating I mean YES, don’t be shy about asking your guests to bring stuff, but ALSO I mean delegate parts of your meal to the STORE.

When I realized I wasn’t going to have time to make mashed potatoes without completely freaking out and having a meltdown, I decided to just get them at Costco and they tasted AMAZING.

 

Thanks, Erika, for those delicious pies.  

Aren’t those turkey cookies cute?  I ordered a few from a local baker and had them personalized with the kids’ names.  I’ll tell you more next week when I share some ideas for making Thanksgiving fun and special for kids.

 

4) Set your table the day before. 

Finding enough chairs.  Making sure you have enough water glasses.  Folding the napkins.  I’m always surprised how much time this takes!  Save yourself a headache and do it well ahead of time.

 

I actually challenged myself last year to decorate my whole Thanksgiving table using stuff I could find in the supermarket.  It was creative and CHEAP.  and it looked amazing!  You can read all about it here.

 

 

With the right kind of preparation, you’ll actually be able to enjoy your guests.  Enjoy the moment.  Remember why we’re even celebrating this day in the first place…!

Here we are on a post-dinner walk.  My smile is wide because I was like, “I DIDN’T BURN ANYTHING!”

 

What a memorable day.  May your Thanksgiving be as blessed as ours was – full of people who love and support each other, and who bring each other friendship and joy.

#blessed