Top 10 things to do before hosting Thanksgiving dinner

November 17, 8:37 PMDetroit Party Planning ExaminerLiza Kelly

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Detroit Party Planning Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Thanksgiving is almost here!  I understand how stressful it can be to host a holiday dinner.  Before you start to wonder if it is not too late to book yourself a cruise for the holiday, relax.  I've created a top ten list of things to do before Thanksgiving that will make your holiday party appear effortless.

1.  FINALIZE THE GUEST COUNT.  Now is the time to make sure you know how many people are coming for dinner.  Plan to make enough food for two to three more guests than you are expecting.  You never know if a few more friends or relatives will attend.  Running out of food is always bad form.  Plus, everyone loves leftovers!  

2.  WRITE OUT THE MENU.  It's common sense, I know.  However, you would be surprised at the things you forget when you are under stress.  The first time I made Thanksgiving dinner, I forgot the cranberry sauce.  When my grandmother raised her left eyebrow in response to my culinary faux pas,  I realized maybe I should have written out a menu. 

3.  GATHER YOUR RECIPES.  Want to make Great Aunt Greta's sweet potato gratin?  Call her and get the recipe.  Making sure you know all the ingredients in each dish is important.  Assuming you know everything a recipe entails is a prescription for a Wednesday night visit to a 24-hour superstore.

4.  MAKE YOUR GROCERY LIST.  If you know the guest count and what you are serving, making a grocery list is easy.  Wandering aimlessly through the market, hoping you remember everything is not a good plan.  I'm not saying you have to make an Excel spreadsheet of your Thanksgiving grocery list like my mother, but some type of written note will be beneficial.    

5.  GROCERY SHOP EARLY.  Please do not wait until Wednesday to do your shopping.  If you are using a frozen turkey, it has to slowly unthaw in the refrigerator.  If you don't even purchase it until Wednesday, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but your goose is cooked.  Or in this case, uncooked.  I suggest getting your shopping done the Thursday, or Friday before Thanksgiving.  I have noticed the stores are not as crowded at that time.  Also, if you should happen to forget something, you have plenty of time to run back to the store in and grab it before the holiday.

6.  BAKE.  I bake cookies on the Saturday and Sunday before Thanksgiving.  In all the hustle and bustle of making a big dinner, do you really want to have to worry about making 5 different types of cookies on the night before the Thanksgiving?  

7.  GET DECORATIONS READY.  The weekend before Thanksgiving I make sure the linens,  and china are unpacked and ready to go.  Realizing Thursday morning that my favorite tablecloth is a wrinkled mess is never a happy surprise.  

8.  START PREP WORK.  I start my prep cooking on Wednesday.  Chopping onions, celery, and peeling potatoes are great ways to avoid going crazy on Thanksgiving morning.  You can even make your stuffing and bake pumpkin pies the day before as well.  Making fruit and vegetable trays on Wednesday are good time savers too.  Actually, the greatest time saver is to purchase fruit and vegetable trays and transfer them to your own serving trays.  Who's really going to know whether or not you chopped the pineapple, right?

9.  SET YOUR ALARM CLOCK.  Waking up as the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade is ending, knowing that your bird should have been in the oven over an hour ago is nightmare no one should have to live through.  I realize you may have an internal clock, but set your alarm anyway.  You will never regret it-trust me on this one.

10.  TRY TO RELAX.  Holidays with family and friends are wonderful, albeit post traumatic stress inducing times.  Make sure you plan some time to pamper yourself.  Even a few half hour intervals here and there, for reading a magazine or taking an extra bubble bath, may keep you sane this holiday.