Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving

Some people love to host holiday meals and some are completely overwhelmed by it, but are stuck doing it because they live in the most central location or have the best house to host. Whether you love it or are stuck with it, it can be a lot of work. Here are some tips to stretch out the work over several days to make the day itself a little less stressful.

Tip #1

As you plan out the menu, write out the schedule for the day of the meal to make sure that there is enough time (and oven space) to cook all of the planned dishes. As you can see in the photo below, I recommend that you start with the goal time of sitting and eating and then work backward.

I forgot to note this on the sample schedule below, but if you are cooking sides on the day of, make sure to note oven temps and cooking times on your schedule to make sure it will all work in your timeline and with your oven space. 

(Extra tip: if you cook everything ahead of time, you can just use one warm oven plus the microwave to reheat everything while the turkey is resting.)

Tip #2

Assign food to serving dishes ahead of time. This makes it faster to plate the food when it’s hot out of the oven and makes it easier for guests to help out too. By planning this ahead, it also gives you time to figure out if you need to borrow a platter from a neighbor. 

Tip #3

Cook as many dishes as you can before the big day. Holidays are very busy and the less you have on your To Do list for the big day, the less stressful it will be. Plus, remember that your oven will be full of turkey for most of the afternoon.

Desserts are easy to make or buy ahead. Most side dishes can be made ahead as well. I like to make the gravy the day before so then I am not standing at the stove stirring it while we are trying to wrap up the final details of the meal.

Having most of my dishes made ahead of time makes the holiday less stressful and frees me up for socializing with my guests and catching some of the football games. To reheat them I either use the microwave or put them into the oven when I pull the turkey out to rest. This is where a lot of my recipes come from:

Tip #4

Set the table a day or two before the holiday if you aren’t using it for other meals. If your children have some energy to burn, ask them to make place cards or fold the napkins in a fun way. 

We are headed to Long Island for Thanksgiving this year with my parents. Looking forward to enjoying some of my favorite foods. I hope you and yours have a great holiday as well!