A lot of people are in this situation and before you know it, Thanksgiving is here!
I hope that your Thanksgiving is one of those holidays where you get to relax and make wonderful memories with your family and friends. It is for me. I am so excited to be celebrating with my extended family this year miles away from my home.
Are You Cooking Or Ordering In?
This year is a bit different than my typical Thanksgiving traditions since I will be traveling this year. Instead of cooking for Thanksgiving, we will be ordering in! I’m actually looking forward to it since I won’t have to cook a thing.
My family and I have the wonderful opportunity to go visit the Macy’s Day Parade in New York City and with that said, I prefer to order in for our Thanksgiving meal. If anyone has any recommendations for restaurants, I would love to hear some suggestions!
However, I know most of you are probably going to be in your own home or a family member’s home for Thanksgiving and most likely will be taking part in some of the cooking.
If you are someone who gets overly stressed about cooking for large amounts of people, I want to give you some tips to help reduce any anxiety leading up to this fabulous, food-filled holiday!
Today’s Focused Friday Topic Is: Staying Focused When Cooking For The Big Turkey Day!
Whether you are cooking just for your immediate family or for a large group of people, no matter what, you need to have a PLAN.
There is no way you can cook a Thanksgiving meal without planning ahead, shopping ahead of time and getting prepped the day before. There is just not enough time in the day to get that big of a meal done without a plan. Let alone, the stores are most likely not open to shop Thanksgiving morning. You have to plan ahead.
Thanksgiving Day Planner and Menu Planner
3-4 Weeks Ahead:
- Make a Guest List
- Clean the House. If you don’t have a lot of time to clean, I have the perfect floor cleaning system for every type of floor imaginable. The Rubermaid Commerial Pulse Floor Cleaning System is incomparable to another other swiffer type broom. Even hospitals use it as the one and only broom/mop combo to clean dirty hospital floors. That alone sold me!
- Consider Furniture Needs: buy, rent, borrow. If you know you are going to be hosting Thanksgiving for years to come, you might want to invest in a good quality folding chair. If you are looking for a folding chair with style and comfort, these French Café Bistro Folding Chairs will definitely be the finishing touch to your rooms decor.
- Shop for Party Supplies and Decorations
- Create and Send an Invitation: facebook group, e-vite this allows communication with regards to the potluck (so there is the correct quantity of food)
- Create A Menu
“MENU PLANNER IDEAS”
Appetizers
Main Course:
Turkey
Ham
Starch Side:
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Sweet Potatoes
Stuffing
Green Side Dish:
Green Beans
Brussels Sprouts
Colorful Side Dish:
Carrots
Corn
Other Popular Favorites:
Cranberries
Rolls/Butter
Family Recipes
Desserts:
Pies
Cookies
Cakes
Drinks:
Warm and Cold options, Kid friendly drinks
- Order Ham or Turkey
- Write your Grocery List out on a Large Piece of Paper: I recommended organizing your list in two different ways
- On one side of the paper, write down the recipe title and list out the ingredients needed for that particular recipe. Include each recipe you plan to make with their specific ingredients listed under it.
- On a separate page, consolidate all the ingredients organized by category and the layout of your grocery store. For example, if three recipes call for 1 whole onion, I will write down 3 onions in the “produce category” on my grocery list. I write it down on the bottom left corner of the page because that’s where the produce section is relative to my grocery store.
Jena’s Tip: Organizing my grocery list by category and writing it down on the list like I have a map of my grocery store makes it so much easier and makes for a faster shopping trip when I buy my groceries at the store.
- BONUS: Kid friendly craft ideas
- Another BONUS: Plan menu for out of town guests (breakfast and lunch ideas)
2-3 Weeks Ahead
- Confirm RSVP’s and Finalize your Menu.
- Double check what food your guests are bringing, let them know the estimated party size so they know how many people to cook for (you don’t want someone to make an 8×8” casserole of sweet potatoes if there are going to be 40 people, yikes!)
- Review Recipes
- Watch some YouTube videos or read some recipes AHEAD OF TIME to learn how to cook a turkey. You do not want to be learning how to make a turkey the day of the festivities. Even if you already know how to make a turkey, you might want to get a little refresher.
- Grocery List, check it twice!
- Double check your grocery list and take a look around your kitchen to see if you already have enough or if you need to buy more. Cross off or make notes on your list.
- Get out the Dinner Ware:
- serving ware, plates, glasses, serving dishes, platters, table cloths, anything imaginable that you will need for the big day. Take note of each food item on the menu you are making and what serving dishes and serving utensils you will be using for that particular food.
- Decide on Your Attire
- Plan out what you will be wearing for Thanksgiving. Go shopping! Do you need any new accessories? Have it all ready to go in advance so you can look your best or feel the most comfortable!
- Overnight Guest Gift
- Consider buying your overnight guests a small welcome gift or welcome basket. Since you are out shopping, this might be a good time to grab a small item or two for your visitors who will be staying in your home.
- Eat Food In Refrigerator
- Start eating up all the food in the refrigerator so you can make room for the turkey and everything else you will be buying
Monday Before Thanksgiving
- Thaw Out Turkey and place in refrigerator
- Go Grocery Shopping and buy everything you need that’s on the list
- Do a Deep Clean of the house and prepare the home for guests
- Make sure all Decorations are up!
Tuesday Before Thanksgiving
- Double Check to make sure you didn’t forget any Ingredients and buy any necessary items
- Make Desserts ahead of time.
- Oops, forgot to Thaw the Turkey yesterday. No worries, just place it in a water bath and remember to change out the water every hour
- Get the Kids’ Crafts ready to go ahead of time
Wednesday Before Thanksgiving
- Reread Your Recipe for making the Turkey. If there is anything that needs to be done ahead of time, this is the time to do it!
- Take Out all the Ingredients needed for your meal tomorrow. Make room in your kitchen for all your supplies. Organize and group the items by recipe so it’s easy to find tomorrow.
- Since you have your recipes out, have a Game Plan for when you are making and cooking each menu item.
- Get a piece of paper out and write down a Cooking Schedule for tomorrow. Figure out what the length of time is required to prep the recipe and what time you want to start and stop prepping that recipe. Do the same for the length of cooking time. What time do you want to start cooking that recipe in order for it to be done at the exact time dinner is being served?
RECIPE
Length of Prep Time: __________
Prep Start Time-Stop Time: ____________________
Length of Cook Time:___________
Cook Start Time-Stop Time:____________
Jena’s Tip: The goal is to have a game plan so that all the food is ready at the same time. What is the time you want everyone to sit down to eat?
- If you have the room in the frig, Make Appetizers ahead of time
- Prep Food necessary for tomorrow. Wash and cut up vegetables necessary for your menu.
- Set up Table and Chairs, and set Dining Room Table, Table Decorations
- Do you have room to store ice in an extra freezer? If so, Buy Ice today.
Thursday-THANKSGIVING DAY!
- Get ice and Chill Beverages
- Last Minute Decorations, light candles, spot clean in certain areas that need it, make sure bathrooms are well stocked with toilet paper, extra towels, soap, etc.
- Make The Best Meal Of The Year! You Got This!
- Sit back and Enjoy the Food (and the company) Go ahead…ask the kids to clean up the mess when it’s all done!
If there is anything that you always do to plan for Thanksgiving and it’s not on this list, I would love to hear about it and include it for others to benefit from. So much is involved in the planning of Thanksgiving, and it is so easy to forget something. That’s why I feel a list is crucial for a smooth, stress free holiday! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for?
Keep Smiling,
Dr. Jena Bradley, DPT
P.S. I am thankful for you visiting my blog today!
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
If you liked this post and want to save it to reference and reread later,
please feel free to PIN and share it!
What a well thought out and thorough planning guide, that could be used for any dinner, not just Thanksgiving.
Thanks, Anna, you have a good point. This planner would definitely apply for any dinner party!
That will be so exciting that you get to attend the Macy’s day parade. We love watching that on the television!! P.S. I love your menu planner. This would really take the headache out of planning!
Joanna, I am so glad you liked the planner! I hope it helps a lot of moms (and dads!) feel less overwhelmed on Thanksgiving Day. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I am fortunate that I just have to make a few sides. But someday this will be me. This is very informative and I love how you laid out how to prep for the big feast. Thank you!
Rachel, cooking a few sides is definitely the way to go and less stressful! But, in the future, I know you’ll have fun hosting and having the entire family over in your own home! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
This is such a great game plan for a successful Thanksgiving meal. It’s a lot to undertake, but I love how you broke it down into manageable chunks and spread it out over a longer period of time. Anything that can be done early is a win in my book. Happy Thanksgiving!
Wow. You are a lot more organized then I am when it comes to hosting holidays! Thank you for this handy guide! You were wise to include a reminder eat up the food in the fridge before buying the turkey. It’s one thing I forget about every year and then I have trouble stuffing the turkey…into the fridge that is! 😉
Have fun at the