Thanksgiving is a great time of year, no doubt. For those of us who are in charge or are being hosts, it can get a little stressful and overwhelming. This series is 14 days to an easy Thanksgiving and it will walk you through the 14 days before Thanksgiving and what you can do to get ready each day, just a little project or task that will make your Thanksgiving day EASY! Most of the things are great family time ideas and things your kids can help with too!
DAY 1 – PLAN YOUR GUEST LIST AND MENU
This sounds like it would be easy, and some of you might already have this in mind, but get it down on paper and start getting finalized numbers from everyone! If it is just your immediate family, then you don’t need to worry about a “guest list” but you still need to write out your menu. This will make a big difference is the days to come, I promise! Take a few minutes and plan out who is going to be there, how many people they are bringing.
Once you have your Guest List done, start writing out a Tentative menu. I say tentative because it is most likely that things will get added or taken on depending on what you can find at the store, what you have time to make and how many people will be there. My advice – BE FLEXIBLE! Here are some ideas of things you could add to your menu:
- Turkey or Ham
- Gravy
- Stuffing
- Mashed Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes
- Butternut Squash
- Yams
- Green Bean Casserole
- Rolls
- Cranberry Sauce
- Vegetable Tray
- Fruits
- Jello
- Salads
- Pies
- Cookies
What other items do you add to your Thanksgiving menu?
Dawn
Great tips! I’m thankful and lucky that my mom still hosts thanksgiving so I don’t have to host yet. Not sure I’m looking forward to the day that I will have to. 😉
Jennifer Billy
Great advice. I have only prepared Thanksgiving once at my house. Wish I had a plan like this. Can’t wait to see whats next.
shannon
I am from the south and we call stuffing , dressing. I love it so much.
I love having home made mac and cheese also with our dinner, fried turkey also.
Thanks so much for these tips.