Let’s face it: hosting Thanksgiving dinner can be stressful.
Between grocery shopping, house cleaning, cooking and baking, it’s no wonder the day devoted to giving thanks can feel a tad daunting.
Here’s some very welcome good news: whether this is your first holiday hosting rodeo or you’ve stuffed many a turkey over the years, you can knock out most of the Thanksgiving meal prep work in advance – some of it two weeks before the big day.
To make this year’s Thanksgiving meal easier and more enjoyable, consider the following timeline of tips:
2 WEEKS BEFORE
Create your Thanksgiving menu.
Print out the recipes you plan to use – this will be much easier than constantly tapping your phone to prevent the screen from going dark or scrolling when your hands are covered with flour or onions.
Using your menu and printed out recipes as a guide, compose a complete shopping list.
Double check your supply of herbs and spices to see what you have on hand – even the ones you are pretty sure you have enough of, like salt and pepper (this tip comes from personal experience!).
Shop for all non-perishable and frozen food items. Basically, if it doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge, or if it doesn’t have a short shelf life, it’s going in the cart.
Plan three easy and tasty dinners for the days leading up to Thanksgiving and purchase those ingredients during your shopping trip. Or plan at least one night of takeout.
4-5 DAYS BEFORE
Clean your home completely, enlisting family members to help. Then, as the big day approaches, you can touch up as needed.
Finish your grocery shopping for fresh vegetables like potatoes, onions and carrots and other items not purchased earlier.
Go through your fridge and toss any old, expired condiments, leftovers and mysterious food items that no one is eating. This will free up valuable real estate for your various dishes.
2-3 DAYS BEFORE
Wash and chop all veggies and place the prepped produce into plastic baggies or airtight food storage containers. If some recipes call for “minced onion” and others require “chopped onion,” label the bags accordingly.
Set the table, and include the empty serving dishes. This will help you figure out ahead of time where the larger dishes can go (and if they will all fit!) Add Post-It notes to the empty dishes to remind you what will go in what. Use a clean sheet to cover everything and keep it all dust-free until Thursday. You can also do this for a buffet.
Gather all needed serving spoons and other serving pieces.
Pre-measure herbs and spices for your recipes and store them in labeled small plastic bags with the name of the dish they are for and what’s in the baggies. You can also do the same for any flour, sugar or other non-perishable ingredients you’ll use in your dishes.
1 DAY BEFORE
Do a quick clean and tidy around the home; for instance, run the vacuum and shine up the bathrooms.
If you haven't already done so, bake your pies, or, at the very least, prepare your pie dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble and bake the pies.
Make the mashed potatoes. Bonus tip: on Thanksgiving, put the potatoes into a slow cooker and heat them up using the “warm” setting.
Prepare the gravy. If you have a second slow cooker, it too can be warmed up this way on Thanksgiving. This will also help free up pots, pans and burners on the stove!
Set up a separate drink station where guests can help themselves or someone can serve them away from the kitchen. Stock it with glasses of different sizes, napkins, bottle and can openers and straws.