Hosting a Fabulous Thanksgiving with WAY LESS STRESS

Thanksgiving can be a joyful, meaningful day, but it can also be overwhelming with all the details that go into the feast. The decor, the food, hosting a bunch of people- it can be a lot.

A stress less holiday comes down to preparing early, setting expectations, and giving yourself grace- and I’m going to help you do it!! This STRESS-LESS Thanksgiving guide walks you through each step so you can enjoy the day just as much as your guests! You can find this in our Freebie Library!

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Figure out your tablescape

Here are something you will want to consider:

Get a headcount and then look at your space. Do you need one table or more? Do you want the kids mixed in with the adults or at their own table? Do you need to purchase or borrow extra tables or chairs?
What level of fancy are you going for? Do you want your table magazine picture perfect? Linens and glass plates? Or do you prefer simplicity- disposable tablecloths and paper plates? Or something in between?
Would you like to have a centerpiece? Are you planning to make it or purchase it?
Are you making place cards?

All of these are questions that will help you visualize and start preparing early. The Thanksgiving food is quite enough to worry about, so begin your tablescape prep as early as you can.

Here’s one of our favorite Fall centerpieces:

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Plan Your Menu:

Are you sharing in the hosting or preparing the full meal yourself?

We have a full menu ready for you with the most delicious family favorites to take all the thinking out of your holiday.

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Put together your Shopping list:

Once your menu is all go to go, time to make your shopping list! One easy way to make sure you have your yields right, is by letting ChatGPT or your favorite AI help you. Here’s what you do:

Copy paste your recipe into your favorite AI
Tell the AI how many people are in your party and ask it to calculate the yields you need, along with a grocery list.

Schedule a grocery delivery or pick up

Make your life even easier and schedule your grocery pick up way ahead of time, and just add to your order as you think of things. It will save you time, help you stay on budget and keep you from fighting the crowds in the store.

Extra Grocery items to consider:

paper plates, napkins, plasticware (if you are going this route)
foil pans for baking, keeping food warm, and possibly serving
ziplock bags or other storage containers for leftovers and sending food home with guests
other kitchen items to think about: meat thermometer, oven safe turkey bag (our favorite way to roast a turkey), serving spoons or tongs, aluminum foil, parchment paper

Stress less this thanksgiving with our Planning WORKBOOK! You can find this in our freebie library HERE!

Prepping your Food on Thanksgiving Week

For some people, preparing everything on Thanksgiving day is the way the prefer to do it. I on the other hand, like to do my preparations little by little leading up to Thanksgiving so I’m not so stressed on Turkey day.

Here is my Thanksgiving Prep schedule:

How do I get the timing right to keep all the food warm?

One happy thing to know is that once you pull out your turkey, he will stay warm for a long while on the counter. Drape some foil over him (very loosely or you’ll lose your crispy skin), and he will stay warm for at least 45 minutes- maybe even a little longer.

Two of my tricks I have used when catering events are:

Use crockpots or chaffing dishes (for things like your potatoes, ham, etc)
Use a cooler as a hot box. Stick a towel in the bottom and stack your hot food in there

State your expectations

Lastly, it’s always good for me to state my expectations with my family prior to Thanksgiving day. Are we watching the parade, running a turkey trot or playing in a turkey bowl? Are we watching football all day? What is the best time to hold the dinner, but also to enlist the help you need?

After 25 years of marriage, I have come to know that my husband loves to play sports in the morning, help with the turkey for a bit and then relax on the couch for the Cowboys game. That is his favorite way to spend the holiday. Mine is to watch the Thanksgiving parade, fix a fancy dinner and play games. Knowing both of those things, we work together to make the day fun and restful for both of us.

Go grab the STRESS LESS WORKBOOK in our Freebie Library! I know it will help you have the best Thanksgiving!

Comment below with any questions you may have, or come interact with me on social media!! My favorite place to hang out is on Instagram. I’d love to hear from you!