Hosting is supposed to be fun… right?! Well that’s not usually the reality. Welcoming a bunch of family (and/or friends) into your home on a day with lots of expectations and traditions is really an equation for stress and panic. But thankfully there are things that we can do to make it better and at least a litttttle less stressful. Which is what we are chatting about today!
Below I talk about how you can host a thanksgiving celebration without going crazy and hopefully actually enjoying yourself. Because even if you are hosting you should still be enjoying the holiday and getting a chance to spend quality time with loves ones too.
So let’s get into it so you can prep for the best Thanksgiving dinner yet (and by best I really mean the least stressful!)-
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How To Avoid Stress & Panic When Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner
Tips for a calm Thanksgiving celebration:
Tip 1: Make a FULL plan weeks in advance
Alright guys so first things first- you need to have a plan. And you really should try to make the plan weeks in advance not the night before. The sooner you have your plan the sooner you can start to relax. It also allows you to prep in advance and know what needs it and make the horror story that is grocery shopping before thanksgiving less painful.
What is a Thanksgiving dinner plan?
Ideally it will include-
- Complete menu
- This includes mains, sides, desserts, appetizers, snacks, and drinks!
- If there are things on the menu that others are bringing make sure to notate it here.
- A guest list
- Make sure to note any dietary restrictions or preferences you will be accommodating. Also make note of which dishes you will need to modify for the accommodation.
- Shopping List
- Break it into categories: produce, pantry staples, dairy, frozen, beverages.
- Add quantities based on your recipes.
- Don’t forget extras: aluminum foil, parchment paper, storage containers for leftovers.
- Timeline Breakdown- here’s an example with common thanksgiving foods!!!
- 1 week before → Finalize menu, grocery shop for non-perishables, thaw frozen turkey (if needed).
- 3–4 days before → Buy perishables, make cranberry sauce, bake pies that store well, chop veggies to refrigerate.
- 1–2 days before → Prep casseroles, brine turkey, set the table, make doughs or batters that can chill.
- Thanksgiving day → Turkey roasting, reheating sides, making gravy, finishing fresh dishes like salad.
- Day of cooking plan
- List each dish with:
- Oven temperature & cook time
- What can be cooked/reheated together
- Which dishes can be served at room temp vs. hot
- Create an hour-by-hour plan (e.g., 9 AM start turkey, 1 PM make gravy, 3 PM reheat sides).
It seems like a lot but unless this is your first thanksgiving it will all take like 15 minutes to put together and trust me my friends it is going to help you so so sooo much!
Tip 2: Assign dishes to people publicly
Assigning dishes in advance ensures that you don’t end up with too much of one dish and that others have time to prep and prepare what they are bringing.
Making it public to everyone attending (I recommend a shared Google Doc) makes sure that people can easily check what they are bringing and offer to bring additional items. It also is a great way to hold people accountable… hopefully that’s not an issue for you but we’re all human 😉
A google survey is also a great way to see what dishes people would like to bring- letting people make what they are confident in is the best way to go!
Bonus tip: I also recommend assigning house hold and other non cooking tasks to people. Such as setting the table, washing dishes, carving the turkey etc.
Tip 3: Prep as much as you can beforehand
Prep, prep and more PREP is how you are going to enjoy thanksgiving dinner as a host.
There are things you can make days in advance like pies, cookies, cobblers, and drink mixes. Especially pie crusts which can be made and frozen and then make the filler day of if your pie type can’t be pre-prepped.
The day before is going to be the key day when it comes to prep though!!
The day before you can-
- Prep the turkey: If frozen, start thawing (it takes about 24 hours per 4 lbs in the fridge). Brine or season the night before.
- Cranberry sauce: in my humble opinion it tastes better after sitting for a day!
- Casseroles: Assemble green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, or stuffing the day before, refrigerate, then bake on Thanksgiving. This is one of my favorite hacks- it’s also great to have as back ups in the freezer in case something doesn’t turn out or someone doesn’t bring their dish.
- Veggie prep: Onions, celery, carrots, and herbs can all be chopped and stored in airtight containers.
- Gravy: Make stock or even the full gravy ahead of time and reheat!
You can also prep a lot of the non-cooking hosting duties. Such as-
- Setting the table.
- Getting the drink station ready- Wash glassware, chill wine, make ice, and set up coffee/tea supplies!
- Prepare any entertainment such as setting out your families favorite board games.
Tip 4: Store bought helpers are fine!!!
There is nothing wrong with some store bought helpers- don’t let anyone online or family convince you otherwise.
Some of my favorite and most helpful store bought helpers are:
- Pre made pie crusts (I’ll be real, my homemade ones are never worth the effort).
- Veggie trays for appetizers – also great because the quantity of each type of veggie isn’t always easy to get without any waste on their own.
- Dinner rolls! No shame in buying some tasty rolls and heating them up.
- Pre-made desserts- not a pastry chef? Then let’s be real- Costco probably makes a better pumpkin pie 😉
- Boxed mashed potatoes! Another example where if you don’t have a solid recipe it’s often way better to just go boxed and saves soooo much time because peeling potatoes is exhausting. Though it is always an easy task to assign to someone looking to help.
Tip 5: Rock what you already know
Thanksgiving dinner is not the time to experiment. Stick with recipes that you know and love. And if you are going to experiment make sure there is a replacement option or just make it as an extra.
My favorite example of this was the first year my dad wanted to deep fry a turkey. We were all excited but nervous so we decided to get two smaller turkeys so he could deep fry one and we could traditionally bake the other. Both were delicious but the next year we only deep fried. However- the same year a new mashed potato recipe came into play and guys…. it was rough. Thankfully we had extra sides that made sure it wasn’t too missed!
Tip 6: Have drinks flowing asap
This tip goes back to my years in hospitality- giving guests a nice glass of wine as soon as they arrive immediately gets the joy flowing and encourages patience because let’s be real… thanksgiving dinner tends to run late.
That being said, make sure to also have snacks out because we all know that a drink or two…or three… can make us extra impatient for dinner. So a veggie tray, deviled eggs, etc set out for guests to eat makes sure the joy is there without anyone getting hangry.
I also love this as an opportunity to play around with some fun on-theme cocktails!
Tip 7: Laugh off mistakes
Mistakes HAPPEN!
Ovens forget to be turned on, ingredients get left out, produce goes bad etc.
Getting upset especially as the host has an insane effect of making everyone’s holiday spirit go out the door. So laughing it off and remembering it really never is that serious is so important! It may be challenging when you have put so much work into your thanksgiving dinner but getting upset doesn’t help you or anyone else!!
Tip 8: Assign other hosting duties
We’ve chatted about this throughout a bit but it is so important to assign all sorts of duties.
This isn’t just cleaning and setting the table!
Having a lot of kids at your thanksgiving dinner? Assign someone (often fun for teenagers!) to think of fun games and activities for the kiddos. Pinterest is filled with them.
Need someone to create an aesthetic playlist? Assign it to the music lover of the group.
Want things decorated but don’t have the time? Then you gotta rope in the craft lover and assign decoration duty to them.
Tip 9: Give yourself grace!
Last but oh so not least is a reminder to give yourself grace.
Giving yourself grace is ESSENTIAL to fully enjoying and embracing Thanksgiving and making sure you get to experience the magic just as much as your guests get to.
Korra-Shay
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