Thanksgiving Tips for a Stress-free holiday

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, filled with friends, food, family and finally we can gather again with family and friends. We know that it’s a lot of work to get ready and prepare a meal. In most cases, it is one person making the meal and doing most of the preparation. This can be overwhelming, making sure each dish comes out right and tasty too. By preparing as much as possible in advance, you’ll have lots of breathing room to enjoy the day, your company, as well the feast.

Here are 5 Festive Thanksgiving tips to consider that you will be thankful for!

Don’t get Des-serted

Create a simple message to each person to list what they would like to bring to the feast

Just because you are hosting, doesn’t mean you have to make all the main dishes. Usually everyone signs up for dessert. Take this off the table right away. Dessert is one of the easiest things on your to do list. Most Desserts can be done in advance, frozen or bought fresh the day of. Keep that one for yourself and ask others to sign up for other things. You make the call. If you have an all-star baker on your guest list, then have them do what they do best. Some will ask “What can I bring?” Don’t be afraid to say mashed potatoes, stuffing or a casserole. The truth is, your guests are not just there for the food, they want to see you too!

Prep in advance

This may sound obvious, but you need to consider how much time it takes to not only prep the food but clean in between. Make a menu and plan, plan, plan… Plan out if there are any things you can prep in advance or get help with. Involve the kids in simple tasks like setting the table or putting out the decorations. Getting the kids to help out will not only build up their confidence but they are learning important skills too!

Chop vegetables in advance

This will be a lifesaver the next day. Doing all the vegetable prep now, in batch form, will save you so much time on Thanksgiving Day. Potatoes, celery, onions, or other veggies can be cut the day before and stored in the fridge until you need them. Put a bowl for your garbage on one side of you and storage containers on the other side that way everything is pretty much streamlined, and you don’t have to move around much.

You got this in the bag!

Use Large Zip lock bags to store vegetables and save space in the fridge and time on dishes. This works great for prepared food and leftovers too.

Watch & Work

Most prep tasks can be done while binge watching your favorite season of whatever.

 #1 survival tip for pre-prep is ….make sure you can see the T.V  

Spuds, no buds.

Peeling enough potatoes for a large group takes a big chunk of time. Try this time saver.

• Cook your potatoes whole instead. When they’re ready, plunge into a bath of ice water. The skins will slip off in one fell swoop, ready for mashing.

Dangle Dessert

Set up a dessert table in advance and have each guest serve themselves while the table is being cleared.

Need some ideas for Thanksgiving dishes? Check out this link.

We would love you to share your Thanksgiving tips with us too!

GIVE THANKS! BEFORE DIGGING IN, TAKE A MOMENT TO BE THANKFUL!

If you’re sitting down to enjoy a feast with family and friends, you’re more fortunate than a good portion of the world’s population. Pause for a moment with your loved ones to be thankful for their presence and for your fabulous self (quietly in your mind) Enjoy the moment and your beautiful Thanksgiving dinner. Everything tastes better with an attitude of gratitude!