One Week To A Great Thanksgiving
Can you believe Thanksgiving is next Thursday? It seems to have really snuck up on me this year. Normally I like to plan ahead but sometimes you just get to busy and time gets away from you.
I have shortened my normal timeline from three weeks to one week. Don’t worry you can do it and still have a great Thanksgiving. Hope this helps you with your holiday cooking!
One Week Before Thanksgiving
- Decide who’s coming for Thanksgiving dinner.
- Make a Thanksgiving menu.
- Write a grocery list.
- Clean out your fridge and freezer.
- Grocery shop for anything that you can get ahead.
- Take out the turkey to defrost. (It can take up to 5 days to fully defrost depending on the size).
Loving this Le Creuset Heritage Covered Baker to make sweet potato casserole in for Thanksgiving. Click here to get yours today.*
Day Before Thanksgiving
- Review your timeline for your cooking.
- Take the list of dishes and assign them to any helpers that you will have on Thanksgiving Day.
- Set an alarm for Thanksgiving Day to get the turkey in the oven on time.
- Check to see if there are any fresh ingredients you need to get from the store.
- Early in the day make your final trip to the grocery store.
- Cook anything that can be cooked ahead of time such as the pies.
- Complete any prep work that can be done ahead for veggies.
- If you have the space take out your cooking vessels and anything that is in the pantry that you will need on Thanksgiving Day. I like to put the pantry items with the cooking vessel so everything is at hand. This also makes it easier for those helping you cook so you can focus on what you are making.
Thanksgiving Day
- Start the day with an easy breakfast and assign cleanup to someone else in your household. It’s great to delegate breakfast cooking to someone else too!
- Have someone in your family set the table.
- Start the turkey first and then make the rest of the dishes.
- Clean as you go to make sure your kitchen stays functional. It can be helpful to run the dishwasher as soon as it is full instead of waiting until the end of the day. This allows you to unload it after Thanksgiving dinner and reload it with the dinner dishes.
- Put everything into serving dishes and serve dinner.
- Enjoy the lovely dinner you have prepared.
- Let your family do the remaining dishes.
Getting ready last minute for a big holiday can be daunting, but if you break it down into small steps it is completely doable. Don’t forget to take time to rest and make sure your family does all the dishes!
