Last year was not the best Thanksgiving for me. Didn’t have enough seats for everyone, burned the pumpkin pie, and was unimpressed with my filling. Could have been worse though, my great aunt couldn’t separate the dining utensils as she had just bought new ones at Pier One. Ha!
The only thing I learned from last year was that I needed a plan. Not any plan. I needed a Thanksgiving plan that didn’t end in a Thanksgiving horror story. I knew that this year I wanted to make sure that I didn’t burn any of the food, while also creating wonderful food for my family, and I wanted to be able to spend some of that time with my family enjoying being together. I didn’t want to spend another year in the kitchen all day.
My Thanksgiving plan now consists of a few things. I will go over some of them here. Hopefully they will give you an idea of how you can plan your Thanksgiving so that you too can spend it with your family and not be a slave to the stove.
First, I created a big list detailing what I wanted to accomplish by Thanksgiving. I made sure I had my shopping lists for groceries, dinnerware, entertainment, and any kitchen equipment I would need.
Next, I made a chart for the seating arrangements and another chart for the seven days leading up to Thanksgiving. This second chart contains all the things I need to do on each of those days so I don’t pull my hair out on Thanksgiving.
I made sure I had all my recipes ahead of time and made sure all the ingredients I needed were on my shopping list. I made sure to check this one out!
I came up with a few ideas for the kids, so they wouldn’t get bored while the boys hogged the TV for the soccer game, and I added the list of items I would need to my shopping lists. Any non-food related items went the other way. list.
As the countdown to Thanksgiving approaches, I look at my charts and calendar and can feel a wave of relief knowing that this year I won’t be hyperventilating and stuck in the kitchen all the time.
I hope you take my advice and plan ahead.
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Plus, you can also receive a book on how to finish Thanksgiving cooking when you run out of time, great pumpkin and turkey pie recipes, a complete list of things to do before Thanksgiving, and a complete grocery store. List of stores for the big day.