Hello my loves,
Thanksgiving is the best. The food, the family, the football, the card games… it’s all the best of nostalgia in one day. I wanted to do a post sharing how to plan your Thanksgiving schedule like a boss so you don’t have to stress so much day of.
I’ve hosted 5 or 6 Friendsgiving parties where I prep a Thanksgiving meal for anywhere between 6-14 people. I have some experience and definitely a few tips to help make the day seamless.
A few reminders because sometimes the most obvious things escape us when planning a big meal!
- Don’t forget to write out a menu of everything you are making, and then label, sort of like I did below, what you’re making/prepping ahead.
- Defrost your turkey!! Follow instructions on the package and if it’s still a little stiff, the sink with cold water will help break down those stubborn icy pieces.
- Don’t forget to defrost the rolls, unless making homemade. Those take a day.
- Don’t forget to buy extra herbs for garnish and in case you decide to add more to a certain recipe. All the rosemary, sage, thyme and parsley you can get.
- Don’t forget to mark the bags of veggies so you know which recipe they are for!
- Don’t forget the table settings. Some seasonal napkins and napkin rings can turn your everyday tableware into a festive and seasonal table setting.
How To Plan Your Thanksgiving Schedule
- Grocery shop 3-4 days ahead of time. And make sure to follow turkey instructions for thawing. You can use the water-in-sink method to help defrost but trust me, do it in the fridge for a more juicy and tender bird.
- There are a some things you can make a couple days ahead of time. Things like my cranberry salad are better a couple days later as the flavors have melded more. I always make this a couple days ahead of time. Also, pie crusts. Make them, roll them out, put in the pie dish and pop in the freezer. That way when you need to fill it to bake, just take it out as you prep the filling and it will be good to go.
- While there are things like the turkey and a casserole that need to be done day of to be hot and bubbly, there are elements of those things you can do ahead of time. Like for my turkey recipe, I use an herbed butter. That herbed butter can be made 2-3 days ahead of time and will take one extra thing of your to-do list. I also chop all my veggies and herbs ahead of time and place in bags in the fridge (label which recipe they are for) that way when the recipe calls for 4 stalks of celery chopped and 1/2 an onion, you don’t have to do that multiple times for multiple recipes. Having those things prepped will make the assembly and cooking much quicker. See pic below! I did this this year for the first time and wow what a difference it makes in assembly. Highly recommend this!
- I also take out all the dishes I’m serving/baking each item in and labeling them with pieces of paper and laying the recipe in front of each dish! See pic below.
My menu and Schedule
- Turkey with herbed butter and white wine gravy. For this, I will prep the herbed butter 2 days ahead of time and I will chop the herbs the night before.
- Cornbread Stuffing Cups. Will share this recipe very soon (very yummy) and for this I will chop the veggies 2 days ahead of time as well as bake the cornbread and make my breadcrumbs. You can also use store bought breadcrumbs (not the boxed stuffing but the bags of dried breadcrumbs you can buy in the baking section at the store.)
- Cranberry salad. Like I said, I make this 2 days ahead of time.
- Crockpot mashed potatoes. Recipe coming soon! Just place all ingredients next to the crockpot so Thanksgiving morning you just peel, dump everything in, set it and forget it.
- Green bean casserole. Recipe coming soon! I will cut my beans and mushrooms the day before. So all I have to do morning of if toss it together.
- Butternut Squash Gratin. Chop the onion and herbs a day or two before!
- Parker House rolls. Take out of freezer the day before.
- Pumpkin pie. Make the crust a couple days before and keep in keep in freezer until you’re ready to bake. I like to take it out of freezer while I prep the filling to let it warm slightly before placing in a hot oven.
- Pecan pie. Make the crust a couple days before and keep in keep in freezer until you’re ready to bake. I like to take it out of freezer while I prep the filling to let it warm slightly before placing in a hot oven.
