Thanksgiving Preparation Checklist
By Karen Porter,
Editor
EasyHomeOrganizing.com
♦Determine your
budget allowance (so you know what you have to work with before you make too big
of plans).
♦Plan your guest list for Thanksgiving dinner.
♦Send invites if Thanksgiving attendees will be more than just immediate
household members. Or even better call prospective guests. That way you can get
definite answers sooner.
♦Finalize your guest list.
♦Decide if you'll need more manpower from family members with preparing for the
celebration (cleaning, decorating, cooking, entertaining, etc.).
♦Recruit your family members ahead of time to help with these needs and give them
specific assignments to handle with timelines and instructions.
♦Determine your complete menu (appetizers, main course, side dishes, dessert,
breads, beverages including any wines, etc.).
♦If you're expecting guests to contribute any dishes, you should make this clear
earlier when corresponding with guests. If so, you might want to assign them a
general dish to bring and have them confirm with you what it'll be. If three
guests are bringing side dishes, you don't want three green bean casseroles to
show up! Let them know if they need to bring the dishes preheated or if you have
room in your oven/stove top to reheat the dishes as needed.
♦Check your guest list to see if anyone has special food needs you can or need to
accommodate or take note of to alert them before serving it on their plate (e.g.
guests with diabetes or severe food allergies).
♦Determine portions per guest (so you know how much beverage and food you'll need
to buy, cook or serve).
♦Research any recipes or cooking instructions you need (to cook the turkey and/or
side dishes).
♦Research wines if you plan to serve this and don't know what's what in wines.
♦Make a shopping list of ingredients you'll need for all recipes you'll be
cooking and of any other prepared foods or beverages you'll be serving as part
of your menu.
♦Check to see which ingredients you have on hand; put these in an "off limits"
section of your fridge or pantry so family members don't accidentally use them
now.
♦Shop for your remaining recipe raw ingredients and other food items.
♦Make a list of cooking equipment you'll need (e.g. roasting pan--that's the
right size, pots, baking dishes, knives, graters, colanders, cutting boards,
baster, meat thermometer, timer, etc.).
♦Check your kitchen to see if you have this cooking equipment.
♦Check to make sure you have an appropriate number of dishes (to eat on and serve
with), serving utensils and other table settings (such as napkins, napkin rings,
flatware, etc.).
♦This is also a good time to make sure you have items like oven mitts, pot
holders and kitchen hand towels clean and ready to use.
♦Shop for any cooking equipment, dishes and table settings you still need and
don't own (or can't borrow).
♦If you do plan to borrow any cooking equipment, pick it up a day or two early to
make sure you have it on schedule for cooking day (People have emergencies,
can't find what they thought they had to lend to you, etc.).
♦Make room in your freezer for the turkey.
♦Shop early for best turkey selection.
♦Determine when you need to start defrosting the frozen turkey (sometimes it
takes days to defrost).
♦Make room in your refrigerator to defrost the turkey.
♦Start defrosting the turkey.
♦If you're not cooking the turkey yourself but plan to order it cooked from a
deli, make inquiries early about this (what selection do they offer, preparation
choices, pick up times and days---they may be closed on actual Thanksgiving day
and you don't want to get stuck with nothing.).
♦Don't forget you also have options like hiring a caterer, especially if you're
hosting a big affair. There are even professional chefs now with entrepreneurial
businesses who will come on site to your home to prepare a special meal. Search
the Web, check your phone book yellow pages or ask around to see if one works in
your area of town. Just be sure to hire your in-home chef in advance---you won't
be the only one with that idea!
♦Do any major housecleaning or decorating several days or more before the two
days you'll devote to cooking and entertaining. Don't wear yourself out trying
to do both at the same time.
♦If you'll be formally entertaining on Thanksgiving day, plan your outfit and
dress needs (and that of your spouse and children) early. That way you also can
take care of any ironing, washing, dry-cleaning or even missing button needs
before you realize the outfit you want isn't available (or in shape to wear--or
that you're not in shape to wear it).
♦Make sure you have toiletries and accessories too. You don't want to run to the
store for hair spray when you should be cooking or spend an hour searching for a
missing earring that's part of a pair.
♦Do a last minute brief kitchen cleanup with spray cleaner and paper towels on
your counters and stove top before you start preparing food.
♦Start cooking side dishes, appetizers, and pies a day early, especially if you
have limited oven space (because you won't be able to cook everything at once).
You can re-heat any as need on Thanksgiving day. You may want to store some of
these in microwavable dishes to make this process go quicker.
♦You may also want to prepare some ingredients early for any recipes you'll be
cooking the next day. For instance, maybe you want to chop onions, peel
potatoes, etc., the day before and store them appropriately until you're ready
for them.
♦Early Thanksgiving day, start preparing your turkey and any other food dishes
you didn't prepare and store the day before.
♦If you have any time between cooking items, wash some of your cooking dishes and
utensils that you're already done with. This little bit of cleanup ongoing will
make cleaning up afterward faster.
♦Carve your turkey and put it on the serving platter.
♦Set the table.
♦Serve the meal.
♦Give thanks as appropriate.
♦Enjoy the day and meal.
♦Store your leftovers (You did buy appropriate food storage containers earlier,
didn't you?).
♦Plan to do a thorough clean-up of the holiday remnants after you get a good
night's sleep. Or let family members and teams of guests created earlier handle
appropriate assigned clean up tasks (if that was pre-planned with them in
advance). These teams or individual family members may also have been delegated
items to handle earlier too like setting the table, carving the turkey or
serving.
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