Hosting Thanksgiving – Tips for an Enjoyable, Stress-Free Day!

We found out only a couple weeks ago that we’re hosting Thanksgiving! We’re incredibly excited to have family here and celebrate together. Plus, our newly remodeled guest room is getting put to good use!

I’ve never hosted Thanksgiving (or any holiday) before, so I asked my friends and family for their best tips for a first timer. They gave lots of awesome advice, so I figured I’d share so we can all have an enjoyable, stress-free Thanksgiving! Read on to learn the top tips for hosting Thanksgiving and my plan of attack to make it go as smoothly as possible.

First, a few of my favorites…

Best Tips for Holiday Hosting:

• Don’t sweat the little things, no one is judging the turkey moistness.
• Find joy/humor in anything that may not go the way you planned.
• Don’t forget the wine! Sangria is always a hit.
• Create a tradition. Anyone have some Thanksgiving traditions you love?
• Have fun and take time to notice the little things you’re grateful for throughout the day.

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#1 Tip for Hosting Thanksgiving: Plan Ahead!

Y’all, the number one tip I received for hosting Thanksgiving was to plan ahead. Just like a successful DIY project, a little planning goes a long way! I work well off of lists, so I made a food prep schedule for myself (below!). I’m hoping this will help me stay on track with which dishes to prepare ahead of time and how to coordinate everything on Thanksgiving day. I worked my way backwards from when we want to eat, and made sure to account for resting and carving time for the turkey. If you’re an experienced Thanksgiving host, I’d love your input on my timeline!

Ways you can plan ahead for Thanksgiving:

• Get all of your shopping done at least one week ahead of time.
• Clean all dishes and serving utensils so they are ready to use the week before.
• Have all of your recipes printed or saved in one place.
• Set the table and organize one or more days before.
• Cook as much as possible ahead of time! Start cooking/prepping up to one week ahead.
• Make a plan so all the dishes go in the oven when they should and they’re ready on time. (See my food prep schedule below!)

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If you’ve never hosted for a holiday before, you’ll also want to make sure you have everything you’ll need! I had quite a few things I needed to buy (like a gravy boat!). I found some nice serving platters and bowls at HomeGoods and ordered this stainless steel serving utensil set and this organic unbleached cotton cheesecloth from Amazon.

Items you’ll need for hosting Thanksgiving:

• Designate which cookware, serving platters, and utensils you’ll use for each dish to make sure you have everything.
• Ensure you have enough plates and silverware for dinner and dessert. Paper or plastic for kids is great!
• Use disposable plates for appetizers and dessert so you have less dishes.

Hosting Tip #2: Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

The points below outline some easy ways to delegate some of the dishes and prep work to guests when you’re hosting Thanksgiving. This one is hard for me as a perfectionist, so I found these tips super helpful!

• Cook the turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing yourself and have guests bring the other sides and drinks.
• Have guests help with something you’d have to do at the end to avoid the last minute scramble to get everything ready.
• Designate a gravy maker for when the turkey comes out. Everyone is hungry by that point and gravy becomes very controversial for some reason!
• Buy some (or all!) dishes pre-made from the store or restaurant. From boxed/frozen mashed potatoes to canned cranberry sauce to buying fresh pies from a local baker, there’s no shame in the pre-made game! If you do buy pre-made, put them in your own dishes so it still feels homemade ? This is also a great way to support your local businesses!
• The crockpot is your friend. Use your crockpot or Instant Pot to cook your mashed potatoes and keep them warm. I’ll for sure be using my crockpot this Thanksgiving!

 

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Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving: Roasting a Turkey

If you’ve never cooked a large bird, then you may not know some of these tips – I know I didn’t!

• Thaw the turkey 3 days before the recommendation on the package. Or, buy an unfrozen turkey within a week or so of Thanksgiving and don’t freeze it!
• Take the innards out of the Turkey!! ?
• On stuffing – Multiple people recommend NOT stuffing the bird and cooking the stuffing on the side. Not only is it easier, but stuffing the turkey doesn’t allow the inside to cook well, so you have to overcook the meat in order to cook the stuffing to a safe temperature. Plus, you can get a nice crust on your stuffing if it’s cooked separate!
• You can never go wrong with butter!
• Keep it moist! My mom recommends adding a lot of water to the bottom of the pan. You can pierce the skin by the leg and thigh joints and baste the turkey with the juices. Others recommend soaking a cheesecloth in butter and draping it over the turkey. You can also use the cheesecloth for basting, which is what I plan to do!
• Get a turkey with a pop-up timer or get a thermometer to check breast and thigh temps. Follow directions on the bag.
• The turkey needs to rest for about 30-45 minutes before cutting into it. This allows the meat to reabsorb the juices rather than running out when it’s cut.
• There are mixed opinions about whether to cover the turkey in foil while it rests – some think you should cover it to keep it hot, others say you risk soggy skin if you cover it. I’m all about a nice, crispy skin, so I probably won’t cover mine!

Alternative Turkey Cooking Methods:

I was surprised how many comments I got about finding an alternative way to cook your turkey in order to free up oven space! I’ve always loved the traditional roasted turkey, so I’ll be using our single oven. However, most of my other dishes won’t require the oven, so it is less of an issue. If you have one oven and multiple sides that require the oven, then below are some delicious alternative ways to cook your turkey.

• Deep-fried turkey – I’ve had fried turkeys and they are so juicy and crispy!
• Smoked turkey – This sounds amazing if you’re wanting something a bit different
• BBQ’d turkey – I’ve never heard of this, but had multiple friends recommend using the BBQ!
• Use a turkey roaster – I didn’t know such a thing existed, but hear good things about them

I hope these tips for hosting Thanksgiving help you have less stress and more fun on turkey day. You’ve got this!

Happy hosting and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!