Thanksgiving celebrations are only a few weeks away from Halloween, but most people don’t give it a passing thought until well after their candy buzz has worn off. Starting early can take many of the headaches and stress out of a huge dinner preparation. Here are a few tips to get you working earlier on your holiday preparations to help reduce stress later on.

What to Prepare for Thanksgiving First

Make A List

Shopping for all of the food needed to prepare the meal needs to be accomplished early. The best way to track all of the items you will need to make dinner is to create an ingredients list. This list is not only of the ingredients you will put in the food, but also the items you will need to dress up the dinner table, what will be for breakfast, and even how to store all of the leftovers after everyone has had their fill of turkey and other yummy treats.

Each family has an ideal tradition for Thanksgiving that typically varies from the rest of the families around them. Some traditions may include football, others include specific foods that seem atypical for Thanksgiving. Whatever your traditions are, make sure you don’t miss them because you have forgotten to prepare. You can make two list. One will include things you need to buy such as turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing/dressing ingredients, dinner rolls, napkins, etc. and the next list will be things you need to do such as, wash silverware, iron napkins (if you traditionally use cloth napkins), invite guest/confirm attendance, get out recipes, clean serving plates/bowls, prepare the good china, make a seating chart, etc.

Example List

Food

Other Items

• Napkins
• Roasting pan
• Aluminum foil
• Turkey roasting bag
• Storage containers
• Serving ware
• Table decoration or center piece
• Table cloth
• Thermoses

Example To-Do List

• Thaw the Turkey, Clean the Turkey
• Clean family china, serving dishes, and silverware
• Clean house
• Shop for supplies
• Invite guest/find out how many people are coming
• Delegate task to family and food items to guest
• Research recipe ideas
• Make sleeping arrangements for out-of-town guest
• Decide on breakfast/brunch for Thanksgiving Day
• Record the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
• Make a seating chart
• Decorate table
• Prepare food

Begin Shopping Early

Once you decide what to make and have compiled your ingredients list, you can begin shopping. Make sure to mark off the items as you purchase them to avoid duplication. Since you are starting your shopping early you can look for sales and clearance items at your local stores like Meijer or Walgreens to help decrease the total cost of your dinner. Buying things such as evaporated milk, pumpkin, and other canned goods while they are on sale can help you save quite a bit of money in the long run. Only buy what you will need for the dinner unless you like to keep a few on hand for later.

Search for coupons on-line and try to use coupons in combination with sales to increase your total amount of savings. As the time nears, you can purchase the final items knowing you waited to get the best price possible. You can also have guests prepare a side or desert to bring to the dinner. Make sure you plan on making at a minimum the turkey, potatoes, dressing, gravy and a desert. The guest can bring things such as pumpkin, apple, or pecan pie, macaroni and cheese, green beans, yams/sweet potato casserole, drinks, appetizers, dinner rolls/bread, or  breakfast items for the following day if the guest are staying all night.

Clean Early to Reduce Stress Later

The to-do list will be essential to keeping you calm as the special day approaches. Thoroughly cleaning your house about two weeks out will help to decrease the time it will take you the day before Thanksgiving to give your house a few final touches before your guest arrive. Knowing how much you need to get accomplished will help you to do little things in advanced to reduce the overall amount of time needed to prepare for the day. Delegate task to other family members and include children in the preparations. This will add to their excitement of the holidays and teach them the value they add to the family by helping out.

Taking a few steps now can reduce the stress of the day. You will be able to sit back, relax, and feel good knowing you could provide such a wonderful and thankful day for your family and friends.

Do you have any tips or tricks on how to throw a great Thanksgiving Day dinner with all the trimmings? What are some of your favorite family traditions? Feel free to share your ideas with our readers.