5 Things You Can Do To Make Thanksgiving Dinner Prep A Little Less Stressful + 2 Bonus Tips

It’s that time of year again. The most magnificent of all cooking holidays………Thanksgiving. There is so much that goes into a good Thanksgiving meal. I also know lots of families who eat processed food all year, but when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner everything has to be from scratch. Lots of friends and family to feed, new recipes, crowded kitchens…….it can all be a little too much. So, how do we reduce the stress a little? Certainly, there must be a way to enjoy the day a little more.

I can’t get rid of all of your annoying relatives, but I do have some advice to help you make your Thanksgiving dinner prep a little less stressful. Oh! And to any of my relatives reading this……..I did NOT say you were annoying. I’m talking about my readers annoying relatives. LOL!

1. Review your shopping list. Check. Check. Double and Triple Check. Don’t assume you have ingredients in the cupboard without actually eyeballing them. I can’t tell you how many times I have assumed that I had plenty of salt to then find out that it had been used up the night before. These are recipes you don’t make every day so make sure you check your shopping list against the actual recipe. Do NOT go by memory.

2. Start ahead of time. You will see this advice everywhere. We are serious! Start early. Do you know that you can chop veggies and put them in storage containers in the refrigerator several days in advance. You don’t need to be chopping celery at 5AM. Please! Keep your fingers safe by avoiding sleepy chopping. Get it done early in the week and just toss it into your recipe. Celery, onions, carrots…yep all of that!

3. Think about serving temperatures. “What” you ask? It is so hard to get everything to the table hot at the same time when you only have 4 burners and a small oven. Unless you are cooking in a commercial kitchen, you may want to plan to serve some foods that are delicious cold or at room temperature.

4. Cook your side dishes ahead of time. Green bean casserole can easily be cooked ahead of time and then simply reheated. If you have most of your sides out of the way, you will be to relax a little and enjoy your guests.

5. Set your table ahead of time. I learned this from my mother-in-law. She has a formal dining room and will have the table set and ready to go several days in advance. There is no last minute screaming………”Who is going to help me set the table??” This extra time also allows for setting a beautiful tablescape. It’s fun to channel your inner Martha when you have the time. A beautiful table helps everyone to relax and enjoy the holiday.

2 Bonus Tips:

1. Plan to have leftovers. Come on……..you’ve been cooking all day (maybe all week) the last thing you want to do the next day is cook a big meal for your family and out-of-town guests. Make a turkey bigger than you need and plan to have turkey soup or turkey sandwiches with the extra. A bunch of leftover side dishes often make a great meal as well.

2. Plan activities for the kids. I love to have my kids in the kitchen cooking with me, but with all of the extra cousins on Thanksgiving Day that kitchen can get pretty busy. Plan some activities like this Thanksgiving story bead bracelet or any of these really cute Thanksgiving printable placemats and that way you can more easily focus on your kitchen duties. I often let my kids help me with Thanksgiving breakfast. One of our favorites is this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal with Cranberries. We watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and prepare breakfast together. That way they can still get some kitchen and Mommy time. The last thing I want is for my kids to feel less than important.

Do you have secrets to keeping the stress level down when preparing your Thanksgiving feast? What are your favorite parts of the holiday? Who in your family prepares the feast? Do you have Thanksgiving dinner at the same place each year or move from house to house?

I promise to keep bringing you the best and most accurate information on nutrition I can find……….and hopefully with a little bit of humor along the way as well. You can find lots of great information on this blog (check out the tabs above and the archives). Make sure to subscribe by email so you don’t miss anything. You can also find lots of great tips, tricks, advice, and fun on my Facebook page and my other social media. Please join us and share us with your friends!