by Alicia Butler

Created on: October 12, 2008   Last Updated: October 20, 2008

As the holidays are drawing near and the time to plan a fantastic celebration is running out, its not necessary to break the bank or stress out about celebrating our ancestor's pilgrimage to the United States. By following a few simple steps, you'll be able to impress your friends, family, and neighbors while allowing them believe you spent months planning your amazing, Thanksgiving dinner.

The first step to throwing a fantastic holiday bash is to plan your time, ahead of time. Make a list of what your ideal Thanksgiving would look like. What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods? Do you want decorations? Is your table large enough? Will you need to purchase paper cutlery or will you use the dishes you own? By making a list of everything you'll need you can get a good idea what you should buy beforehand. Make a budget for everything you'll purchase based on the market price for each item. By using grocery store websites, you'll be able to find out how much each item you'll need to buy is and if you put the groceries in your virtual cart you can click the check out button on the day you'd like the items delivered.

Decoration prices can be found at party supply websites and if you will be decorating, buy everything you'll need from the party supply store as soon as you can. Autumn decorations show up in stores by early September and you'll be able to buy what you want before everything is sold out. Inexpensive decorations can be made by scattering leaves on a plain white tablecloth on your table. Make sure you have space for everyone at your table a few weeks before Thanksgiving. If you do not, plan on asking friends to bring over card tables or purchase a card table beforehand. Probably one of the best ideas to save time and money is to use your dining room table as a buffet table and allowing everyone to eat by sitting on extra chairs or on your living room furniture.

Before you hash out a full grocery list, suggest a potluck style dinner to your guests. Even if everyone brings only one dish, you'll probably only have to deal with the turkey or main dish. Or, if you have your heart set on cooking the entire meal, invite your friends to bring wine or desert. Asking for help before the meal will bring your stress level down immensely and give the whole day a more personalized feel and allow everyone to bring their own traditions to the table.

By making "half" of each item you'll be able to personalize each dish and fool your friends and family into believing you spent hours on it. Marshmallows can be added to a can of yams with nutmeg and honey and popped under the broiler to make "homemade" baked yams. Purchase pre-made mashed potatoes and use a cheese shredder to crush garlic and crumble gorgonzola cheese and chunks of ham on top while stirring on low in a saucepan. Make sure to serve a salad by using a bag of mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette and adding half a bag of dried cranberries. Crumble some of the gorgonzola on top of the salad to make a delicious first course.

Finally, use evites to send virtual invitations to your guests. Its free, plus you'll get an RSVP with comments, detailing what each person would like to bring. Then, after the event the virtual invitation will automatically send thank you cards to the guests who attended. Remember, don't work harder, plan smarter!

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