by Mary Rose-Sellers

Created on: November 08, 2010   Last Updated: December 07, 2010

This year, you decided to cook the Thanksgiving dinner.  And now you regret it.  How are you going to cook a full meal for the whole family and relatives?  Panic begins to set in and you wish you never offered.  Don’t threat.  All it takes is some careful planning.  Once you get organized and put everything that you need to do in order, when the day comes, you will be praised for accomplishing such a huge task. 

In order to get and have everything done on Thanksgiving day, you will have to start a week in advance.  Once you know how many people are coming to your Thanksgiving dinner, you will be able to set all the wheels in motion. First of all, buy the turkey well in advance.  According to the amount of guests you are having, get a turkey that will serve all.  One week prior to the event, clean and decorate the house.  Prepare the linens – tablecloths and napkins – if they need to be washed or ironed.  If you are serving with good china, and silverware, take them out of the box, wash them and dry them.  Set them aside for the day of the party.  If you are serving buffet style and using paper plates and plastic utensils, buy them now and set those aside for the dinner day. 

Three days prior to the dinner, buy all the soft drinks, liquor, wine, extra ice.  Make a list of what you will be serving; beginning with the appetizers and finishing with desert.  Look at the recipes for each dish that you are going to prepare to make sure that you get all the ingredients you need when you go shopping.  Once you have a list of all the items that you need to get, then shopping will become easier and you won’t have to run out the last minute, looking for an ingredient you missed. 

Two days before, if it’s a sit down meal, set the table, with plates, glasses, silverware and napkins.  If it’s buffet style, set up a table at an area of your house where the people will be able to walk around it to serve themselves.  Have everything set on the table; from plates, to utensils, to napkins.  Buy all the vegetables that you will need for your meal.  Buying some fresh flowers will also set the ambiance and make your home more welcoming.

The day before the dinner, thaw out the turkey.  If it’s a large turkey you might have to let it thaw two days before the event.  You want to make sure that the turkey is not frozen when you put it in the oven.  Also the day before, cut up all the vegetables, place them them on the serving trays, cover them and refrigerate till you are ready to serve them. Prepare the salad and have it ready in the serving bowl.  Prepare the stuffing, stuff the turkey and refrigerate it.  If you are making a pumpkin pie as a desert, make the pie crust, prepare the filling and bake the pie. 

The day of the event, get up early, and get yourself ready.  Put the turkey in the oven and let it cook, while you are preparing the side dishes. An hour before your guests arrive, light up some candles, inspect that the house is in order, the flowers have fresh water and your turkey is almost ready.  Put some music on, and enjoy the time with your friends and family. 

Cooking a Thanksgiving meal is not so hard.  As long as you are organized and planned it well, your Thanksgiving dinner will be a success. 

Have fun!

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