How to Organize a Thanksgiving Dinner at Your Home

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Thanksgiving inspires everyone to get together with loved ones, the warmth of candlelight and, of course, a table laden with delights. If this year you are the one who has to organize everything in your home, do not let yourself be taken by the stress and ruin the happiness of this time of year. wikiHow is here to guide you on the art of organizing a Thanksgiving dinner.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Plan Your Party

Step 1. Confirm who intends to come

That is, invite your guests at least a month in advance. Call and ask for confirmation from who will participate, also informing you if they intend to bring someone else with them. Make sure your guests, family and friends will bring children. Knowing the number of people who will come is very important: it would be horrible if on the day of the party you realized that you do not have enough food to feed all your guests. At family gatherings there are usually always tensions: not having enough food for everyone could cause a conflict.

If you want to do something more elaborate, send invitations to your guests. You can buy them in a store, or you can make them by hand. Your guests will be pleasantly surprised to find that you took the time to make them (and they will be even more excited to join the dinner)

Step 2. Create the menu

While we all know that Thanksgiving is all about being grateful for everything we have, we also know that sometimes good food can overshadow traditional values. After all, who doesn't love reunion with friends and family around mouth-watering delights? While most families delight in traditional dishes, or even add non-traditional dishes, here is a list of recipes that can help you get started:

Learn how to roast a turkey the right way. You've probably been bombarded for weeks with images of golden turkeys served on beautiful tables. Well, now you too are capable of making a perfect turkey.
What would a turkey be without stuffing? Search the internet to make a great one.
Another typical Thanksgiving dish is mashed potatoes. And while you're at it, why not take a look at how to make a sensational gravy.
Add a pop of color to your plate with cranberry sauce. Who knows, perhaps in a moment of madness, you will taste a bite of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and potatoes at the same time - a tip: it's delicious!
And don't forget the dessert. Aim for the gold medal and make an assortment of pumpkin pie, apple pie, and pecan pie.

Step 3. Consider having a Thanksgiving dinner where each guest brings something

Just because you're hosting dinner at your house doesn't mean you have to slog behind a turkey, 12 side dishes, and 5 pies. Plan what you think you can handle (like turkey, three side dishes, and a cake), then ask your guests to bring other things (especially side dishes, desserts, and of course, bottles of wine). Ask each guest to bring a dish and communicate it to you at least a week before dinner (so you can prepare what the guests don't bring).

If you are planning a dinner where everyone brings something, you might want to consider creating a table (or at least a list) for you so that you can organize yourself to remember who brings what

Step 4. Go shopping

This step is not limited to just the ingredients for your recipes, but also includes buying a new tablecloth with autumn motifs, an extra set of cutlery, or just decorations that you think could be used to decorate the house.

Food shopping tips: Read each recipe you will use and write down the ingredients you don't have at home (or, at least, you think you don't have). Then, look in the pantry and make sure you really don't have that mixed spice packet or white onion you need. You may be surprised at what you find after a thorough analysis of your pantry. You should also keep in mind that perishable foods, such as apples (which you will use to make a fantastic apple pie), are best bought the day before Thanksgiving.
Advice for other purchases: make a list of the people who will participate. Check the porcelain service and cutlery to make sure everyone will have: a flat plate, a dessert plate, a bowl, a fork, a knife, a spoon and a glass. You may also want to check the number of wine glasses and champagne flutes. If you find that you don't have enough, go to the grocery store and buy what you are missing.

Step 5. Decorate the house and set the table

While you don't have to do this a month in advance, you shouldn't wait until the day before dinner either (as there are more important things to do that day… like baking cakes). You don't have to go crazy with decorations, just put something here and there. Here are some ideas:

Decorate the front door. Buy some decorative pumpkin and place them outside the door or in a nearby basket - this is also a great way to use a pumpkin without carving it. Hang some dried corn on the door (they sell some gorgeous crimson, burgundy, orange and gold).
Decorate the table. Although the excellent food you prepare will already be decorative in itself, you can still add a touch of elegance to your table. Buy a nice tablecloth in autumn shades. Arrange a few candlesticks on it, and top it off with some beautiful orange candles.
Give an autumnal touch to your home. You could place a bowl containing M & M's of autumn colors on a coffee table, or candles of the same shades placed in strategic points of the house.

Part 2 of 3: Christmas Eve

Step 1. Start cooking the day before Thanksgiving

This is very important if you have planned to bake the cake (or more than one). It's also time to check that you have everything you need - once the holidays start, it will be hard to find the turkeys and pumpkin pie filling!

If you decide to cook all Thanksgiving, make a plan for what to bake first and what next. Most of the typical dishes of this holiday require cooking in the oven, so you will have to organize yourself properly. Find recipes that take longer to cook and cook them first

Step 2. Set the table

Although your guests will arrive the next day, setting the table the day before is very helpful. Extend the table as far as possible (it's time to get the table extensions out) or set up another one nearby if you can't fit all the diners into the first one. Arrange all the chairs and place the plates, napkins, cutlery, etc. on the table keeping a certain distance between one place and the other in order to avoid guests elbowing each other every time they bring a bite to their lips delightful.

If by any chance you know who among your diners is left-handed and who is right-handed, take that into consideration when you are branding. Putting a left-handed next to a right-handed means they will elbow each other throughout dinner

Step 3. Buy some flowers

Although it is not necessary, having flowers in the house always creates a nice atmosphere. It is important to buy them the day before dinner, as if you buy them earlier, they may wither. To give a nice extra touch, get bouquets in autumn shades.

Step 4. Clean the house

Nobody likes to be invited into a messy house, so do your cleaning the day before and make sure anything you won't need for dinner isn't in the way. If you're short on time and need help with housekeeping, call a family member to help you out or hire someone from a cleaning company.

Part 3 of 3: Thanksgiving Day

Step 1. Bake the turkey

Turkeys usually take three to four hours to cook, so plan accordingly. While the turkey is cooking, finish making the rest of the side dishes and desserts. If your guests arrive at 4pm, put the turkey in the oven by 12.30pm or 1am. In this way, when the diners arrive, the house will be invaded by the delicious scent of turkey, and the latter will be practically ready.

When the turkey is ready, you will need to cut it up. Learn how to do this by reading this article

Step 2. Put the finishing touches on

That is, make last minute changes to the house, make sure there is enough beer and wine, etc. An important thing to check is if you have enough serving dishes (if you don't have them, you can serve the dishes directly from the cooking plate). Lidded ceramic pots are great for holding foods like mashed potatoes and stuffing, while keeping them warm.

Step 3. Arrange the appetizers and drinks on the table

If possible, ask a friend or family member to come first to bring the appetizer (think light things like cheese with crackers, olives, a few nuts, etc.). Providing your guests with snacks and drinks will encourage them to socialize in the living room and give you an extra hour to finish preparing the last dishes.