Holiday Meal Planning: Thanksgiving

Confession: I have never cooked a Thanksgiving Day turkey.

 

I know, I'm so lame. Every self-respecting woman has cooked a turkey before, right!? Well, I'm sure there will be a day when I will need to do it. But for now, my husband & father-in-law insist on taking over cooking duties on Thanksgiving. Who am I to argue with that?!????

That being said, Thanksgiving still stresses me out :) Our house usually hosts the event, and this year, we have 12 people coming! So, although I don't do the cooking on the actual day, there is still a lot to do beforehand to prepare for Thanksgiving. I thought I'd try to help you all out there become a little more organized when it comes to this stressful amazing holiday.....

 

First of all, you know I love a cute (and free!) printable. This one is my absolute favorite.

It has everything you need....

 

-A space for your Thanksgiving menu plus shopping list,

-A Thanksgiving Day schedule to keep track of what needs to go in/out of the oven and when,

-A space to list all of the housework that needs to be done, plus hosting duties & decorating,

-Stuff for the kids! Coloring pages plus a space to list all of your blessings.

 

This guide breaks down what you need to do and when you need to do it. Like I mentioned, I'm in charge of everything BUT cooking the turkey on the big day, and it's crazy how much there is to do. Menu planning, shopping, thawing, cleaning, decorating....the list goes on. This guide helps to keep it all in check & ensures you won't forget a thing! It's basically a Thanksgiving cheat sheet.

You're welcome.

Here is another great guideline, this one just for meal day prep & cooking a turkey plus a few basic side dishes. And it has built-in wine breaks....love!

I love this handy Thanksgiving calculator! Because there's nothing worse than not having enough food. This takes the guesswork out when helping to prep for a large group on Thanksgiving.

So, now that you have all of these great printables & guidelines, wouldn't it make sense to keep them for next year?? I love the idea of having a binder to hold all of your holiday planning items together. Check out this blog for instructions on making one.

If nothing else, just put all your stuff in a folder and save it for next year. That sure would save you some time & headaches NEXT Thanksgiving!!