Hosting Thanksgiving can seem stressful, which is why I’ve put together my Five Crucial Tips for Hosting Your First Thanksgiving! I’ve hosted Thanksgiving 5 years in a row and each year it gets a little bit easier!
Each year, I start planning Thanksgiving prep at the beginning of November and yes, I understand that might be a little extreme! I like to buy things a little at a time, so you don’t get stuck with a huge grocery bill the week before Thanksgiving! Plus, some grocery stores can run out of hot commodity items, so it’s always great to be prepared!
Hosting Thanksgiving is one of my favorite parts of being an adult! The smells that flow throughout your house are absolutely mouth-watering! However, the first time I hosted Thanksgiving I was so nervous! I kept picturing the turkey going up in flames and everyone arriving to a smokey house with no food. Once we can get the worst case scenario out of our heads, we can focus on what’s actually going to happen! By making a plan, letting other people help and being prepared, anyone can be a hostess just as fancy as Martha Stewart!
If you need more help, I have all of my favorite thanksgiving Posts linked here!
1. Make a Plan
First things first, we need to make a plan! Who’s coming? What dishes do we want to serve? How do we want the table to look? What time will dinner be ready? These are the four crucial questions you have to answer to begin your Thanksgiving plan! You’ll also need to order your turkey and you’ll need to know how many pounds of turkey you should have per each guest! I recommend 1 and 1/2 pounds of turkey per person! So if you have 12 people coming, you’ll need an 18 pound turkey! Knowing how big your turkey is will also help you with your Thanksgiving timeline the day of!
I recommend starting your planning for Thanksgiving at least two weeks ahead of time! This is really crucial when it comes to your turkey! If you buy a fresh turkey, you won’t need to thaw it! But with a frozen turkey, the bigger the bird, the earlier you need to set the turkey out to thaw! If your turkey is anywhere between 20-24 pounds, you’ll have to take the turkey out around Saturday or Sunday to make sure it’s fully thawed before you brine it!
When it comes to making a plan, I write out two lists! A grocery list of everything I need to buy and a timeline for how I want the week to look before Thanksgiving! My timeline includes: when I want to go grocery shopping, when I’m going to clean the house, when I need to brine the turkey and a day-of plan for Thanksgiving dinner!
2. Let People Help
Now that you know who’s all coming, plan out the dishes for the Thanksgiving menu and then figure out who will bring what. There’s so many types of delicious food to bring for Thanksgiving, there’s no need to try to make everything yourself! A great way to include everyone in the holiday is give each people a dish to make! In my family, we have people assigned to bring the sweet potato casserole, my aunt brings the mashed potatoes, and my mom brings green bean casserole! This is a big holiday meal and it’s great to involve your family members in the process! I always recommend the hostess makes the turkey and the gravy, then give something to everyone else! This will help shorten your to-do list and give you less to worry about! No one wants to figure out how much oven space they’ll need to bake off three different dishes with the turkey!
You can even co-host Thanksgiving day with a family member if that would help reduce your stress! You can plan out all the side dishes and appetizers you want! I recommend asking people to bring their own serving dishes on the big day, so you don’t have to scramble around when they arrive and figure out where to put each meal!
3. Plan for Extra Time
Remember that your turkey will need to rest after it comes out of the oven, so you don’t want to have the turkey finishing up right as you want to serve dinner! In my thanksgiving timeline, I like to give an extra 30 minutes to an hour just in case something gets thrown off in the timeline! No one wants to feel stressed or rushed during the holidays, so this helps make sure that you have plenty of time to get everything done!
Top tip
Don’t forget about the crucial tools that you need for the turkey! It’s hard to remember everything for making a turkey since you only make one once or twice a year, but here are some of my must-have turkey tools:
Meat Thermometer – Your turkey will be done when it’s cooked to 165 degrees! Some chefs recommend taking the turkey out of the oven at 155 degrees and letting it rest the remaining 10 degrees. Either way, you’ll need a good quality meat thermometer to make sure you know exactly what temperature your turkey is at!
Roasting Pan – I like to use a large roasting pan so I have plenty of room to fill up the bottom of the pan with aromatics like garlic, onion, carrots, and herbs! These help infuse the turkey with a delicious basting liquid to prevent the turkey from drying out!
Cutting Board and a Sharp Knife – When the turkey is done resting, I recommend moving the turkey onto a cutting board before you start to slice it! In my house, we cut the turkey on the counter and add all the pieces to a beautiful serving platter. Then we drizzle on more of the flavorful basting liquid! This helps prevent the turkey from drying out and allows more of a buffet style dinner where everyone can grab the meat they like best! If you have a little extra room in the budget, I would invest in an electric knife set, as cutting turkey can be a little tricky!
4. Prep, Prep, Prep!
One thing that I love to do is have a mini trial run a week or so before Thanksgiving! This doesn’t need to be a turkey, you could just practice with a whole chicken! After all, a turkey is just a big chicken! This helps you see if there are any last minute things you forgot! Do you have all the herbs you need or any other tools that might be helpful? I highly recommend a meat thermometer for this!
It’s also great to go through any type of table settings the weekend before! Do you have your linens washed and prepped, are there enough wine glasses for everyone? One of my favorite things to do is buy all plastic utensils and plates! You can find some really good quality plasticware online that looks as fancy as your grandma’s china, but you can toss away at the end of the night! Less dishes? Sign me up!
?By going through everything the weekend before, you can save one those last minute grocery store runs!
5. Relax
Lastly, take a few minutes on Thanksgiving morning to just relax. Yes this is a big holiday, but it’s supposed to be about being around family and enjoying time together! No one wants to walk into a house with a hostess rushing around trying to make everything perfect! The turkey will be delicious! if it’s too dry, add gravy, and no one will know! It’s always stressful hosting your first party, but the easiest way to enjoy your day is to make sure you have a plan and stick to it!
Of course, any first-time host is going to have a little pre-party jitters, especially with a holiday dinner! Having a plan helps reduce any of the stress that can come with hosting by already knowing who’s bringing the pumpkin pie, how much food you need, and how much time everything will take! Try to relax throughout the day and know that you’ve planned and prepped enough! Enjoy a glass of wine or another yummy drink and enjoy this holiday with your friends and family!
Cheers!
-Holly Michelle
