Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means planning travel; stocking up on holiday food shopping; and hopefully enjoying some well-deserved quality time with friends, family, and loved ones.
Unfortunately, when you mix in the stress of the holidays with the chaos that managing family and travel can bring, you have a recipe for, well, a less-than-peaceful holiday season. That’s why we’re huge proponents of finding every possible way to de-stress your holiday meal – from setting it up potluck style to planning in advance so that there’s no surprises along the way (like forgetting the turkey until the night before Thanksgiving). In fact, there’s plenty you can do to minimize potential turkey day disasters and make the whole process go a lot more smoothly.
Here are some Thanksgiving ideas to help you create a less stressful holiday meal.
Get Guests to Bring the Sides
Yes, in years past, it was fairly standard to have the host of the Thanksgiving dinner provide all of the food for the occasion. But these days, hosting a potluck style Thanksgiving gathering is pretty common too. We like to structure our potluck Thanksgiving events this way: the host provides the basics – the turkey and the dressing (and maybe some dinner rolls too), while the guests each bring a side dish or dessert. This way, cooking stays reasonable for the host and everyone can bring their favorite side dish to share with the rest of the guests.
Prepare in Advance
Spend more time this year prepping the menu with as many dishes as possible that can be prepared in advance. Much stress is created when you’re trying to time oven and skillet dishes a few hours before dinner. Instead, focus on no-bake desserts and dishes that can easily be refrigerated and heated up just before dinner. That way, the only thing that really needs attention on the day of the meal is the turkey.
Eat In-Season
You already know that grocery stores are going to be packed and many standard ingredients will be cleaned off the shelves (or low in-stock). Be prepared this year by eating foods that are in-season, which means that they’re more likely to be in-stock and easier to find at your local grocer. Besides, no one wants to have to drive around to five different stores to find one last-minute ingredient for dinner.
This holiday season doesn’t have to be full of stress and last-minute planning. These Thanksgiving ideas will help you prepare better and simplify your Thanksgiving dinner. Do you have any Thanksgiving ideas for making the holidays easier and less stressful? Share them with us in the comments!
