How to Prepare Your Home for a Thanksgiving Get-Together
Thanksgiving often signifies the start of the holiday season. For most of us, this can be a busy yet special time of year; reuniting with family members, preparing for overnight guests and planning big meals. Planning ahead and preparing your home for your Thanksgiving get-together is the best way to stay on track, be fully in the moment, and enjoy the holiday.
Plan ahead
This includes a menu, grocery list, and shopping ahead of time. Running errands last minute is never fun and can be stressful. Reach out to guests in advance and see what foods they plan on bringing and what foods they would like to see on the table Thanksgiving Day. If you need to purchase specialty items, keep in mind that these can be costly. Check multiple stores for deals and coupons. This way, you’ll save money and your guests will be happy too!
Prepare your home
When cleaning our homes, we may overlook the kitchen. Our refrigerator and freezers are especially important for this occasion as this is the place where we’ll be storing the delicious spread of entrees and desserts in preparation for the get-together. Clean out any old leftovers and make room for new ones. Prepare and freeze anything you can ahead of time.
Organize seating arrangements
Once you get a tally of how many guests to expect, you can plan accordingly. Depending on the number, you may need to purchase or rent extra tables, chairs, and dinnerware to accommodate guests. If you get a head count early enough, you can stretch these out over multiple paychecks. This is where planning ahead comes in handy!
Create a cooking schedule
This entails a detailed schedule of how you are going to prepare food. Creating a cooking schedule should include the amount of time needed to prep and cook each dish requires. You may be able to cook more than one dish at the same time, so be sure to build that into your schedule. Safety is always a priority, so ensure your oven is prepared and clean.
Decorate
Decorating can also be done ahead of time. Depending on the size of your space, the decorations may look different to each of us. Whichever style you choose, remember not to clutter the table with decorations as this is where all the food will be. Silverware wraps, personalized place setting cards, and food labels are all inexpensive, DIY décor ideas perfect for any size space.
Like any holiday, hosting Thanksgiving should be a fun and enjoyable time spent surrounded by the ones you love. Staying organized and planning ahead will reduce the stress of planning a get-together and allow you to fully be in the moment on Thanksgiving Day.
This article originally appeared on the NYCM blog.
Tags: Connors Agency, nycm insurance, Thanksgiving