How to Simplify for Thanksgiving
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These are my eight tips that I do every year to help prepare for Thanksgiving! Doing these tasks a couple days ahead really helps the Thanksgiving day run as smoothly as possible and with less stress. I hope these are helpful tips for you for Thanksgiving, or really, whenever you are hosting a party!
1. Do this a week before Thanksgiving
I do a deep cleaning throughout the whole house. This way, on the day of Thanksgiving, you just have to do quick touchups on the floor, tidy the bathroom, and any small pick up from the week! This also helps me focus during the week as I’m not looking at messes I still have to clean.
1. Do this a week before Thanksgiving
I do a deep cleaning throughout the whole house. This way, on the day of Thanksgiving, you just have to do quick touchups on the floor, tidy the bathroom, and any small pick up from the week! This also helps me focus during the week as I’m not looking at messes I still have to clean.
2. A few days before Thanksgiving
We start to eat any leftovers we have in the fridge. This frees up the space for all the new groceries and all the leftovers!
3. Shortcut for other meals
I double up the servings and set extras aside for Thanksgiving day! This way, everyone gets a tasty lunch on Thanksgiving and the kitchen isn’t crowded with people trying to make lunch.
4. I only buy this for Thanksgiving
I rarely buy prepared vegetables that have already been chopped or peeled. However, because so many dishes for Thanksgiving include garlic, I really like buying a bag of peeled garlic. This saves so much time, it creates less mess, and is well worth it to me.
5. Store smart and you can get ahead
The most time consuming part of Thanksgiving dinner is peeling potatoes and chopping veetables. I get all of my potatoes peeled and vegetables chopped a few days (or even a week) before. I store all of the prepared produce in my Zwilling containers and bags and they will still be fresh when I am ready to use them!
6. Make ahead what you can
Cook and bake ahead and freeze what you can! I make my cranberry sauce, bake any desserts that we are going to have, and rub the spices on the turkey the day before Thanksgiving.
7. Free up space on cooktop
On the day of, if you have a slow cooker or instant pot with the slow cooker feature, you can put it to good use on holidays! You can prepare your mashed potatoes in the morning and the slow cooker will keep them warm all day. The slow cooker doesn’t take up space on the stove and the mashed potatoes will be ready for dinner!
8. Smart addition for efficient baking
My favorite hack for the holidays is my little Oster oven. I’ve been using it for over 3 years and have fallen in love with it. It is an easier, more affordable, space-saving option to a double oven and I can still fit a 9×13 Pyrex dish in it. I use this little oven 99% of the time to bake. For Thanksgiving, the regular oven is free for the turkey while my little oven cooks everything else.
Reminder for you…
It’s not the perfectly baked food or super clean home that makes the best Thanksgiving. It’s the people around you, the thankfulness in your heart, and how much you can be present in the moment. I do my best to get ready for the dinner but one hour before, I just let go of worries and expectations and enjoy.
I hope these tips help make Thanksgiving or your next dinner get-together as smooth and stress-free as possible. Let me know what you think, or if you have any other tips, in the comments!
You can also check out all of my Gluten and Dairy Free Recipes Here!
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