Thanksgiving is such a wonderful day, yet it can be overwhelming if you are the hostess.
For some reason, I have hosted Thanksgiving every year except the year we were in Florida as a family. I guess my house is the biggest so that's just how it is. This year the extended family (brothers and sisters) are doing their own Thanksgiving except my sister. I'm so glad she and her family is nearby and still joins my tribe. She's bringing along her new daughter-in-law for the first time this year.
Anyway, I thought I'd post a few suggestions on how to create a wonderful Thanksgiving without additional stress.
* The best way to cut down on work is to bake your turkey ahead of time. If I would have been home today I would have cooked him.
Bake the turkey, let it cool off to touch. Take all the meat off the bones and put it back into an aluminum baking pan with all the juices and put in fridge until Thursday. Then all you have to do is put it in the oven and warm thoroughly. It is so moist and tasty from sitting in all that juice. AND, the mess of carving is done. You can use the juices to make gravy.
*Normally I make real mashed potatoes, but when I am feeding 25 people I go for the potato buds. They are so good you can't tell that you cheated. But it saves a bunch of time. But if you have a smaller group or you want to make your own, peel the potatoes the night before and cut them in small pieces. Leave them in a bowl of water. Make sure the water covers all the potatoes. If you cut the potatoes into smaller pieces it will take less time to cook them.
* Set the table the night before.
* If possible serve buffet style. We gather everyone around our island which is ladened with enough food to feed a small village. Once everyone is around we pray and thank the good Lord for putting up with us another year and for all the amazing blessings we have. Then we file past the food and load up the plates. When it is buffet style anyone can get up and get whatever seconds they want without disturbing someone to pass the food.
* Use heavy duty paper plates, nicer plastic silverware and cups. There will be enough dishes to do without using your plates, silverware and cups. It is so nice to throw away the biggest portion of work. You have a lot more time to sit around the table with that second cup of coffee and visit.
* Don't waste your time cleaning house before everyone comes. I noticed my kitchen floor really could use a good mopping. But, knowing there will be 25+ people walking around dishing up food it is ridiculous to waste time cleaning a floor that no one will see and that is guaranteed to have food dropped.
* Don't worry about having enough food. There is always enough. Even if there isn't, no one is going to starve.
*Sometime during the day take a moment to sit back, be quiet and take in the blessings of your family. Pay attention to the laughter, the hugging, the little ones fussing. It's music straight from God.
* Last but not least, look for someone who needs to join your family and invite them to join you. Holidays spent alone are painful.
I pray you have a blessed Thanksgiving Day and some great family time together.
