Advice to help you and your family prepare for your Thanksgiving gathering
From all of us here at ReidGoodwin, we want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope that you cherish this holiday spent with friends and family over good food. We know that in the midst of making runs to the grocery stores, creating guest lists, traveling, and gathering your friends and family together, we can forget a few things along the way. Here are a few helpful tips to help you and your family prepare for a wonderful Thanksgiving gathering.
Make a plan.
You have decided to have everyone over for a great Thanksgiving feast. Get organized! Whether it’s your first time or thirty-first time hosting a dinner gathering, start preparing early on so you’re not stressed the morning of.
Try to get an estimated head count of guests.
Doing this will keep the guessing to a minimum and it will allow you to make extra food in the event of extra guests and extra servings!
Delegate friends and family to make side dishes and desserts.
Do be honest, if a guest asks what should they bring, tell them. Unless you would like to prepare the entire meal, make a list of sides and dishes to bring and ask your friends and family to decide what to bring. Plus, a great deal of people love the idea of showcasing their famous dish to share!
Start two days out with food preparations.
From dicing your onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and potatoes to measuring out all of your dry ingredients, this step will surely save you time, counter space, and sanity. Be sure to keep food prep in resealable bags or in airtight containers.
Plan to have a few games and/or group activities.
A lot of families appreciate sitting around the living room either watching football, reminiscing on memories, and enjoying conversation. While, this is normal and perfectly fine, some may get a little restless. If the weather is nice, plan to have a few items available for outdoor games. Physical activity is a great stress-reliever and great for those who have been traveling most of the day. Encourage those who would like to move around to engage in a flag football, basketball, or soccer game, or outdoor board games.
As a host, be ready to receive guests.
It is understandable to have a few items finishing up in the oven or to be putting the final touches on a dish as guests begin to arrive. Unless you were planning to have people over early to help out with such things, do not have guests arriving as you’re sweating over the bird or starting the beginning stages of making a pie. This will make everyone feel rushed and compelled to unexpectedly assist with dinner preparations.
As a guest, be a gracious one.
Lastly, the following suggestions are not needed but are certainly appreciated when you are invited to a Thanksgiving gathering.
- Bring the host a small gift and thank them for having you over.
- Ask if you can bring anything.
- Arrive on time.
- Stick to topics of conversation that won’t send the household into a frenzy.
- If YOU are invited, do not assume that means you and [insert friend you just met].
- Ask if you can help, whether or not you know the host will agree to it.
- Stick around to help tidy up.
- Complements to the chef.
We hope you all find these tips to be useful to you. Again, have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!
