Is anyone as excited for Thanksgiving as I am? I cannot wait to sit down with my family, focusing on having a fun day (or week, if you make it longer!), all while eating fantastic food. Nothing sounds better to me; that’s for sure. But, with Thanksgiving day, also comes a lot to prepare. I believe that the preparations can be fun, as well, if you make it that way. Here are a few things that you need to do to get ready for the big day coming up! I hope this helps someone that is struggling to prepare —
Disclosure: This post is sponsored. All tips and opinions are my own. Results may vary.
Create a menu
Of course, you need to create a Thanksgiving menu and hopefully, you have that finished up by now. If you are anything like me, however, you might be slacking a bit, and that is okay! When you are creating your menu, you need to think about any food allergies or aversions that your guests might have. Once you know what kind of food you need to avoid, you can create your menu. Write down your dinner party classics such as rolls, mac and cheese, or whatever else that you love to cook and serve. Then, see how many other dishes you think you might need and think of a few more that you can add to the list. After you create the menu, you should create a timeline for the day of (as in: when do I cook this, when do I pull this out of the fridge, etc. etc.). Of course, it is easy if you have a cheese board and a salad, etc. so that you can prepare them ahead of time and do not need to work too hard on the day of, but a lot of the time, you will have a few dishes that will need to go in the oven. Creating a timeline will help you make sure you get everything done, with limited stress and on time.
Accept any offered help
Don’t stress out too much about this – like I said, this is supposed to be fun! Southern Living says, “Do not be too proud. This is important. Nothing ensures a Thanksgiving hosting disaster like biting off more than you can reasonably chew. If someone offers to come over and help you move your furniture around, say yes. If a friend needs somewhere to go and feels like they need to earn their keep by swinging by the liquor store for wine and beer, let them. Grandma still wants to make her cranberry sauce? Yes, please bring it.”
Make extra room, if needed
One thing that you definitely want to do is to consider the space you are working with when it comes to throwing your Thanksgiving get together party. Do you have a large kitchen? Multiple ovens? What are you working with when it comes to your space and of course, the number of appliances you have? Do you need to move furniture around to have extra space, or do you need to carry in a second large table, or heavy chairs? Remember: accept help when you need it, so if for whatever reason, you are not able to do this by yourself, ask friends and family for help, or hire a company that has the manpower to do it for you, with ease. MT. Zion Moving & Storage LLC are Tampa labor movers. What do labor-only movers do? They provide the same services as full-service moves, but without the transportation, which is exactly what you need! If you are actually moving and hire them for labor-only moving services, they will help with packing, unloading, unpacking, etc. etc. etc. Everything under the sun, except for the actual transportation. They can even help with furniture assembly, in the case that your table or chairs need to be put together. MT. Zion has been serving residents in Tampa and Hillsborough County for more than 12 years with 70,000 miles moved every single year, so they have the experience to help you, without the stress left on your plate.
Remember that not everyone has dinner on their table
know that this might be the last thing on your mind, but please, consider thinking about those that cannot afford food to put on their table, or those that might not have any family around. If you have extra food, or if you are able to invite these people over (as long as it is safe, of course!), please consider thinking about that. I know that they would be so grateful and after all, this is the season of GIVING thanks.
Take a minute to really give thanks
And with that in mind, take a minute to be thankful for all of the great things that you have in your life. The things. The people. The experiences. All of it! What do you have in your life that you are thankful for? Write it down or speak it out loud during dinner.
