Tips for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving

It goes without saying that the Thanksgiving holiday is one that is known for centering around both food and family. What makes it so ironic is that a lot of families will argue around this time when they are all together.

A big portion of this can be chalked up to the stressful situations that will surround the preparation for the holiday meal. We have some tips that will allow you to really make the most out of family time instead of you having to worry about food and drama.

Preparation Is Key

The more that you can prepare ahead of time for such a large meal, the better off you will be.

Keep in mind that it can take several hours to get your turkey to the table, so the last thing you will want to do is leave a lot of other things to the very last minute.

Planning to get a lot of the preparation done in advance will free you up to take care of some of the other things to get your home ready for the meal and any guests:

• Think about cutting up as many vegetables as you can, put together certain dishes that you can put in the refrigerator and then bake for later. This can be done 1-2 days ahead.
• If you need to conserve room in your fridge, think about putting drinks in a cooler with ice and freeze some of your desserts so that they can then be thawed later on for the meal.
• Whenever possible, use someone else’s kitchen for certain portions of the meal. When you have friends or relatives that are going to be joining you, it is a good idea to ask them to contribute to the meal.
• If you are doing the turkey, you can have someone else bring some of the side dishes, which can be prepared at their house and then heated up at yours before the meal.

Always take as much of the unnecessary stuff out of your refrigerator as you can as room can always be limited.

Think of tossing leftovers or putting half full containers of condiments in the cooler with drinks, so that you will have plenty of space.

Guest Accommodation

It is important to think about where relatives will be staying if you are offering them your home.

If there is some chance that out of town guests will be just as comfortable at a nearby inn or motel, think about making alternative plans so that you do not have too much stress all under one roof.

Cleaning of the house can be just the essentials: bathroom, living room and kitchen. Any private area’s can be done at a later time.

What About Entertaining?

Keep in mind that you are having family and friends come to you for the holidays and they want to be able to see you, not spend a lot of time out on the town.

Think of planning out activities ahead of time where you can be at home and enjoy each others company.

Relax with movies, play some games and try to make it an easy going and enjoyable time for all.

The best thing to do is remember that the more planning that you do in advance, the better your Thanksgiving holiday will be..

Have a stress-free Thanksgiving!

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