Booth Parker: Today on Momonomics, I am going to give you my timeline for
planning out Thanksgiving if you are hosting the meal at your house this year.
So I have this little planner here.
It is a free download on my website under the resources section.
I will link it in the show notes here if you would like to be able to print
it out and have the actual checklist because if you're like me, you get
a lot of satisfaction in checking those little items off the to do list.
Additionally, there are a few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes and a
full menu in this little planning guide.
So you're probably going to want to go download your copy, but I'm going to
kind of walk through the timeline that I use when I am hosting Thanksgiving.
Especially if you are hosting a large group,
you want to get a lot of things done ahead of time and you want
the actual day to not be stressful.
So the more you get done ahead of time, the easier the day will go
and you won't have to worry about things being out of stock when you
go to the store to purchase them.
So the second page of the little planner, if you're on the YouTube
version, you can see me holding it up here, has the schedule of what to
do when, leading up to Thanksgiving.
So, three weeks out, you want to finalize your guest list, make sure
everybody's coming, so that way you know how much food you need to prepare.
And go ahead and finalize what your menu is going to be so that you
can make your full grocery list.
And I like to do a separate list for the perishable items that you're
going to have to buy closer to actual Thanksgiving Day and the non perishable
items that you can stock up on early.
The next thing to do is order or purchase.
So if you're doing a fresh turkey, you need to go ahead and get it ordered.
And if you're going to do a frozen turkey, go ahead and get it purchased
and stick it in the freezer.
And if you're doing a fried turkey, which I love, it's not
the healthiest thing in the world, but it's a treat on Thanksgiving.
If you're doing a fried turkey, go ahead and pick up the frying
oil because that can actually be kind of hard to find sometimes.
Peanut oil is what we use and we have had a hard time purchasing it when we
wait till the week of Thanksgiving.
So go ahead and knock that out three weeks out.
And then also go ahead and order or purchase any wine or alcohol and
beverages you're going to serve.
So you can go ahead and get those.
You can leave them in a box, you know, maybe in the garage or in the
pantry or the laundry room, wherever.
But go ahead and get those items so you know you have them and you're
not running around last minute to go purchase these heavier, bulkier items.
And then the last thing on my list for three weeks out is to go ahead and
purchase any paper goods and leftover containers that you want to, have on hand.
So, for Thanksgiving, I like to use the nice dishes and the pretty napkins
and all of those things, but I do like to have good containers for people
to take leftovers home in and then any leftovers I am going to keep.
So, I have some, they're linked actually in my Amazon store under the resources
section on my website that are, they're a biodegradable paper and I use them
all the time and they are my favorites because then you're not chasing down
a bunch of, you know, reusable plastic ones and all of that kind of stuff and
everybody can take some leftovers home.
Two weeks out, not quite as much to do two weeks out, but if you are using all of the
nice things, make sure all of your linens are washed and go ahead and press the
napkins, table runners, anything like that that you are going to need for the day.
And if you're being real fancy, and you're using the real silver,
go ahead and get it polished and cleaned and ready for the day.
Cause that can take a long time depending on how many pieces you're using, how
many table settings you need to do.
So go ahead and knock that task out as well.
And then one week out, you can go ahead and create your tablescape, obviously
minus the fresh flowers, but you can go ahead and set the table unless you use
your dining room for everyday meals.
But if your dining room is separate, you can go ahead and set the table and
that way while you're doing that you may realize some things you need or may need
to borrow from someone for your serving.
And I like to go ahead and set up the buffet for all of the
serving dishes I'm going to use.
So I go ahead and I clear the sideboard in the dining room and
I go ahead and lay everything out.
And what I like to do is just take a sticky note and mark what items on
the menu are going to go in each dish.
It will make sure you have enough dishes to serve everything properly.
And if you don't have, you know, a sideboard or something large like that
to go ahead and lay everything out, go ahead and kind of make a list of what
menu items are going to go into what dishes you have, again, to make sure you
have enough dishes to serve everything.
On the Monday before Thanksgiving, so Monday of Thanksgiving week, you
want to take the frozen turkey out of the freezer so it can begin to thaw.
So don't forget to do this one because it's hard to make it
thaw quickly and also properly.
And the Monday before Thanksgiving, I like to go ahead and get the
majority of the perishable groceries.
There might be something you need to wait on, but I like to maybe on the weekend
right there before, go ahead and do an online grocery order and pick it up
first thing Monday morning and get those things put away in the refrigerator.
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I like to go ahead and make the
cheesecakes, because they need to set up.
I'll go ahead and make bread dough for any homemade bread we're gonna have.
Go ahead and make cranberry sauce, that one can be made ahead.
And I'll prep any casseroles that I can, like the green bean
casserole and things like that.
I won't fully bake them yet, but I'll get them completely
prepped and put in the fridge.
And I also like to go ahead and set up the bar and the coffee station.
So if you don't serve alcohol at Thanksgiving, no big deal, but you
still need some beverages for everybody.
So you can have a fun and kind of festive little bar area for
people to serve themselves.
And a coffee station with really fun, you know, creamers
and all of that type of thing.
And if you do serve alcohol, you can have a nice bar.
Maybe you do a signature cocktail for the day that you're going to do
and kind of go ahead and set up the glasses and the nice bottles of red
wine and get the white wine chilling.
And I also like to go ahead and pick up the fresh flowers on Tuesday.
They will be fine until Thursday, but go ahead and get those picked up and
get them arranged and in their vases.
And then on Wednesday, you're now the day before Thanksgiving.
I go ahead and make the mashed potatoes.
I put my mashed potatoes into a casserole dish and then I just
warm them on Thanksgiving Day.
My mashed potato recipe is in this little Thanksgiving Planning Guide
and I always get asked to bring my mashed potatoes when they're needed.
So it seems to be a well loved recipe.
Then I also go ahead and make any pies or anything like that.
You want them a little fresher than doing them on Tuesday, but go ahead
and make them on Wednesday and they will have time to get chilled and
set up in the refrigerator as well.
And then I'll also go ahead and prep any fresh veggies or salads or anything
like that that I'm going to do.
So I'll get them chopped, I'll get the salad maybe in a big
serving bowl, go ahead and wash the lettuce, get it all chopped,
get all those kind of things ready.
They tend to take longer to do when you're rushed on Thanksgiving morning.
So if you can just go ahead and knock that prep out on Wednesday, it'll
be one more thing you don't have to worry about on Thanksgiving Day.
And then the last thing to do on Wednesday, the day before, is
if you ordered a fresh turkey, don't forget to go pick it up.
Then, on Thanksgiving Day, I love to get up in the morning and turn the Macy's
Day Parade on, and, I'm guilty: I might have some Christmas music going already.
But, if not, maybe a little jazz, something fun, festive, get you
in the spirit, but I love being in the kitchen on Thanksgiving
morning with the parade going.
My son, even though he's on pretty much grown, he still loves to watch the
parade on Thanksgiving morning while I am in the kitchen doing my thing.
So these are the items that I do on Thanksgiving morning.
I will get coffee prepped and open the mixers and the wine
and everything at the bar.
I won't start the coffee.
I'll wait until later, but I'll go ahead and get it prepped.
So all I have to do is hit that on button.
And then I'll prepare the things that have to be done kind of when
you're ready to cook them, like the stuffing and getting the turkey
prepped, get the oil heating up.
If you're doing a deep fried turkey, that oil takes a long time to heat up.
So those little things that you have to do the day of, get those started.
If you're doing a turkey in the oven, obviously you need to get it in the
oven based on the amount of hours you need to cook it ahead of time.
So oftentimes they can take several hours, so going ahead and getting
that ready in the oven and then you can move on to your other tasks.
If you have multiple ovens, which is very helpful on Thanksgiving Day.
So if you have multiple ovens, you can cook the casseroles and warm
up things like mashed potatoes and such while the turkey is cooking.
But if you only have one oven, do not fret, or do the
fried turkey in the big pot.
But if you only have one oven, once you take the turkey out, tent it in
aluminum foil and it'll stay nice and warm and then use your oven
to cook the casseroles and such.
Just remember you'll need to put the turkey in early enough to give
yourself that additional time to cook the casseroles and things.
Sometimes you can put the casseroles in with the turkey, but just be
mindful of how that may alter the cooking time of both things.
And of course, use a thermometer to check the temperature of the turkey
to make sure it truly is done, but you don't want to go Griswold style
and completely dry it out either.
And while the turkey is cooking, I'll go ahead and get the
gravy started on the stove.
It's pretty easy to, you know, kind of watch and stir while
you've got everything else going.
And then any stove top vegetables, we normally like to maybe do some fresh
green beans or something like that.
If you're doing anything like that, you can have those going on the stove as well.
Easy to monitor while you're doing these other things.
And then you just have to get everything served up, put it in those dishes
that you're going to use to serve.
This is when you may get, some help from the fam to get
everything out and ready to serve.
And then just let everyone serve up and sit down at the table and have your
blessing and enjoy your Thanksgiving.
And then hopefully, they will all help you clean it all up.
So that is, that's always a biggie from Thanksgiving, but we usually get a little
assembly line going and get all the dishes knocked out right away and then maybe
enjoy the coffee or dessert after that.
So just whatever the way you like to enjoy your Thanksgiving.
But these tips to get things done three and two and one week out really do
help make your Thanksgiving week a lot less stressful if you are the host.
So, I hope these tips help you and I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving.
Oh, and remember, if you want the actual checklist, you can download
it from the resources section
on my website.
I have the take home containers for leftovers linked on my Amazon
under the resources as well.
And this planning guide has my beloved mashed potatoes recipe in it.
So go grab your copy, print it out, and check these items off the list.