Easy Thanksgiving Party Planning Tips

Are you planning your first Thanksgiving dinner but don't know what to do? It can be stressful getting ready for the big day. This post will help you with party planning tips. I will discuss the different areas, plus recipe options, to efficiently plan and host a Thanksgiving party and make it easy for your family. Make sure you have plenty of time to prepare for your event. The best way is to plan at least three weeks before to save money. Let’s begin.

Jump to:

• First, determine how many people are coming.
• Decide if you are going to have a sit-down or a buffet-style meal.
• What type of easy Thanksgiving Dishes should I serve?
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• Rosemary Cornbread Muffin Recipe
• GF Dairy Free Pineapple Upside Down Cupcake Recipe {vegan}
• Gluten Free Pineapple Upside Down Cupcake Recipe
• Easy Gluten Free Apple Cobbler
• How to Create a Thanksgiving Grocery List
• Early November Tasks:
• Sunday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving Tasks
• How do you decorate a table or tables for Thanksgiving?
• What should you do with the kids on Thanksgiving?
• What should you do on the Sunday before Thanksgiving?
• Get a FREE workbook for Thanksgiving Dinner Planner.
• Subscribe
• Final Remarks:

First, determine how many people are coming.

If you have more than eight people, ask everyone to bring a side dish, appetizer, or dessert. This will help reduce the number of recipes you need to prepare. Each side dish should feed at least eight people. Then, you are guaranteed to have enough sides for all your guests, plus a few more as leftovers.

Decide if you are going to have a sit-down or a buffet-style meal.

Depending on the size of your home and dining area, a sit-down dinner may work for you. Make sure you have plenty of chairs and dining tables for your guests.

A buffet-style dinner may work for you if you do not have enough space. We found that having a long folding 6 to 8 ft. dining table works best for a buffet Thanksgiving to hold all the food.

Keeping the beverages separate on another folding table in another area will help with crowd management.

During the COVID-19 2020 Thanksgiving, we modified the prep and serving to minimize germ transfer for Thanksgiving; if you want to see what that looked like, visit this link.

What type of easy Thanksgiving Dishes should I serve?

Before deciding on the menu, contact your guests to see if they have dietary restrictions before Thanksgiving Planning. Below are some easy-to-make meal options for you to try.

Appetizer Options:

If appetizers are on your menu, you can prepare the recipes and reheat or cook them before people arrive. This reduces the number of tasks you need to do on that day and can easily delegate the finishing of the recipe to a loved one.

For a group of 10 guests, 1-2 appetizers work nicely. Be sure to consider if you have vegetarian family members or friends. If you have more than ten guests, I recommend three different appetizers that include mixes of cheeses, meats, and vegetarian dishes. Here are some examples of one of my staple appetizers for a party.

Some of these recipes are easy to make ahead and freeze, while others can be made in the morning or the night before and reheated on Thanksgiving Day.

Main Dish Recipes:

Of course, turkey is usually the main course at Thanksgiving. But how you make it can change each year. We have brined our birds but changed the brine; one year, we made a bourbon brine; another Thanksgiving, we used an all-time favorite standard by Alton Brown. You may even like to do a stress-free smoked turkey or cook the turkey on the grill. Experiment with a couple of recipes and then settle on one option for future use. This will make your life a lot easier in the future.

Some people who are vegetarians or vegans may want to make something else altogether. If you don't like turkey, you can make homemade lasagna. It can easily be made ahead of time and cooked on Thanksgiving Day. When I was a kid, we always had homemade lasagna for Thanksgiving.

Side Dishes:

We usually make a potato dish (mashed or roasted), a stuffing dish (we love chestnut stuffing), a casserole dish, squash soup, and roasted veggies. This allows us to easily accommodate the vegetarians in our family. It's so easy because you can place the ingredients on a cookie sheet (Affiliate Link) and make them in the last hour. During Covid, we started making sweet potatoes in the slow cooker (Affiliate Link), which became one of our staple side dishes. Our family loves them. Below are some of my favorite Thanksgiving dinner side dishes.

Feel free to check out our collection of side dishes here.

Bread/Gravy:

Try this cornbread recipe below if you like to serve bread at the table. It's very aromatic and easy to make. Gluten-free dinner rolls are great, too. Be sure to heat them through. They are much better that way. This cornbread recipe can be made in the morning and served at room temperature for Thanksgiving dinner.

Desserts:

This part of the meal can be omitted if you have other people coming and they want to bring desserts. I don't make a lot of sweets, so at this party, I usually just make a few pumpkin pies and leave it at that. We make the pies the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Here are a few of my easy dessert recipes. The Apple cobbler is excellent because it can be cooked in the slow cooker (Affiliate Link), freeing up the oven for other things. The cupcakes can be made the night before, so you don't have to worry about it. And they can be left out at room temperature, freeing up refrigerator space.

If you are looking for a dairy-free, gluten-free option for this recipe, I just made it recently.

Visit our other dessert recipes for more ideas for the holidays.

Drinks:

This part of the meal is also optional. If you like to make mixed drinks, I found that cranberry champagne is fun and festive for the season. All you need to do is add champagne to frozen cranberries. Here's a recipe I have used in the past from the Food Network.

We have also done in the past hot apple cider bar in a slow cooker (Affiliate Link) and it was a hit.

Visit our non-alcoholic drinks for more ideas to serve at your party.

Remember to note what others are bringing so you can reduce the number of recipes you want to make.

How to Create a Thanksgiving Grocery List

Years ago, I created a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel that reminded me of the ingredients I needed for my repeat recipes, such as chestnut stuffing, smoked turkey, and green beans. I reprint the spreadsheet each year and fill in the other newer side dishes for that year.

By having them in this file, I can easily see what I made the previous year and decide if I want to modify any recipes or remake them for the current Thanksgiving dinner. We constantly change a few dishes each year, which helps us know how many recipes we need to find and cook on that day. We usually have dishes we work on at least a day or two before, so we include a column that states when we need to make each recipe.

Here's a snippet of my spreadsheet. I also include a "need to buy" column and a purchased (completed) column. I also write when I need to pick up the turkey to remind ourselves.

After reviewing the list of ingredients I need, I buy the staple items that can be bought way in advance. I like to purchase them early since stores give discounts when you buy these items early in the month. The closer you get to Thanksgiving, the more items may be sold out, or the prices could be even higher.

Early November Tasks:

When I go to the wholesale store at the beginning of November, I purchase staple items that stay in my pantry (Affiliate Link) for Thanksgiving. These items include:

• Broth containers
• Dried Herbs containers
• Canned Cranberry sauce
• Green bean casserole ingredients like canned green beans, condensed mushroom soup, and French-fried onions.
• Apple pie filling cans
• Pumpkin puree cans
• Breadcrumbs
• Canned beans
• Kosher Salt
• Chestnuts - peeled and ready to use bags
• Brown sugar (Affiliate Link)
• Whole berry spices (Affiliate Link), like allspice

Other buy-ahead items that can be frozen.

Also, at the beginning of November, I buy even more items at the wholesale or grocery stores that could quickly be frozen. Below is a list of those items.

• Shredded cheddar cheese can be frozen.
• Loaf of bread for the stuffing recipe.
• Butter
• Cream Cheese
• Onions
• Peppers
• Gluten-free Apple Pies
• Gluten-free Pumpkin Pie
• Dairy-free/gluten-free cheesecake
• Pie crusts
• Frozen vegetables

Sunday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving Tasks

Referring back to my list of ingredients, I purchase only the perishable items I need for the Thanksgiving menu on Sunday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving. We pick up our fresh turkey on Tuesday, which is usually the day to pick up these items. Below is a list of perishable items that we typically buy.

• Fresh herbs
• Whole turkey
• Fresh pies
• Fresh string beans
• Sweet potatoes
• Fresh broccoli
• Russet potatoes

Making a Thanksgiving grocery list for you to use each year will save you time and money.

How do you decorate a table or tables for Thanksgiving?

Your Thanksgiving feast may have one table to several tables. Below are some tips to help you decorate whichever one you have.

More than One Inside Table Tips

If you have more guests than your table allows, you may want to set up different tables in different rooms. Decorating the tables with the same centerpiece and tablecloth (Affiliate Link) will help make them cohesive. Going through your fall decorations and pulling them for your centerpieces works nicely. There is no cost and no time spent looking for something. Plus, it eliminates the clutter on other surfaces. It's a win-win.

In colder climates, it's great to have smaller tables in separate rooms like the dining room, family room, kitchen, sunroom, etc. If possible, stick to the same floor. Your guest list doesn't want to go upstairs to get their food and have to go back downstairs to sit down.

Outside Table Tips

In warmer climates, you may want to set up seating outside. A tent with folding tables and tablecloths in the same color will make the space look seamless.

Determine the weather a week before to decide if you need a tent and if it will be windy. Paper plates and other utensils (Affiliate Link) can easily get tossed off the table, ruining your Thanksgiving celebration. Using reusable plates for parties(Amazon Affiliate) will allow for some more substantial weight of items.

I also like to serve buffet-style for outside parties, stacking the plates in one place and weighing them down with paperweights. The only things on the outside tables are the tablecloths clipped on the sides(Amazon Affiliate) to keep them on the table when it is windy and a heavy centerpiece.

One Table Tips

If you have one table, try decorating it with the existing decorations around the house. Cut some branches off evergreens in your yard and place them in the center of the table with candles (Affiliate Link) and a lovely pumpkin or two. The evergreen tree branches and leaves are fresh and can be accented with beaded decoration. I like to start with a tall centerpiece and work my way down to the ends of the table with different-sized decor. It looks beautiful and brings color to the table.

What should you do with the kids on Thanksgiving?

Another area you want to think about is what the kiddos will be doing. It is essential to keep them busy during your prep and party time. Some options are:

• Buy prepackaged craft kits.
• Have an adult plan an organized sport with them, like football outside.
• Have a few boardgame adults plan a game with all the kids.

This will give you a few hours to complete the tasks and give them something to do.

What should you do on the Sunday before Thanksgiving?

Now that Thanksgiving is approaching, it's time to go through and pull out the platters (Affiliate Link) and serving utensils (Affiliate Link). Don't forget the plates, forks, and knives. Sturdier plates(Amazon Affiliate) work best because the food tends to get a little heavy. Pull out your tablecloths and set up the table. You can even prep the table the day before the party if you have a sit-down dinner. You don't need to do this on Thanksgiving day.

Write down the tasks.

Using a weekly planner sheet (Amazon Affiliate), you can write down the tasks you need to do to work toward Thanksgiving Day. You may schedule and set up the table for Wednesday night instead of Thursday morning. I also like to prep my vegetables that night, place them in baggies, and write on the baggie what recipe the vegetables are for to help me start on time the next day.

Then, on a daily planner calendar sheet (Amazon Affiliate) for Thanksgiving, block out time for the meal prep and cooking and what time you need to cook them. Also, include things like who will handle the meal and where they will be stationed. Not all prep needs to be done in the same place. You can have someone sit at the dining room table to set up cold appetizers so they are out of the way.

Be sure to add extra time for your more traditional foods. These recipes are usually more complicated and may take longer if you have never made them before.

If you are looking for more time-saving tips for Thanksgiving, please visit my post.

What to do on Turkey Day?

Now that the big day is here and the planning process is complete, you should be set to start your day off and have plenty of time to spend with family and friends. All you need to do is use your daily planner calendar workbook, and as the tasks come up, take care of them or delegate them; it is your choice.

Get a FREE workbook for Thanksgiving Dinner Planner.

To help you manage your first Thanksgiving, I created a workbook planner you can use right now. It lets you plan what you are making and what others will bring. I added all the areas of the dinner you may be incorporating into your Thanksgiving Festivities, from Starter dishes to drinks and desserts. It has enough room to jot down your plans.

Thanksgiving Dinner Planning Sheet 1:

The first page helps you gather the recipes and asks you a series of questions.

• What is the recipe name?
• Where is the recipe? Is it on a website? In a cookbook? Will a guest be bringing it? You can quickly write it in this column.
• How much does it make? Do you need to double the recipe?
• What date and time do you need to prep the recipe?
• What time do you cook the recipe?

After writing all these items down, you can see how your tasks will happen. Below is an image of page 1.

Thanksgiving Dinner Planning Sheet 2:

The next sheet has space for your kid's activities and instructions for planning your prep and task schedule.

You can write three different types for the kid's activities and note when you want them to occur. This will help you keep the kids preoccupied while you are working on prepping the meal.

As mentioned above, knowing what to do each day and working your way up to Thanksgiving will help you make the process as smooth as possible. I included a Monday through Thursday table where you can write down the tasks and prep tasks you must do during those days leading up to Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Day. You can also write down who you will delegate to do the tasks. Also, I included a time to do the tasks or recipe column for Thanksgiving Tasks, which will help you manage your time on the big day more efficiently. The image below is page 2.

Thanksgiving Dinner Planning Sheet 3:

On page Three, I included a section for writing additional notes and an additional prep and tasks to do section for overflow.

Final Remarks:

I hope this helps you make your first Thanksgiving party a huge success. Remember to ask for help. No one can host Thanksgiving alone. It's a lot of cooking and prepping, so keeping yourself organized and allowing people to help will keep the stress down and enable you to enjoy the day.

If you need even more inspiration for your Thanksgiving party planning, check out these articles I found.

The titles in caps are from my blog.

8 Ways to Host Thanksgiving in Style—and with Ease!

12 Essentials to Know When Hosting Thanksgiving for the First Time

Six Ways to Host a Better Thanksgiving Party

5 TIPS TO GET YOUR HOME READY FOR THANKSGIVING by me

MAKING A FABULOUS PARTY THAT EVERYONE WILL LOVE

Please note that the links above are affiliate links through Amazon. At no additional cost to you, I will receive affiliate fees if you click through and decide to make a purchase.

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