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The following post is from Bernice Wood of Living the Balanced Life: Tips for Hosting a Peaceful Thanksgiving Dinner

While many are talking of Christmas already, I want to share some tips and ideas for my 2^nd favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. I want to help you be productive when it comes to planning to host for this holiday (and any others to come).

Remember, though, this productivity is not just so you can do more stuff. It is so you have time to enjoy the important things, like family and friends.

So Many Choices, What to Cook?

The internet abounds with lots of different recipes to try for the upcoming holiday season. There are so many things I want to do! When I am surfing the web and come across something I want to look at further, I save it to my Evernote folder specifically for holiday recipes. Depending on the complexity of the dish, you may decide to give it a try before Thanksgiving to make sure it turns out just right!

As a matter of fact, having a family meal earlier in the month with some of the recipes you want to try would be lots of fun! No stress, no frills, just practicing and perfecting your dishes. What a way to break you into the holiday season with the scent of turkey or sweet potatoes or pie!

Speaking of pie and other desserts, the great thing about desserts is that most of them can be made ahead of time. Begin baking the weekend before Thanksgiving for the recipes that can handle that. Bake one dish each day of that week if you need to. Or have a baking marathon the Sunday before. Be sure that you include your kids and husband in this.  Make it a fun family event, building memories together.

Make sure you have your menu settled the week before Thanksgiving, and get your shopping done as early as possible. Double-check your recipes and ingredients when you get home to make sure you have everything you need. You don’t want to send hubby on a grocery store run at 10 pm on Wednesday evening! Check with your guests to see if any have special diet restrictions or food allergies.

This week, dig out all of those larger serving dishes that only get used this time of the year. Make sure you have what you need so you have time to make purchases or ask a family member to bring theirs!

Preparing Your Home

With guests coming, you will need to make sure your house is in order. The week before, do a thorough cleaning. (You might want to check out this post: 10 steps to clean your house FAST!)  This way you can focus on cooking and setting the atmosphere in your home the week of Thanksgiving. Of course, you will have to clean the kitchen as you go, but it will be much easier if the rest of the house is done! If you are too busy cooking for a large crowd, you may consider hiring a cleaning service such as Cleanzen.  Learn more about Cleanzen.

On Thanksgiving morning, run the vacuum again in your main living area and check the bathroom the guests will be using for toilet paper, hand soap, and towels. Go outside and make sure the front of your house looks inviting and that none of your decorations have fallen or blown out of place.

While the house should smell great from all the cooking, you can always light candles or simmer a pot of apple cider with cloves, cinnamon, and orange peels. It’s a great way to cover up the strong smell of onions!

Preparing Yourself for Company

While most people love having company and playing hostess, it can be overwhelming and exhausting. Make sure to do as much as possible ahead of time. Enlist the help of your spouse and your children if they are over the age of 2! And make sure to coordinate efforts with those who are coming. Discuss dishes ahead of time.

Most importantly, be sure to get enough sleep in the days before Thanksgiving.

Mandi has offered a great free resource here on Life Your Way to help you plan for Thanksgiving. I encourage you to print the Thanksgiving Your Way ebook and planner and start planning today!

Keep track of your family traditions (half sheet).

What time-saving tip for hosting Thanksgiving would you like to share?

Featured Image by maurafay from Pixabay