Thanksgiving is a traditional holiday, which brings family and friends together for a lovely dinner every year. It is the last gathering to share with loved ones before Christmas. Towards the end of the year, True meaning of Thanksgiving is to be with your loved ones and celebrate the joy of family.

In 2020, Thanksgiving will be on 26 November, Thursday. On this day, people will cook their traditional turkey recipe, invite their loved ones to dinner and have a lovely evening together. Because it is another holiday to celebrate fall harvest times, pumpkins are the main actors of the dinner table after the turkey.

Preparing a nice meal for your family and friend is hard work. However, it is totally worth it when you gather around the table with them. Have a lovely thanksgiving dinner with some preparation tips we gathered for you.

History of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a national holiday in United Stated and Canada. We celebrate the harvest and other blessings presented by nature on Thanksgiving by getting together with our loved ones. The first Thanksgiving facts are not exactly known. For Americans, Thanksgiving is a model of 1621 harvest feast. This was celebrated by the English colonists of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people.

Just like Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving is full of symbolism and legends. Being a harvest festival, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner table is full of freshly baked vegetables and the main course is turkey. Typical dishes include turkey, bread stuffing, potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie. Since Thanksgiving’s main purpose is to celebrate the harvest together, it is one of the busiest days of the year in United States and Canada.

How to Plan for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a very important day for many of people. We all want a well-cooked turkey and other dishes on our dinner table. Therefore, we need to start planning at least 3 weeks ahead for our dinner table to be perfect. Turkey is the most important course, and it will be impossible to find a good one if you leave it to the last minute.

You can follow the timeline we prepared for you and easily manage the preparations stress-free and with joy.

THREE WEEKS TO THANKSGIVING

• Start making a list of your guests. While doing this, consider how many people you will invite and plan your dinner accordingly. For example, the length of your guest list will determine how big the turkey should be. Also, check whether you have enough dinnerware for the guests. If you are missing some parts of your tableware, follow the Thanksgiving sales and discounts to complete the set.
• After the guest list is done, start sending your invitations. You can send traditional cards with inspirational Thanksgiving messages, e-mails, or directly make a call to reach out your guests. You need to send your invites with RSVP because you need to know exactly how many people you will be serving on Thanksgiving.

10 DAYS LEFT

• Once you have the exact guest list, you can decide how big the turkey should be. Also, you need to check your oven and make sure it will fit. Keep in mind that you don’t HAVE TO put the turkey in the oven. There are many recipes with deep-fried or grilled turkeys. Take your options and choose accordingly.
• Depending on the people you are inviting, you may want to ask some of them to bring dishes. Also, some people may offer to bring dishes themselves. Accept their kind offers and plan accordingly. You can make a plan and have some of your guests help you out. Just plan beforehand not to deal with surprises on Thanksgiving.
• If you are using the oven for turkey, you need to plan your side dishes. Do not plan your menu so that every dish needs to be cooked in the oven. Consider the time the turkey will need in the oven and plan your side dishes. Moreover, it is better to choose some or all of the side dishes so that they can be prepared 3-4 days ahead. If you can start cooking early, this will save a lot of time and chaos in the kitchen on the Thanksgiving Day.
• Let’s check our tools. Now that we know the guest list and the entire menu is planned, let’s move on to our equipment. Check your kitchen if you have the necessary tools to prepare and cook all the dishes. You may need thermometers, cooking pots, pans, sauce pans or casseroles.
• Let’s check our serving dishes. Table setting should be in accordance with the menu. Pick the serving dishes for each of the courses and side dishes. Do not forget the desert and decorations your will use on your dinner table. Make a list of necessary tools and tableware and go shopping before the shops are overly crowded.

8 DAYS LEFT

• Now that we have all our equipment and serving dishes and decorations ready, we can focus on the food. Make your shopping list and go shopping. You can make more than one list according to how many days an ingredient can stay in the fridge or freezer. You can gradually buy your ingredients and make small preparations for the dishes. Make sure the preparations you made can be stored in the fridge until the big day.
• To store the preparations for Thanksgiving, you will need a lot of space in your refrigerator and fridge. Clean them and make room for Thanksgiving dishes. If you do not have enough space, you can ask your neighbors or people you invited to store them for you. Remember Thanksgiving is all about sharing the joy and it is better together.
• Buy the turkey!

6 DAYS LEFT

• If your turkey is frozen, start defrosting process in the fridge. Let the turkey take its time.
• You can also start cooking the side dishes which can be stored frozen until Thanksgiving.
• Go shopping and buy all the drinks you will need. Make room in the kitchen for them and cross that off your list.

3 DAYS LEFT

• You can start defrosting some dishes you prepared earlier. Do not let them out the fridge yet, just let them defrost.
• You can start chopping come vegetables and storing them in necessary conditions.

1 DAY LEFT

• You can make your Thanksgiving desert today. Prepare everything sweet and store them. You can bake your cookies or any other snack you will serve.
• You can start chopping for your salad and salad dressing.
• If you will make a bread, make the dough today and let it sit for one night before baking.
• You can also prepare your stuffing and other casseroles.
• Start taking out your serving dishes and tableware. Clean them if necessary and make your final checks.

THANKSGIVING MORNING

• Start by setting your table. Put everything you planned out. Place the decorations. Prepare everything so that you can focus on your cooking.
• Prepare and cook potatoes. Also, bake your bread and other deserts if you have left any. If you have prepared all your deserts and snacks, well-done!
• You can start unpacking your fridge, letting the preparations out and putting your drinks instead. Let them chill in the fridge until your guests arrive.

THANKSGIVING STARTS

• You can put your turkey in the oven around noon. The oven-time will vary depending on the size of your turkey. Plan accordingly and make sure you will not need the oven after the point the turkey is in. You will need some time after your turkey is cooked. It needs to rest and move to warm from hot. Consider this when you put the turkey in the oven.
• Prepare your vegetables and potatoes so that they will only need the final touch. You can find ways to keep them warm.
• Make the last preparations for your stuffing and casseroles, if there is any left.
• Until the turkey is done, finalize all other preparations. Side dishes, deserts and anything else left.
• When you take your turkey from the oven, let it rest for a while. Now you can start serving your appetizers and snacks.

Once your guests arrive and you have all the preparations ready, it is time to enjoy the dinner. Spread the appreciation and joy around and have a nice Thanksgiving dinner. You worked hard for this dinner and for your loved ones. Now it is time to eat and enjoy!

Do you have any other suggestions or warnings you want to share with us? Please do not hesitate to add tips and tricks. Remember sharing is caring.