Welcome back to the Holiday Planning Series. Today we’re going to focus on Thanksgiving by going through my Thanksgiving week checklist. If you’re new to the series, go here first and see the overall Holiday Planning Checklist for 2016. From the checklist, you can see we’ve made our master plan, started some Christmas shopping (hopefully), and now we’re getting ready for Thanksgiving week. Today’s checklist will take you from the end of week 2 all the way through week 4, which is Thanksgiving week. I’ll also have some more helpful tips for Thanksgiving in next week’s post. But for now, here is our countdown before and during Thanksgiving week.
Thanksgiving Week Checklist
November 12 – 13:
- Write menu and grocery list.
November 17 – 18:
- Buy turkey and start thawing (thaw according to turkey size).
- Buy non-perishables for Thanksgiving Day.
- Buy or make dining room table centerpiece and decorations.
Monday, November 21:
- Finish buying groceries for Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 22:
- Clean house.
Wednesday, November 23:
- Prepare and cook as much food as possible.
- Write out a cooking timeline for Thanksgiving Day.
- Set dining room table and decorate.
Thursday, November 24 – THANKSGIVING DAY:
- Cook dinner.
- Try to do dishes as you go to save time.
- Finish setting dining room table.
- Eat and enjoy dinner with family and/or friends.
- Put leftovers away and do dishes.
- After dinner, relax and have family time.
- Plan your Black Friday Shopping Strategy.
Friday, November 25:
- Shop Black Friday Sales.
Saturday, November 26:
- Put up tree and decorations. Get the whole family involved!
- Celebrate the official kickoff of Christmas with a movie, snacks, or hot cocoa!
Sunday, November 27:
- Get rested up for all the upcoming Christmas activities! We only have four weeks till Christmas!
More time-saving tips
- Make your menu and grocery list as early as possible (like, NOW), and start buying ingredients a little each week, and especially when you find them on sale. Also, put everything in categories to make it easier to keep track of.
- Check your turkey the night before Thanksgiving to make sure it’s thawed. I also like to get it prepped and put in the pan. Then, in the morning, I can just preheat the oven and throw it in.
- Remember to use a meat thermometer in your turkey. That’s the only way to really know if it’s cooked inside.
- Let your kids help with the table decorations. That’s one less thing for you to do and kids love to help.
- Of course, you can pick any day that works for you to clean your house, but I seem to like getting that done on Tuesday. I get up early, put on some music, and just focus on it for a few hours. Then, I’m ready to enjoy the rest of the week! If you’re having out of town guests, you might need to do this the weekend before.
- I like to dedicate the day before Thanksgiving to getting all the food ready as much as possible. It’s a long marathon day of cooking and I pretty much stay in the kitchen for most of the day.
- The night before, I literally write out my cooking timeline. I structure it like a countdown to dinner time, making sure everything gets done on time and all at the right time! This step is crucial! There’s a lot to coordinate, so it helps to plan it out.
- While you’re finishing up the cooking on Thursday, delegate others to handle the drinks, putting food on the table, and setting the table. While you’re at it, delegate others to help with all those dishes!
- Speaking of dishes, try to keep loading the dishwasher as you’re cooking the meal, but whatever is left after dinner, try to get done as soon as possible. Life is too short to be in the kitchen any longer than you have to. Have someone put leftovers away, someone load the dishwasher, someone hand wash dishes, and someone clean off the table and countertop. Over and done!
- If everyone else is napping or watching football in the afternoon, go through the sales flyers and plan your Black Friday strategy. That’s what I do. Yes, that is how I relax.
- Saturday, while you still have family members at home, get everyone involved and put up the tree and decorations. It’s a great way to kick off the Christmas season!
- Take Sunday off to rest. You’ve earned it!
That’s it for our Thanksgiving planning checklist. Next week, I’ll have some more tips for getting ready for guests, especially when they’ll be spending the week of Thanksgiving with you. That takes a lot of planning and preparing. I’ll also have some tips for updating your winter wardrobe and more holiday posts as we go through the season.
See you next time! Have a wonderful day!