Here we are again, at our battle stations preparing for
Thanksgiving. Menu discussions have
started. Guest lists are being written. Carpet cleanings and household
“honey do’s” are underway. Getting ready for Thanksgiving is always a huuuuuuge
job but somehow in the end, it all works itself out.
But, what if I told you Family & MWR could make your job hosting Thanksgiving more streamlined and simple? What if I told you we
could help you save some time here and there? Oh, yes, my friends! We’ve done
the hard research and found a few ways to help you succeed at Thanksgiving
without tiring yourself out, getting on your kids “most hated” list or arguing
with your spouse. Ok…you may still argue
with your spouse but it won’t be because the turkey isn’t thawed.
We’ve come up with a list of things you can do to help with
Thanksgiving prep, cooking, serving, and activities for all ages. If you think
you can use a little shortcut, keep reading! Some of these ideas just seem so
obvious but until now I’d never even thought of them!
Prepping for the Big
Day
This makes perfect sense! Use your coolers as small
refrigerators! You can either store Thanksgiving ingredients in there or store
other foods so there is little traffic at the main frig.
You mean, I can go grocery shopping for Thanksgiving one or
two weeks before Thanksgiving to buy the canned goods, frozen foods, and
household items?? …and by doing so, I won’t have to spend a long time in the
store as they become more crowded? I may even be able to complete my shopping a
week before Thanksgiving? Mind. Blown!
Prepare the pie…crust, filling, and top crust then freeze
it. Just
wrap the pie in plastic wrap and foil before freezing and add
twenty to forty-five minutes of extra cooking time to your recipe on bake
day. Voila!
Cut and label your veggies days before they’re needed. Store
them in plastic baggies in the frig (or cooler) and enjoy the convenience of
prepped veggies on cooking day.
Cooking for an Army
This is actually a great idea! I’ve done this! Tape your
printed recipes to your kitchen cabinets. The recipes will be at eye-level
making reading the recipe a breeze. Another benefit to this is that you save
counter space…and your cookbooks from ingredient spills.
Using any normal cheese grater,
grate frozen butter directly into pie crusts or biscuits. Keeping the butter
cold makes everything tender and flaky, and grating it is much easier than
cutting it into flour. Who knew?
I take my potatoes seriously so I feel it’s my civic duty to
get this information out to the masses. All potatoes are NOT created equally
and each variety has its own purpose.
For me, the Yukon Gold or Butter potatoes make the best mashed potatoes!
Using a tiered oven rack to bake more than one dish at a
time is brilliant! …and if you have two ovens… Wowzers!!! Getting dinner ready
should be a breeze!
Activities to Keep
Folks Out of the Kitchen
Who doesn’t like a good scavenger hunt? The game can take
place inside or throughout the neighborhood.
Pair a younger child with a teenager and give each pair a list of things
to find. Set a time limit and let them go a-hunting. They can either bring the
actual item or a picture of the item to the finish line. The winning team gets
a prize!
The objective of the game is for a player to have their
partner/team guess the word on the player's card without using the word itself
or five additional words listed on the card. Use words that are related to
Thanksgiving, have a timer and a buzzer handy and make sure someone is recording the fun!
For this game, you’ll need a big floor-sized easel, flip
chart paper and markers. Write Thanksgiving themed words on little pieces of
paper or popsicle sticks and put them all in a bowl.
The objective of the game for each team to guess the word or phrase
being drawn by their team-artist.
At the
end of the playing time, the team with the most correct guesses wins!
There are hundreds of websites that offer free Thanksgiving
themed printables (crosswords, mazes, coloring pages, word searches, etc.).
Print a couple of pages per child, get crayons from the dollar store, carve out
a space for them to spread out and let their little creative juices flow.
Serving
How many times have you done the Thanksgiving Serving Dish
Dash? I’ve seen my parents do this. Run from the pantry to the basement to the
china cabinet looking for the “big bowl” or the gravy boat. Spend a few days
before Thanksgiving finding and labeling your serving dishes so you know what
you have and which food goes in which dish. Don’t forget to place a serving
utensil with each serving dish.
…another brilliant idea! Use crock pots to keep food warm.
That way the mac and cheese stays appropriately gooey, the mashed potatoes
don’t turn into snow balls and that second and third plate is just as
comforting as the first.
Whether you serve a seated Thanksgiving dinner or a buffet,
how you display the flatware can add a festive touch to the meal. Not only will
the flatware be used during dinner but it will serve as decoration before
dinner.
You’ve cooked for an army. They’ve eaten all they could
(probably more than they should have) and there’s still a ton of food left.
How’s about sending each family home with a bag of leftovers? Make a stop at
the local dollar store and get the foil carryout/take out containers. As you’re
cleaning up after dinner and preparing to store food, you can scoop out
leftovers for guests ensuring that everyone can enjoy your meal at least one
more time.
It’s not easy to do all that you do so your family and
friends can have a nice holiday. We hope these few hacks and short cuts will
help take some of the stress off of you this Thanksgiving so that you, too, can
have a pleasant holiday! …at the very least, maybe you’ll be able to sit and
take longer breaks.
Happy Thanksgiving!
