De-STRESS Thanksgiving

Good Morning Let The Stress Begin

STRESS around the holidays is never good. Not for you and your family...or your guests. Have you ever been a guest at a home where the host was just so wigged out over everything? I have....it kinda makes you want to leave just to take the pressure off the poor person and end their misery as soon as possible...LOL!!! My BEST fix for holiday stress is to just plan ahead and use a few simple time savers.

Plan ahead: This is the single most productive thing you can do to help yourself. I take a simple 10 cent spiral notebook and write on the front Holiday planner. I keep a pencil shoved in the spiral part with a BIG eraser to have handy.

One the first page I write what the holiday is with the year and then the names of the people I'd like to invite. This is about three weeks before the event. I then will call and invite people and place a check mark by each name that is coming. Then I tally them up for my head count.

On the next page I write my menu out. Try to keep things as simple as you can! Good, simple, hot food goes a long way with guests! If you are going to ask people to bring things ...still include it on your list but put the name of the person bringing it. If you are having a BIG crowd please do not be afraid to ask for carry ins...people really DO know how much work it can be and love to feel useful and helpful! I know I never mind bringing an item! Here's My Menu for this Thanksgiving.

On the third page I write the grocery list to match the menu....remember to include anything "strange" you may need like candles...extra toilet paper or napkins....include everything you may need in addition to the food. I think it's best to just keep your event shopping separate from your regular weekly shopping because then you can really focus on those supplies...to me it's worth an extra trip the week of the event. You CAN buy ahead if things go on sale ...just remember to scratch them off the list. But my experience is that, at least for Thanksgiving...the best deals can be found the week of!!

On the fourth page I write out what needs to be cleaned and made ready for the event. If a particular task belongs to a specific person I will jot their name down next to that item. Example: We always steam clean our carpets for Thanksgiving and DH likes that job so I jot his name down by it. I sometimes will even write out what day to do the task. Here is a great place to de-stress if you have a large family. Please DELEGATE the chore list. There is NO REASON that you the homemaker has to do it all! And another thing....don't pick right now to get all weirded out that you haven't cleaned closets and drawers out all year...LET IT GO! A normal clean is enough...nobody in real life lives in perfection! They will NOT Judge you for how perfect your home is! But they will appreciate last weeks lunch swept from the floor and the cool aide off their chairs

The last page is for anything special. If you are planning a special craft for the kids or special decorating tasks. This is also where I may pre write out a blessing for the meal. If anything BIG has happened in your family or those of your guests....it's NICE to include it in your prayer and mention people by name!

When the event is all done I like to rip out these pages and save them in a 1 inch binder from year to year. It's fun to sometimes look back at what you did! I suppose you could just use a binder....but I like the slimness of the spiral to carry around to the store and shopping! This now leaves your spiral ready for the next event...which for us is Christmas! I do Christmas the same way except I add a "gift" page....where I make a list of gifts needed. If I am not hosting I still use my spiral to keep tract of holiday baking needs like cookies or potluck items needed.

Food Preps: Do as much ahead as you can! I am making my Pumpkin Pies TODAY and freezing them. I will pull them out on Thursday morning to thaw. Make use of crock pots. They are your friend! I own 2 plus a smaller one for gravy. I put mashed potatoes in the largest one...I make these the morning of. It's easier than right at the end when everythings going together. In the second I'll either put the green beans or the stuffing. I make The Bread a day or two ahead also...if you make rolls just cook ahead and freeze them. If you make the type of dough where you make balls for the rolls you can freeze the balls on trays then pull them out the morning of to thaw and rise then bake. We just like our bread sliced at room temp...so it's easy for us! I make the sweet potatoes casserole a day or two ahead also and just store in the fridge to cook later. I basically like to just have the turkey to deal with the day of. If your pan fits in the fridge you can prep your turkey the night before to pop in the oven when needed. Line your pan with foil to save the cleanup later...it's worth the few pennies of foil- why make it harder by having to scrub! The cook in bags are nice for cleanup too, I have used them in the past, but for the last few years I've been doing open roasting for the nice deep golden brown skin-YUM. Try not to stress over the food. I have heard of people cooking the turkey a day or two ahead and then slicing it and putting it on a platter to be reheated the day of....I have NOT tried this but it does sound tempting to have it ALL done ahead and reheat later...maybe I'll try this one year...we never carve our turkey at the table anyway. I have cooked an extra turkey breast in a crock pot for extra white meat....if you don't use dark meat this is a great easy option for the meal.

Decorate: Just do simple things. We like to display the kids crafts that come home and make a few of our own....simple paper cut out leaves on the windows are always fun...bringing things in from nature outside is also very pretty and FREE! Acorns, pine cones, and even pretty twigs tucked in here and there can be so pretty! This year we took paper plates....cut out the center to make a wreath and glued paper leaves all around. I then took a paper grocery sack and cut shapes to form a sort of ribbon thingy and wrote Blessings and Be Thankful on them. I hung one in each window-very CUTE and it kept the kids and I occupied for an entire evening cutting out the leaves and pasting them on.

Here is where I typically Blog...in the kitchen by the window....usually with a nice BIG hot cup of coffee, tea or cocoa....YUM! Well it's off to make the pumpkin pie....take care and ENJOY your day!