Thanksgiving Day brings joy, laughter, and lots of yummy food. It’s a day to spend time with those you love and reflect on all the things you’re grateful for. The history of Thanksgiving is an interesting one and no matter what type of Thanksgiving traditions you participate in, there are many ways to make this holiday memorable.
If you’re in charge of hosting Thanksgiving, it can be stressful as you try to plan the Thanksgiving menu. From the appetizers and desserts to the turkey, there are so many recipes and choices to consider as you try to plan the perfect menu for your guests. To help you with your planning, we’ve created the ultimate Thanksgiving menu with some of our favorite fall recipes that are perfect for Thanksgiving dinner.
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Tips for Preparing Your Thanksgiving Meal
Preparing to host a Thanksgiving meal for your family and friends, especially if it’s your first time as the host, can seem overwhelming. There are so many aspects of the Thanksgiving meal to prepare that you might even wonder how you can plan it all.
Like preparing to host any event or gathering, there’s bound to be some stress involved. However, planning Thanksgiving dinner shouldn’t be so stressful that it takes the joy out of this important holiday. There are many ways to prepare that can help make the process easier for you and more enjoyable for your guests. Here are some of the best tips for preparing your Thanksgiving meal.
Plan the menu ahead of time
Planning your Thanksgiving menu ahead of time is the best way to ensure the process is stress-free. There’s no reason you have to wait until the week of Thanksgiving to start putting together a menu. Once you have an idea of how many people are coming as well as any potential dietary restrictions, it’s time to create a menu.
There are some perishable items that you won’t be able to buy until it gets closer to the big day, but planning your menu ahead of time allows you to shop for non-perishable items weeks in advance. Not only does this mean you’ll have less shopping to do before Thanksgiving but it also ensures you get all the items you need before the pre-Thanksgiving rush.
Keep the pressure off with appetizers
On Thanksgiving Day, your guests are going to show up hungry. Most people don’t eat a lot the morning of Thanksgiving in preparation for the huge meal they’re going to have later on. This can put a lot of pressure on you as the host if guests show up several hours before the meal is ready to go.
Having a wide array of appetizers to fill up your guests while they wait takes a lot of the pressure off of you. Instead of having your guests hang around the kitchen, wondering when the turkey will be done, they can snack on some tasty Thanksgiving appetizers while they spend quality time with friends and family.
Plan some activities for your guests
Everyone has an activity they enjoy on Thanksgiving. Some people love to chat and catch up with friends, some enjoy playing board games, and others love watching football. No matter what your guests enjoy doing, it’s helpful to have some activities planned for them.
This applies especially to children who may need something more structured to keep them entertained. There are plenty of options out there for Thanksgiving activities that can work for kids of all ages. You can prepare some materials for Thanksgiving crafts or keep it simple with a Thanksgiving printable or coloring page.
Don’t forget to rest
On the night before Thanksgiving, you might find yourself flustered trying to make sure everything is ready to go. It’s easy to forget that you and your family need rest too, even if you’re the one hosting.
Get as much done as you can ahead of time and then make sure you go to bed early the night before Thanksgiving. If you stay up late trying to make the final preparations, you’re bound to be exhausted on Thanksgiving morning. Remember that everything doesn’t have to be perfect for your guests to have a wonderful time.
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The Ultimate Thanksgiving Menu
One of the most challenging parts of hosting Thanksgiving is getting the menu together. Thanksgiving dinner isn’t like any other meal — when you’re hosting Thanksgiving, you have to think about appetizers, sides, dessert, and the turkey.
Instead of trying to come up with recipes on your own, using some tried and true recipes can make the process of planning your menu a whole lot easier. That’s why we’ve created the ultimate Thanksgiving menu so all you have to do is choose the recipes that fit the needs of your guests.
Appetizers
The time is finally here and guests have started to arrive. Depending on your schedule for the Thanksgiving meal, there’s a good chance family and friends will start to gather together before it’s time to eat. The appetizers are a crucial part of your Thanksgiving menu because they give your guests something to snack on while the turkey cooks to perfection.
Consider some of these Thanksgiving appetizers:
Salads
You can’t leave a delicious salad off your Thanksgiving menu. The good thing about salads is they can serve as a side, or an appetizer, or they can stand on their own as a delicious meal. Salads are a great way to add something healthy to your Thanksgiving menu alongside some of the delicious but not-so-healthy sides and desserts.
Here are some of the best salads to include with your Thanksgiving meal:
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Sides
It’s no surprise that many people believe the Thanksgiving sides are the best part of Thanksgiving dinner. From classic sides like stuffing and mashed potatoes to more unique picks like a Cranberry Jell-O salad, a good selection of sides can definitely compete with the turkey to see which is the real star of the show.
Here are some of our top recipes for tasty Thanksgiving sides to include on your menu:
- Green Bean and Pecan Salad
- Sweet Potato Fluff
- Cranberry Jell-O Salad
- Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Roast Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Turkey
While everyone looks forward to the delicious Thanksgiving sides and the pies for dessert, we all know the turkey is the main event. We’ve also all seen the typical sitcom episodes when Thanksgiving is ruined because the turkey gets burnt. To keep that from happening, it’s important to know exactly how many minutes per pound to perfectly cook your turkey.
To help you cook a perfectly juicy and delicious turkey for your guests, check out these Thanksgiving turkey recipes:
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Dessert
It doesn’t matter that your guests are so full they can barely take another bite — everyone is still going to want dessert on Thanksgiving. There are so many tasty dessert recipes to choose from, but no Thanksgiving dessert menu would be complete without something pumpkin-flavored and a pie or two.
Here are some of our favorite Thanksgiving dessert recipes to include on your menu:
Final Thoughts
Thanksgiving Day should be a day to spend time with those you love and enjoy a delicious meal together. However, for the person hosting Thanksgiving dinner, there can also be a lot of stress leading up to the big day.
Even though planning the whole Thanksgiving menu can seem overwhelming, having some options for recipes to choose from can make the planning process a lot simpler. We hope this ultimate Thanksgiving menu helps you to have a wonderful, stress-free Thanksgiving this year.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Vera Prokhorova/Shutterstock.com.