It’s time to take a deep breath, we’re here now, and it’s thanksgiving “game time”! ☺️ At this point, hopefully, all we have left to do is a clean sweep of the house, prepare the meal, and enjoy the holiday stress-free with our friends and family. If you feel there’s still so much to do, go back and read the blogs that got us to this point. There’s still time to decide the things that matter most now.
From here on out, this Thanksgiving planning checklist is broken down day by day for your convenience. Let's get started!
Saturday / Sunday
- Start thawing turkey. Keep in mind that thawing a turkey takes about five hours per pound. Therefore, a 15-pound turkey should be defrosted entirely by Wednesday evening. Note: it's safe to leave your thawed turkey in the refrigerator for a couple of days if you want to start thawing earlier.
- Set the table, or maybe it's already set. I've found that doing this up to a week before is fun and leaves more room to be creative
- Take a quick inventory of your storage containers for leftovers. Think about what you will need. You may need to add a few items to your final shopping list.
- Purchase non perishable ingredients. I also love to have this completed already a week or two earlier.
Monday Thanksgiving
- Start a quick clean sweep of the house - this is not a time to clean out junk drawers or closets. It's a once-over of the most frequently used rooms. I found a great idea to follow to help me stay focused on the task at hand. I follow the 10/10/10 rule. This is where you decide to spend 10 minutes tidying up, 10 minutes dusting, and 10 minutes vacuuming in each room. If it's going to take more time than that, it's not essential this week.
- Pick up/have perishable items delivered.
Tuesday
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Begin meal prepping for specific items such as:
Prep dressing by preparing cornbread and chopping veggies. Cranberry sauce or salad prepared early does well. - Chill cold beverages.
- Finalize clean sweep of the house.
Wednesday
The goal for today? Minimizing the work that needs to be done tomorrow! It’s a full, calm, and enjoyable day of prepping. This may be my favorite day. ☺️
Often, my girls come over to help, and we are just in the kitchen much of the day visiting while Christmas movies play in the background. Anything that can be assembled or prepared for final cooking/baking the next day is done on Wednesday.
- Pies and cakes work great to bake the day before.
- Peeling potatoes the day before is always a game-changer. I peel them, place them in a pot of water, and keep them in the refrigerator until I am ready to boil them the next day.
- Chopping vegetables for salads to be stored in separate containers and mixed the next day.
- Dressings and sauces are prepared ahead for quick access or rewarming.
- I find that mixing my dressing(stuffing) and placing it in a baking dish saves so much time the next day. Then I just put it in the oven when I am ready to bake it. (I don't stuff my turkey. I know you may love doing this, and it's a 'must' for you, but for me, it saves cooking and carving time when it's time to serve the turkey.
- Prep evening charcuterie to welcome out-of-town guests.
- Prep turkey for baking/roasting/smoking.
- Wipe down your table settings that you already placed on the table, especially if you've had them set out for a week or so.
Thanksgiving Day
It’s time for the turkey! It’s nice to be able to devote attention to the turkey because nearly everything else is prepared. Doing all the planning and prep possible before this day allows you to be present and enjoy the day and your friends and family.
- Suppose you have guests already arriving and visiting. In that case, don't hesitate to give them simple tasks like placing ice in the glasses and slicing lemons for water or ensuring pitchers and condiments are on the table. Giving them something to do will put everyone at ease and give them a feeling of being a part of the day.
- Pull it all together one step at a time. This is where I use the cooking timeline I've been preparing for years. Each year, I utilize my Thanksgiving Google sheet to make notes for the best times to cook, bake, assemble, starting with planning the best time to place each menu item on the buffet table and working backwards.
Psst… I can send you this Google Template to start your own if you’d like!
- Carve that turkey!
- Place everything in its designated spot on the buffet.
- Gather together for prayer, and now it's time to have your guests help themselves!
- Relax and enjoy the feast.
Friday
- Eat leftovers.
- Prepare gifts for neighbors, acquaintances, service people.
- Decorate exterior for Christmas. I usually leave a bit of fall decor mixed in with my Christmas decor such as mums and pumpkins on the front porch until after Thanksgiving. Then I switch it out to full on Christmas!
- Drop Christmas cards in the mail!
Saturday
- Stranger Giving - We use this day to focus on complete strangers. We are purposeful to share our love and blessings with one another as a family, so it's important to share this with those who don't have that opportunity. I plan to highlight what this is all about for our family and how we go about making it happen. It may be something you would enjoy adding to your family traditions. Be sure to subscribe below so it will come to your inbox when it's launched.
Let me know if this Thanksgiving planning checklist was helpful! Bookmark it to refer back over the next week and in the days leading up to Thanksgiving next year! Be sure to share it with friends & family who would love a bit of extra Thanksgiving help this year!
