It won’t be long now! While the countdown certainly isn’t exhaustive (although it may be exhausting), I hope these tips are helpful.
Feeding your Family before Thanksgiving
Today is a good day to do a little cooking so you’ll have plenty of everyday food for your family without having to spend a lot of time preparing regular meals while trying to get ready for Thanksgiving. Put on a pot of spaghetti sauce, and all you’ll have to do is boil noodles come Monday or Tuesday. You can always make a nice soup and stock up on sandwich making materials to go with it, or put together casseroles so they’re ready to pop into the oven as needed.
Entertainment
Pick out some soothing music to play during your holiday dinner. Locate the CD’s you want now, and set them aside. Go through your DVD collection and select those with holiday themes or some favorite family movies to entertain guests, especially children. You don’t want to be searching for Wizard of Oz on Thanksgiving day, when you will have plenty of other things you could be doing.
Thaw the Turkey
It takes nearly a full day to thaw every 5 pounds of turkey, so if your bird is 20 pounds or more you definitely want to take it out of the freezer and pop it in the fridge today. Even if it’s a bit smaller, it won’t hurt to start thawing now to make sure it’s completely thawed when you’re ready to cook it. Place turkey in a roasting pan layered with paper towels to catch any moisture (you can wash the pan –thoroughly- and reuse it). It is never a good idea to thaw a turkey at room temperature since doing so is flirting with salmonella. If serving fresh turkey, pick it up as soon as possible.
Seating
Double check to make sure you have enough chairs. If not, start making calls today to see if anyone can bring a couple of extra folding chairs or try this Quick Trick for Extra Seating.
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