10 Helpful Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner

Thank you to Blue Apron for sponsoring today’s post featuring helpful tips for hosting Thanksgiving dinner.

Be the hostess with the mostess! Here are my best tips for hosting Thanksgiving dinner with your family and friends.

Thanksgiving Day is only three weeks away! Did that make you panic a little? Well no need to fret! Thanksgiving may be a little different this year. And whether you’re gathering with family and friends or trying to keep a more intimate meal, I have a ton of tips for hosting Thanksgiving that will help the big day go as smoothly as possible.

I’ve discovered with a little planning, some awesome deliveries and implementing a few key strategies, this fantastic holiday can really be a time of very little stress and a whole lot of thankfulness!

So here are my best tips for hosting Thanksgiving dinner!

1| Let Everyone Help

Assign your guests simple jobs or tasks so everyone feels important and needed. Someone could be in charge of the water. Maybe someone who loves to bartend could make the adult drinks. Someone else could be in charge of the meals blessing, pre-meal snacks, etc. Let others help you to keep your stress as minimal as possible and allow you to enjoy the big day as well. 🙂

2| Set The Table Three Days Before

The one thing you can do days ahead is set your table! Make Monday the deadline for having your table ready to go. That means by the first of the week, have all your linens cleaned and in place, your dishes all washed and ready, your centerpiece floral arrangement picked out, etc.

Another helpful idea for your table is to pull out all the serving dishes and utensils as well. Map them out on the table and then mark the dish and the placement on the table with a post-it note. Just one less thing to think about on the big day. Plus others can then help you serve up the table because they know exactly where the food goes!

3| Keep Breakfast Simple

Cooking a big holiday meal is no small task, so don’t make it hard on yourself by adding the task of cooking a full heavy breakfast the morning of Thanksgiving. We usually have our ‘dinner’ around 3-4pm. So what I suggest is buying some delicious muffins. Or if your family really wants something homemade – an overnight French Toast casserole works great too!

4| Put Out Snacks (Away from Kitchen)

When you are juggling ten tasks in the kitchen at once, the last thing you want is people wandering though looking for something to snack on. So I suggest setting up a snack area far away from the kitchen! Gathering areas like the living room or a family room are the perfect place to put some yummy snacks like nuts, chips or even a cheese board. Keep it simple though so everyone doesn’t overindulge before the big meal.

5| Outsource The Turkey Meal

If you’ve never hosted Thanksgiving or this year has you too stressed out – I suggest celebrating Thanksgiving your way and outsourcing the whole meal. For the very first time, Blue Apron is offering a full Thanksgiving Feast with chef partnered recipes!

You can choose from the ideal Thanksgiving meal which includes a Spiced Rubbed Turkey Breast with Sage Gravy, Cranberry Relish, Pimento Cheese Style Mashed Potatoes, Mushroom Braised Collard Greens, Ginger-Honey Carrots with Pistachios, Cheesy Cornbread, and Apple-Persimmon Crumble with Yogurt Topping (serves 6-8).

Or if turkey isn’t your thing, you can choose the Premium Thanksgiving Adjacent protein meal. This option includes Spiced Rubbed Pork with Sage Gravy, Pimento Cheese Style Mashed Potatoes & Cranberry Sauce, Mushroom Braised Collard Greens & Ginger-Honey Carrots with Pistachios, Peanut Glazed Apple & Persimmon Crumble with Maple Syrup & Quatre Spices (serves 6-8).

With delicious menus like these, I say let Blue Apron do all the planning, grocery shopping and deliver a stress-free holiday meal right to your front door! And all you have to do is cook it up. Then you just sit back with a little wine and enjoy your meal with family and friends. Click here to order your Thanksgiving Feast!

6| Don’t Forget The Wine

Speaking of wine, Blue Apron has you covered here too! They have a monthly wine subscription with exclusive wines from renowned winemakers. All the wines come straight from the vineyard right to you. And by cutting out the middleman, you’re able to get high-quality wines at affordable prices. Yeeessss!

So you simply select the wines you love. Pick all whites, all reds or a mix of your favorites. (And there’s no commitment, easily skip a month or cancel at any time.) Then a box of six bottles of wine is delivered to your front door. So easy right?!

One of my favorite features of Blue Apron’s wines is their size. They are 2/3 of a normal bottle which turns out to be the perfect amount of wine for two! Chris and I split a bottle with dinner and it’s the ideal amount. 🙂 Such a sensational idea for Thanksgiving. You will definitely be the hostess with the mostess – offering everyone’s favorite wine with never having to leave home!

7| When Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner Remember To Clean Out Your Fridge

Nothing is worse than starting to prepare a huge dinner and realizing that you have ZERO space in the fridge to accommodate anything! So the Sunday of Thanksgiving week is a great time to clean out the fridge and throw out any expired food. Then for the rest of the week, plan on eating out of your freezer or pantry. Or maybe even grab a couple of take out meals. If your fridge is already pretty empty – try hard to not have any leftovers. 🙂

Oh – and don’t let water and soda take up valuable space in the fridge. Instead pick up a couple of coolers to store those items. 🙂

8| Don’t Forget About Leftovers

Let’s talk about after the meal leftovers. Make sure you have enough containers for you to store your leftovers. And don’t forget about your family and friends! You’ll want to have a few extra containers for anyone who’d like some leftovers as well. I’ve found that disposable containers work well. Or even disposable baking pans covered with foil can be a great solution too! My in-laws often share leftovers with us so it’s nice to plan ahead.

9| Make All Your Desserts One Day Before

Bake all of your pies and cakes on Wednesday. By making them one day earlier you save yourself extra work on Thursday. And your oven will be free for all the food for the main meal.

If you’re looking for a delicious dessert, my Chai Pumpkin Bundt Cake is always a family favorite.

10| Assign Seating

Assigned seats are helpful for everyone, especially if you are using more than one table. No one has to politely guess or ask where they’re to sit. And everyone feels like their time in your home has been carefully anticipated with excitement and love.