Thanksgiving is a time when family and friends come together to enjoy a delicious meal and spend time with one another, but with the rush to prepare and cook an entire meal, enjoying yourself can become difficult.  Getting started early on preparations can be the key to a stress free Turkey Day.  If you are organized and plan ahead, your Thanksgiving will run smoothly and be a little more enjoyable.

To help you, we’ve prepared a 5 day plan for the week of Thanksgiving.  This will allow you to disperse the chores over several days instead of dealing with the pressure of last minute preparations:

Saturday prior to Thanksgiving:
It’s time to get organized by writing your lists!  A grocery list, an attendance list, and a list of decorations are all vital to preparing efficiently, from knowing the type and amounts of foods to your budget for decorations.

Sunday prior to Thanksgiving:
Now it’s time to put your lists into action by getting all your shopping done.  You will have a few advantages finishing all your shopping several days before.  First, you run less risk of an ingredient being out of stock; secondly, you will have first pick of turkeys, decorations, or anything else that may require some decision making.

Monday prior to Thanksgiving:
Today it’s time to start cooking.  Bake any specific breads or cookies, so they can easily be put in the oven and warmed or crisped.  Plus, waiting on items to bake can be a great time to put up decorations in your dining room or foyer.

Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving:
This is a great day to start cooking side dishes.  Make any casseroles or salads that can be refrigerated without spoiling or sacrificing flavor.  If the dish cannot be cooked several days in advance, at least prepare the dish so it’s as simple as placing the dish in the oven on the morning of.

Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving:
With only one day until Thanksgiving, today will be the bulk of your cooking.  First, you’ll want to gather any pie ingredients, assemble, and bake the pies.  While waiting on the baking we’ll focus on the last major hurdle before Thanksgiving dinner – your turkey!  Today you’ll want to prepare your bird by trimming and marinating it.  The turkey should be in refrigerator at the end of the day, ready to simply insert into the oven the next morning.

Happy Turkey Day!  It’s time to reap the benefits of all your upfront work.  While others are scrambling for last minute preparations and trying to put out fires (literally and figuratively speaking!), your only job will be to turn on the oven and place a few main dishes in!  Pull out the sides and desserts that you’ve already prepared and make any last minute side dishes or condiments.  Now simply enjoy the time with your family and revel in the fact that you’ve pulled off Thanksgiving dinner – stress-free!