Thanksgiving is a little over two weeks away. What can you do right now that will make the day itself less stressful? My first suggestion would be to use the ChoreVoyant Thanksgiving Planner as a way to get your ideas organized in one spot! Our planner also features a timeline, and that is where I would like to focus at this time.

‍

Let's build our timeline around three topics for Thanksgiving--menu, accommodations, and activities.

‍

‍Two Weeks Away

‍

Menu: This is the time to finalize your menu. Consider any special dietary requirements your guests might need, and research those recipes. In general, it is a good idea to thoroughly read the recipes you are considering for your menu at this point--so you can:

• Figure out what you need to buy.
• Check expiration dates on those ingredients that you may have in your pantry, but don't get used all that frequently.
• Determine how long a recipe will take to prepare. Can it be made ahead of time?
• See if the recipe is too complex for the time available to you for making it.

‍If you need to place an order for a specialty item--like a pie, a fresh, ethically-sourced turkey, or an entire menu from a caterer--definitely do that now.

When creating your menu, don't forget to consider beverages and how they will pair with your food.

One other caveat: while we think of Thanksgiving as this special feast, it is important to be realistic about how much people will eat. You know your crowd and your event; if people are coming early and staying late, then it might be a good idea to make those appetizers and have those "noshes" or "pick-y" items on hand. If you have overnight guests, you are now planning for multiple meals, like breakfast--either on Thanksgiving morning or on Black Friday. However, if folks are coming for just a few hours, dinner and dessert may be all you need. Sometimes it is easy to get carried away with our own vision for the holiday--I call it my food fantasy--and end up wasting money and effort on dishes ultimately no one ends up eating.

‍

Accommodations: Accommodations can mean anything from setting up a guest room to clearing out your coat closet so that you can hang up your guests' jackets. Let's not forget about getting the rooms that your guests will be in (dining room, living room, bathroom) all neat and tidy. At this point you can:

• Figure out what you'll need to make any overnight guests comfortable. Do you need to clear out a chest of drawers? Buy a portable clothing rack? Buy new bed linens or towels? If you need to make purchases, now is the time.
• Determine where you will put any clothing that you have to move for your guests. You've emptied the coat closet--where will those coats go? Can you put them in a different closet, or a room that doesn't get much use? Do you need a plastic storage box for the items that came out of the chest of drawers? Buy that storage now, so it isn't even a thought when you are cooking or picking up guests from the airport.
• Set up your cleaning schedule. If you are doing this on your own, you may not have the energy to clean multiple rooms on one day. Leave time to clean a room or two each day prior to your guests' arrival. Figure out how far in advance you can clean a particular room and maintain that cleanliness/lack of clutter until Thanksgiving Day. If you hire a cleaning service, make sure you are actually on their schedule prior to Thanksgiving Day.
• Map out the amount of time needed to set up the guest room. How long will it take you to put on those fresh linens. Do you need to inflate an air mattress? Calculate all that time. Think, too, about any niceties you'd like to add. Fresh flowers? Bottles of water? A set of personal care items--toothbrush, razor, dental floss, tweezers, nail clippers--that they might have forgotten to bring with them? Put any purchases of these on your shopping list, so you don't forget to pick them up!

‍

Activities: Do you want you and your guests to do something special on Thanksgiving? Maybe the night before or the day after? This is the time to plan, and to make any reservations you might need. The northern New Jersey area has so many things to choose from--from theme parks at American Dream Mall to a trip into NYC for any number of things (ice skating, Broadway shows, Holiday Market at Bryant Park).

‍

Even if you aren't considering anything over-the-top, you might want to think of at least one thing you can do together with your guests to make the day memorable. Here are a few ideas:

• Use a "chat pack" or conversation starter questions. This is especially good for multi-generational gatherings.
• Utilize one of the karaoke playlists on Spotify.
• Charades
• Do a simple craft so that guests can take home a momento of the day. Check your craft supplies to make sure you have everything you need; if you don't, create that shopping list and get them now!
• Get moving. Go for a walk; attempt a TikTok dance.

‍

Bonus tip: Schedule any hair, skin, or nail appointments that you'd like to have done before the holiday at this time.

One Week Away‍

Menu: Start buying the non-perishable items. If you wait to do this, you may run the risk of your favorite store not having a particular ingredient. Think of that phrase from the ads--"while supplies last." Don't miss out on having something you really want on your table. Now is also the time to confirm pick up/delivery times for specialty items.

‍

Make alcohol or any other beverage purchases at this time.

‍

This is the time, too, to decide how far in advance you will begin to prepare your make-ahead dishes. When deciding, consider the other obligations you have in the days leading up to Thanksgiving--career obligations, preparing your home for guests, running errands, picking up family from the airport, and so on. Whether you create this at this point or not, it may be well worth your time to map out an hour-by-hour schedule--either on paper or digitally--for those days right before Thanksgiving. The hour-by-hour 'roadmap' will prevent you from losing track of what needs to be done, and will give you a 'benchmark' for staying on track. Even if you don't meet the 'benchmark,' it provides you the opportunity to course-correct and to decide what you can eliminate or delegate.

‍

Accommodations: This is the time to start laundering any linens you may need for your guest room. Get any portable clothing racks assembled at this time, too. If you are cleaning your house without any outside help, it is over the course of this week that you can begin cleaning those one or two rooms each day, or maintaining the tidiness of them once they've been cleaned.

‍

Activities: If you are planning on having your guests participate in any craft-making, prepare your "makerspace," double-check your supplies. Make sure you have enough of what you need to accommodate for "do-overs" if someone is unhappy with their first attempt. If you have made reservations for any particular activity, this is the time to confirm reservations and keep track of any e-tickets. If any activities require transportation to and from the event, make sure you have it arranged at this time--sooner, rather than later.

‍

Four Days Before

Menu: Pick up any ingredients/food items you still don't have. You may still want to wait a day or two on produce--to make sure it is as fresh as possible. Do a final read-through of the recipes, to get a feel for the order in which you will need to make things--whether you are doing cooking ahead of time or not. Select the order based on what makes sense to you--in terms of how much time they will take to actually cook, how much you need to stir or watch over them, how well they will hold up (dry out, get soggy, etc.).

‍

Start making room in the refrigerator for those make-ahead dishes and for your turkey!

‍

Accommodations: Break out the fine china and the silverware and see how much washing and polishing needs to be done in advance of Thanksgiving. Do the same for serving platters and serving bowls. Get started with the polishing and washing now, and store them so that they won't get dusty again. Placing a dish towel over serving platters, or between plates may help.

‍

If you haven't cleaned the guest room yet, now's the time for that, too. Getting everything but the "finishing touches" in order will give you one less thing to think about later in the week. The cleaning plan you worked out roughly a week before Thanksgiving should be in its implementation phase at this time. Even you are just beginning it, you most likely will be fine. The goal will be to keep everything as tidy as you can between now and Thanksgiving.

‍

This would also be the time to confirm flight or train information with the family or friend that is traveling to you. Many airlines have an app in which you can check flight status; if you don't have the app for your for your guests' carrier, download it now--so you are ready for the day they arrive.

‍

Activities: Make sure you have everything you need for whatever it is you have planned. Confirm any transportation details as needed.

‍

Three Days Before

‍

Menu

• Begin work on any make-ahead appetizers, sides, or desserts
• Depending upon the size of your turkey, begin the thawing process

‍

Accommodations

• Continue with cleaning
• If you have not already washed the platters, dishes, etc.--do so at this time

‍

Two Days Before

Menu

• Buy produce
• Begin chopping and prepping of produce
• Continue with any make-ahead dishes
• If there are any specialty items that need a final confirmation of pick-up (for example, baked goods) do so at this time.
• Monitor turkey thaw; start if you have not already; possibly begin brining proces

‍

Accommodations

• Complete any cleaning
• Put finishing touches in guest room--scent diffuser, fresh flowers, etc.
• Do a final check of closets, drawers, etc.

‍

One Day Before

Menu

• Continue with chopping and produce prep
• If not started previously, begin brining your turkey
• Continue with any baking or make-ahead dishes
• Pick-up any specialty items
• Do any last minute food or beverage purchases
• Buy ice

‍

Accommodations

• Pick up guests, if arriving on this day
• Iron your tablecloth and any cloth napkins
• Do maintenance cleaning/tidying of areas in which guests will be spending time

‍

Activities

• If planning a craft on Thanksgiving Day itself, set up your craft area with supplies
• Depending upon your work schedule and your "battle plan," you may want to leave time to start enjoying your guests and your holiday

‍

Thanksgiving Day

Menu

• Cook dishes that need to be made fresh
• Set up your appetizer and beverage stations

‍

Accommodations

• If your guests have not yet arrived, do a final tidying
• Set the table

‍

Activities

• Do any final set-up, if required

‍

Enjoy your day!