How to Simplify Your Thanksgiving Gathering
Choose quicker alternatives to traditional Thanksgiving foods., Purchase pre-made Thanksgiving meals., Remove things from your traditional Thanksgiving day menu., Schedule Thanksgiving dinner later in the day., Move Thanksgiving to a more convenient...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Choose quicker alternatives to traditional Thanksgiving foods.
To simplify the work you'll have to do on Thanksgiving, consider buying alternatives to time-consuming homemade food.
Purchase instant mashed potatoes instead of making them from scratch, or use packaged stuffing to save time.If you still want to cook, go minimalistic and find recipes that have only a couple ingredients per dish or aren't overly complicated to construct.
Gingery Cranberry Relish only uses three ingredients and takes around five minutes to prepare.Instead of cooking a full turkey, you could cook chicken as a faster and easier alternative. -
Step 2: Purchase pre-made Thanksgiving meals.
Food chain stores like Whole Foods and Kroger provide freshly cooked Thanksgiving meals at their locations.Other stores like Food Lion have ready to heat up meals that you can make quickly during the holiday.
You can also purchase cooked meals from chains like Boston Market who often specialize in cooking traditional Thanksgiving fare.
Other options include buying pre-prepared meals from places like Williams-Sonoma and Omaha Steaks., Write or type out a list of things that you traditionally enjoy during Thanksgiving.
Divide them into perishable and non-perishable goods, then go through it and remove the things that you don't want.Make your decision based on the preferences of your guests and remove things that people usually don't eat, or that you've had extra of during previous years.
For instance, if no one likes canned cranberries, you can remove it from the dinner.
Talk to your guests and ask them about the dishes that they dislike. , Instead of having to wake up early to prepare your house for your guests, you could schedule your Thanksgiving at a later time.
This will allow you to sleep in and reduce the stress that you'd typically have during the holiday.
Push back dinner to a later time like 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. instead of having an early meal.
If you are changing the time of dinner, make sure you alert your guests well in advance. , Check with your guests and try to get a sense of their schedule.
If possible, consider moving Thanksgiving to the weekend.
This will give you more time to prepare and will reduce the amount of stress on you.
It can also allow you to concentrate on work or school instead of preparing for the holiday.
If you work a lot, being able to prepare on a day off is much better than having to prepare for Thanksgiving after you get home from work. , Instead of cooking at home or inviting a large group of guests, you could go out to eat instead.
If you want to stay somewhat traditional, aim for places that serve the typical Thanksgiving fare like turkey or mashed potatoes.
If tradition doesn't concern you, then consider easier alternatives like Chinese take-out, pizza, or sushi. -
Step 3: Remove things from your traditional Thanksgiving day menu.
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Step 4: Schedule Thanksgiving dinner later in the day.
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Step 5: Move Thanksgiving to a more convenient date.
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Step 6: Go out to eat or get take-out.
Detailed Guide
To simplify the work you'll have to do on Thanksgiving, consider buying alternatives to time-consuming homemade food.
Purchase instant mashed potatoes instead of making them from scratch, or use packaged stuffing to save time.If you still want to cook, go minimalistic and find recipes that have only a couple ingredients per dish or aren't overly complicated to construct.
Gingery Cranberry Relish only uses three ingredients and takes around five minutes to prepare.Instead of cooking a full turkey, you could cook chicken as a faster and easier alternative.
Food chain stores like Whole Foods and Kroger provide freshly cooked Thanksgiving meals at their locations.Other stores like Food Lion have ready to heat up meals that you can make quickly during the holiday.
You can also purchase cooked meals from chains like Boston Market who often specialize in cooking traditional Thanksgiving fare.
Other options include buying pre-prepared meals from places like Williams-Sonoma and Omaha Steaks., Write or type out a list of things that you traditionally enjoy during Thanksgiving.
Divide them into perishable and non-perishable goods, then go through it and remove the things that you don't want.Make your decision based on the preferences of your guests and remove things that people usually don't eat, or that you've had extra of during previous years.
For instance, if no one likes canned cranberries, you can remove it from the dinner.
Talk to your guests and ask them about the dishes that they dislike. , Instead of having to wake up early to prepare your house for your guests, you could schedule your Thanksgiving at a later time.
This will allow you to sleep in and reduce the stress that you'd typically have during the holiday.
Push back dinner to a later time like 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. instead of having an early meal.
If you are changing the time of dinner, make sure you alert your guests well in advance. , Check with your guests and try to get a sense of their schedule.
If possible, consider moving Thanksgiving to the weekend.
This will give you more time to prepare and will reduce the amount of stress on you.
It can also allow you to concentrate on work or school instead of preparing for the holiday.
If you work a lot, being able to prepare on a day off is much better than having to prepare for Thanksgiving after you get home from work. , Instead of cooking at home or inviting a large group of guests, you could go out to eat instead.
If you want to stay somewhat traditional, aim for places that serve the typical Thanksgiving fare like turkey or mashed potatoes.
If tradition doesn't concern you, then consider easier alternatives like Chinese take-out, pizza, or sushi.
About the Author
Kayla Miller
A passionate writer with expertise in organization topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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