With Thanksgiving just three weeks away, I am in the middle of updating my Turkey to do list from last year. This year, I thought of a few extra things so I decided I would share them with you in case you have not made your list yet.
Here are my to do’s for the next three weeks:
This week
- Decide on a menu (I am trying a new twist on some favorite recipes and will share with you if I am happy with how they come out)
- Test new menu items
- Make my shopping lists (I actually make two one for perishables and one for non-perishables that I can start on now)
Week 2:
- Clean the house
- Clean out the refrigerator
- Make a Thanksgiving playlist
- Decide on Table decorations
- Borrow furniture/serverware if needed
Thanksgiving Week:
- Defrost turkey
- Pre-prepare food (wash salad items, prepare desserts)
- Set the table, including decorations
- Touch up house
- Pre-prepare some desserts
- chill the wine and beer
- make an hourly prep sheet for Thanksgiving (This really helps so I do not forget cooking times, etc.)
Thanksgiving:
- Cook all morning
- Eat most of the afternoon
- Play games and enjoy family
- Relax
On Thanksgiving we have a family bingo game complete with prizes. It is always fun and gets pretty competitive.
I also love to check out the Black Friday Ads, although this year it seems that they are already coming out. Also, on Thanksgiving I always take photos of everyone to document the year. Sometimes my family will groan a bit, but I do it anyways. The kids all grow so fast and it is nice to have some visual memories from the day.
Does your list look like this? What are your family’s traditions on Thanksgiving?
To see how I made these simple Turkey Cookies last year, click on the photo
For a fun Thanksgiving craft and tradition, click on the photo below:
Love the idea of bingo with prizes 🙂
We are SO behind and we’re hosting this year. It snuck up on me, and I am sad because our tradition is to be with both my parents and his parents, and this year we can’t all be together. I know it will still be special, though.
Great list for what to do to prepare! I have yet to make a decent tasting turkey, but this is going to be my year! So I just need to add learn how to cook a turkey to your Thanksgiving week section. Thank God for the internet :).
I am sure it will be great Candace. A while back I learned to bake my turkey breast side down for the first half and flip it halfway during the cooking process. It makes for a tender moist turkey.
Thanks for the tip! I will definitely try that this year!
Thanks for sharing on Family Fridays!!!!
Thank you Carli~
I need a kick in the pants to start my planning – so thank you for this post! It’s just the four of us and the four grandparents this year, so I’m not stressing about it too much. I do need to get my shopping list together though. Just saw your make ahead breakfast ideas too, which reminded me to plan that too. I love to make a french toast casserole the night before Thanksgiving so we can eat it while we watch the parade on Thursday morning.