I love Thanksgiving, I really do, but every year it seems like we spend so much time getting ready for it; all for everyone to eat in 30 minutes and then need a nap. Why is that? Why must we stress ourselves out about it all? This year, it’s not happening. This year, I’m choosing to enjoy my family. This year I’m choosing not to stress myself out. This year, I’m going to have it all together by doing these 3 things:
Cleaning. Get the whole family involved. That’s right, at my house, even my one year old knows how to put away her toys and help her big brother clean baseboards. Everyday, we tackle one project at a time. One day it’s washing windows and mirrors and the next might be bathrooms and floors. We check off a little bit each day and it helps break up the tasks so it doesn’t consume our day before (or become a mad rush of throwing things into closets on Thanksgiving right before our guests walk through the door). The last things we do are deep clean the kitchen, since that will be an area that gets a lot of traffic.
Decorating. You don’t have to have place cards at each place setting, elaborate floral designs, or paper turkeys lining the table (though they are fun). Pick a couple elements you’d like to have there, and leave it at that. It doesn’t have to be over the top – after all, this is one event that is all about the food. I personally love using leaves from my Magnolia tree and scattering them on the table and then using fruits and veggies to fill in the empty spots on the table between the platters and trays.
Cooking. Get someone else to do the cooking. I’m not even kidding. You can go ahead and make Grandma’s prize winning pumpkin pie that absolutely HAS to be present at every Thanksgiving meal, but the real way to relax this Thanksgiving is to have someone else do the sweating in the kitchen for you. All the photos you see are from a recent event I attended where Chef Alfreda from The Purple Orchid made a Thanksgiving spread for us. When I say it was good, I mean it was GOOD. The roasted turkey was flavorful, the mac and cheese was cooked to cheesy perfection (one of my pet peeves is macaroni and cheese that’s mushy and overcooked and hers was perfect), and praline sweet potatoes that I think I could eat every day of my life and be perfectly content. She also made gravy, dressing, green beans, and cranberry sauce. Everything was just perfect!
I hope that you have an amazing Thanksgiving with your friends and family and share lots of laughs, food, and memories with those you love.
If you’d like to see more tips like this, follow me on Pinterest!
