A Thanksgiving Checklist to Help You Prepare for the Big Day

There is a lot to consider and a lot to accomplish if you’re going to be ready for the Thanksgiving season. That’s why we’ve created a thanksgiving checklist to help you prepare for the big day. If you are planning to host Friendsgiving or Thanksgiving meals, this checklist is sure to set your mind at ease and save your sanity, too!

Prepare Your Mindset

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year. I love literally everything about it. It isn’t just one amazing day, though. It’s the feeling of thanksgiving. There is a warm crispness to the season, daylight glimmers orange and yellow, and there is an attitude of gratitude on people’s hearts. The house is warm during the day, and cool enough for a fire in the evening. Outdoor activities migrate inside and we find ourselves snuggled up with a movie, a book, or playing board games.

The first thing on your thanksgiving checklist is to prepare your mindset. Thanksgiving brings a lot of beautiful things; family time, school activities, fantastic food, travel, upcoming holidays. There is so much we try to cram into already busy schedules that if we don’t prepare our mindset first, we can easily become overwhelmed.

One very sure way to keep overwhelm at bay is to practice gratitude. Gratitude is absolutely top of the thanksgiving checklist when it comes to preparing your mindset. I’ve created a free printable gratitude journal you can download and use for the season (or for all year). It will help you focus on gratefulness and get in the right headspace.

Three Weeks Ahead

As I’m typing this post, we are approximately five weeks from Thanksgiving, and I can’t wrap my head around it. It seems like yesterday I was sitting by the pool drinking lavender lemonade. However, here we are, nonetheless. For us, this is the last year we will host thanksgiving in our house. It is the house we’ve lived in for the last 18 years. It is the house our children have grown up in. They are young adults embarking on their own lives, and we are beginning our next adventure. So this year’s thanksgiving will be very special to us.

What’s on the thanksgiving checklist for three weeks out? Let’s take a look.

1. Choose your recipes | You may be preparing one dish, or multiple dishes. Now is the time to prepare your list of recipes you intend to make, and create a shopping list. Placing ‘butter’ on the list isn’t enough information, though. You need to know how much you’ll need for the pies, turkey, mashed potatoes, casseroles, and gravy. Now is the time to really hone in your thinking and get your lists prepared.
2. Plan to prep ahead | If any of your dishes, or portions of your dishes can be prepared in advance, do it. You’d be surprised how many thanksgiving dishes can be made in advance and frozen. Even if you’re not preparing whole dishes, things like chopping onions and celery can be done now in bulk. You can store these chopped veggies in water in the freezer, take them out to sauté them on the big day. You won’t notice a thing.
3. Coordinate with guests | If you’re hosting the dinner, odds are folks will offer to bring something. Let them! I like to keep a meal plan handy, prepare a few of the dishes myself, and leave the rest available for others to contribute. Be ready to give some encouragement too. If someone has a specialty, let them show it off! If someone is a new cook, let them bring something simple like a store-bought pie. Remember the reason for the celebration. It’s not about the food, it’s about the people we share it with.

Two Weeks Ahead

Okay, you’ve started a gratitude journal, you’re in the right headspace, you’ve created your shopping list, and now it’s time to really knuckle down. Next on the thanksgiving checklist is a few ‘one-step-ahead’ items that will honestly make your life so much easier this season. Are you ready? Good! Let’s go.

1. Buy your turkey | If you watch the sales, you can find some really great deals on turkey per pound. I believe two years ago I purchased a 24 lb turkey for .89 per pound. I’m still shocked. But you have to watch those sales. Make sure you have freezer space to store it until it’s time to start defrosting.
2. Assess your serve and dinnerware | You may opt for disposable goods if you’re hosting a large gathering, but if you’re like us, you may want to pull out seasonal china and dinnerware. Now is the time to take stock of serving dishes, plates, glasses, coffee cups, flatware, and napkins. You don’t have to purchase anything new, you can borrow from friends or family if you need to. Just take your meal planning list you created, and make a note beside each dish the serving pieces you’ll need.
3. Plan table decor | This one is for fun. You certainly don’t have to create a Pinterest worthy table scape, but having a few lit candles, some festive placemats and napkins, and maybe some fresh or dried florals will be enough. Remember to keep it fairly simple so there’s room for the actual dinnerware.

One Week Ahead

We’re approaching the big day and no doubt the pressure is starting to rise. But, don’t sweat the small stuff, friend! You’ve done the prep work, and now it’s time to put your plan into action! You’ve got this. Next on the thanksgiving checklist are those final pre-game items that will take the stress out of your big day. You’ll be feeling calm and collected as you sail right into the holiday!

1. The Weekend Before | Take your shopping list you created two weeks ago, and do one final check. Place your grocery order for pick up or delivery. If you really like to do your own shopping, I recommend early on a Saturday morning before the mad rush hits the stores and supplies are depleted.
2. Thaw the turkey | Turkeys need a lot of refrigerator time to thaw out properly. Be sure to read the recommended thawing time and procedure for your particular bird. I like to place a clean dish towel under my turkey in the refrigerator in the event of any leaks. This has saved me countless hours of clean up and I can’t recommend it enough.
3. Prepare back ups | Yes, you’ve asked guest to bring a few things, but having a back up plan is always a good idea. I like to keep a frozen pie or two on hand in case someone has to drop out, forgets, or their recipe fails. I also keep a box of tea bags and lemonade mix in the pantry in case someone forgets to bring drinks. Even a couple simple cans of seasoned green beans can fill in holes in the event a friend forgets their veggies.
4. Prepare your house | Now is not the time to do a deep dive into fall cleaning. You’re looking to hit the high spots, sweep the floors, clean the bathrooms, and dust the cobwebs. Your friends and family aren’t going to be inspecting the ceiling fans for dust bunnies, and if they are, hand them a dust cloth and tell them to have at it! Take all the help you can get.

One Day Ahead

It’s getting exciting now! Today is the day when all the preparations you’ve made will really pay off. This is when the thanksgiving checklist really starts to shine. Let’s get to it. You’ve got a lot to accomplish today!

1. Check your grocery list for last minute items | Hopefully by now you have everything you need. However, if you do happen to run short of something, enlist the help of a loved one to pick the items up for you.
2. Prep your veggies and herbs | Today is the day for chopping and mincing. Chop all the veggies you can, store them in water in the refrigerator so they’re ready to use tomorrow. You can also peel and store your potatoes in salted water overnight so they’re ready for you in the morning.
3. Prep your turkey | The night before, I like to pull out my turkey, rinse him out, pat him dry, and give him a good butter massage. Then, I load him up with aromatics like onions, celery, lemon slices, and herbs. I apply the dry rub, cover him tightly in plastic wrap and set him back in the fridge. He’s prepped and ready to go when you are.
4. Set the table / buffet | As soon as you are certain you’re done with your dining space for the day, go ahead and set the table and buffet. Anything you can do before hand will be helpful. Put down the tablecloth, set the placemats, stock the dessert bar with plates and cutlery.

Thanksgiving Day

You’ve made it! All your hard work and preparation has paid off and now, you can enjoy your company. Last on the thanksgiving checklist are those things you simply have to do the day of. Let’s don that apron and get to it.

1. Roast the turkey | I like to let my turkey come to room temperature at least 30 – 45 minutes before I load him into the oven. Roast your turkey according to the package directions or your grandmother’s family recipe. Either way, keep an eye on him while he’s in there and make sure to check internal temps with a meat thermometer.
2. Make the sides| Now is the time to cook and mash the potatoes, prepare the cranberry sauce, and put together any appetizers.
3. Heat the pre-mades | As the turkey rests, bake the casseroles, and warm up the sides you may have made in advance. Your oven is still warm and your turkey will need a while to rest before carving. You’ve got this!
4. Make the gravy | As everything is slowly coming together, the turkey is resting, the sides are warming, the rolls are browning, now is the time to make the gravy.
5. Don’t forget dessert | As everyone sits down to enjoy their meal and company, pop the desserts that need warmed into the oven on low, and place chilled desserts on the buffet.

Enjoy Every Moment

You’ve been preparing for weeks now. You’ve prepared your mindset, you practiced gratitude, you shopped, baked, cleaned and prepared your home. Now is the time to sit and enjoy those you hold dear. Focus on meaningful conversations, play games, or take a walk. The point now is to be with those you love and to be thankful for all you’ve been given.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Remember, no matter where the road takes you, don’t forget to forward your mail!