Checklist: Hosting a Thanksgiving Meal

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Checklist: Hosting a Thanksgiving Meal
from ClubMom.com

People love to go home for Thanksgiving. When it's your turn to serve up a memorable meal for family and friends, use this checklist to plan.

Four to six weeks in advance:
* Basic party planning rules don't change for the holidays. Use ClubMom's Hosting a Dinner Party checklist to take you through the steps of hosting an affair.
Settle on a traditional menu.
* Look through Thanksgiving issues of your favorite cooking magazines for special holiday recipes to try and start a holiday recipe file to hold them.
Order a fresh turkey or buy a frozen bird.
* Estimate that you'll need 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. (uncooked) of turkey per person.

Two weeks in advance:
Plan activities that reflect the spirit of the season.
Plan games for kids and grownups to play.

One to five days in advance:
If you'll be cooking a frozen turkey, begin thawing it in the refrigerator.
If you'll be cooking a fresh turkey, pick it up from the butcher or store no more than two days ahead of the big meal.
Make Pilgrim and turkey-shaped cookies with the kids.
Make ice cubes. Or for an extra festive twist, drop fresh cranberries along with water into your ice cube tray.
Set the table, using linens in fall colors. Is your dinner table due for a new look? Shop for housewares through the ClubMom Online Mall and earn ClubMom points for every dollar spent.
Have the kids collect leaves outside. Press them, then scatter leaves on tabletops for decoration.
Mix and match candlesticks, fill with tapers, and place on the table and around the dining room.
* The Thanksgiving meal is typically served family style, with guests seated at one (or a few) dining tables.
Shine up family silver, dust off grandmother's china, etc. Such serving pieces are especially appropriate at holiday time, when they will have special meaning not just to you but also to everyone at the table.
Hollow out pumpkins and other gourds and use as serving containers or soup bowls.
Use baby pumpkins as place card holders.
For a centerpiece, place an assortment of squash, gourds, acorns, pinecones, tiny pumpkins, dried corn, and dried sheaves of wheat, barley, or other plant material in a basket or cornucopia. Tie with ivy.
Make a bouquet of fresh herbs and wild flowers. Tie together with ribbon and place on the serving table or fireplace mantle.
Purchase flowers and place them around your home. Earn up to 15 points per dollar when you buy flowers through the ClubMom Online Mall.

One day in advance:
Put logs in the fireplace so it's ready to light.
Set up photo albums, jigsaw puzzle, or other indoor activities and games.
Prepare and refrigerate the stuffing if it will be cooked separately from the turkey. Cooking the stuffing separately is the safest way to prepare turkey, since it helps ensure that the turkey gets completely done.

Thanksgiving Day:
Roast the turkey at about 325 degrees Fahrenheit in a shallow, open roasting pan, breast side up.
Cook stuffing in oven during last hour your turkey is roasting, if you're preparing it separately.
Garnish dishes with fresh herbs, flowers, and leaves.
Place bowls of nuts and dried fruit around room.
Light candles.
Light a fire in the fireplace.
* Happy Thanksgiving!