Today I packed away everything Halloween and set out the “Give Thanks” decor. 

 I’m still not sure if I’m going to be hosting Thanksgiving Dinner at my house BUT it hasn’t stopped me from thinking about how to organize the “most important dinner of the year” for our family.  

Starting 2 to 3 weeks before the big dinner there are several decisions you’ll need to make in regards to the details of the day. Here’s a few you might want to consider. 

What type of gathering you will be having?  

  Formal or Informal? Small or Large? Your house or somewhere else? With Family or Friends? Part of the success of any party are the details of where, when, how and who.

 Will you finally be inviting your “Aunt Betty” ? 

Have you considered inviting your daughter’s latest boyfriend (and his twin brother) to meet the family?  

 

Don’t care for turkey? You could join your “vegan” friends and try serving (and eating) a ”faux” turkey.

 Or be really different and only serve  Ham! 

Ham+bananna+cheese=a new way to serve ham at your Thanksgiving dinner. (Recipe courtesy of Paula Dean-so it’s got to be good enough for your Thanksgiving feast.) 

Can’t decide which kind of pie to make? Then combine them all to save time and still make  everyone happy. 

Start new traditions!

 The whole point of a Holiday is family and friends and spending “quality” time together.  Spend your time on the experience rather than making sure that everything is perfect. Also, remember to be thankful for what you have and not for what you don’t.

Then again, it might be fun tradition to play the “Debbie Downer” game to promote depressing conversation among family members.  They’ll never forget it.

Or how about asking your guests to come in their favorite Thanksgiving costume for dinner? This year I’m going to strongly encourage my family to dress up. (Or at the very least wear shirts to the dinner table.)

I could see my hubby as a Turkey Pilgrim. Especially if it means he can carry a gun around the entire day.

My Son-In-Laws could all come dressed as a Referee Turkey. Can you imagine watching football with a room full of grown men with these on their heads?

And my grand-dogs would look great dressed like Pilgrims and Indians.

And next year, the new grandbabies could come dressed like this:

A fully dressed (and stuffed) turkey.

And my daughters-who will be doing the entire meal preparation and clean-up, as well as watching the children while their husbands are watching football…should consider dressing up like this:

“Pilgrim” Sister Wives

I can’t wait to get started on planning Thanksgiving-even if it’s not at my own house. After all it’s one of my favorite food holidays. 

Happy Gobble Day

Debs

P.S.

Next time I will be a little more serious and share with you a great Thanksgiving Dinner checklist that will help you to organize your dinner preparations and reduce your stress.