How to Do Thanksgiving With Less Stress and More Fun For Mom

Do you usually sit and enjoy your family on Thanksgiving, or are you the blur around the table that seems to be everywhere at once?

Or do you find that by the time you get to sit down, everyone is gone?

Thanksgiving dinner is lots of fun, but it is a lot of work, like almost anything we treasure.

We want to spend time with family but we are slaving away in the kitchen to feed them all instead. By the time we are through, it is time to eat and clean up.

Does that sound fun to you?

Here are a few tips to make that day more fun and less stressful.

• 1.      Clean your home before Thanksgiving Day. We all want the place to look great for our guests but the same day as the meal is not the best time to do it. If everyone chips in and takes a different section of the house, it’ll get straightened out in no time.

• 2.      Create the menu in advance. This includes what you will cook, bake, and roast for the special day. An advanced menu makes shopping easier. A comprehensive list ensures that no rock is left unturned or item forgotten at the store.

• 3.      Delegate duties. There is no written rule that says mom has to cook it all. The kitchen is everyone’s place on Thanksgiving Day. Even the kids can do their share by peeling potatoes or slicing up fruit and vegetables for a salad. For younger ones, stirring and adding ingredients prior to cooking is a fun task they are sure to delight in. Just be careful that they aren’t tossing in army men or dolly shoes while you’re basting the turkey.

• 4.      Set the table. We always leave that until last but there really is no reason to. If dinner will be buffet style, arrange the buffet servers, utensils, sterno jars, and the dinnerware a day or two ahead of time.

• 5.      Make a list and check it twice. Don’t end up with more turkey than you need. Write the names of everyone who is coming so that there is enough turkey for a full serving for each person. This cuts down on leftovers which seem to take over the refrigerator for at least a week.

• 6.      Use disposable pans. When roasting the turkey, ham, chicken, and/or other meats, do so in disposable roasting pans. The last thing anyone wants to do is wash dishes after eating a big meal. These pans come in various sizes including ones perfect for side dishes and even breads. When it’s all over, throw them in the trash can instead of spending the evening washing every pot, pan and casserole dish in the house.

• 7.      Buy containers for leftovers. No one ever has enough to store food in so they use the pans that they cooked in. This is a bad idea. Choose smaller rather than larger containers so there is no space inside the container that is not occupied by food. The cheaper ones are disposable as well so once the food is gone, get rid of the container without worrying about anything being wasted.

CLOSING WORDS FROM MY MOTHER IN LAW – THE RESIDENT EXPERT ON PLANNING HOLIDAY MEALS

Once closing word of wisdom on how to keep the stress level down from my mother in law, who has got quite a few successful turkey dinners under her belt (and ours!) and always seems full and present and even like she's having fun…

Plan it out.

Start early.

Delegate, Delegate, Delegate!

(I never seem to notice her doing much delegating family meal chores, but she probably knows that I have lots of kid power around here if I use it for good, rather than evil, bwah ha ha ha ha)