"thanksgiving prep" news and stories

Each Tuesday until Turkey Day, we're bringing you preparation tips to ensure your Thanksgiving is as smooth as your gravy (should be). If you've been following our advice, everything should be under control. But with just two days to go, here's a final check list before the big day.

Each Tuesday until Turkey Day, we're bringing you preparation tips to ensure your Thanksgiving is as smooth as your gravy (should be). And guess what? There are only two Tuesdays to go! If you've been following our advice, there's no need to freak out, but even if you haven't, there's still no need to freak out -- just, uh, expedite.

By this point, you should have gotten a head count, ordered your turkey, and planned your menu. You also should have asked your guests to bring something, purchased some non-perishables (or not not-too-perishables) and figured out how you're going to seat everyone at your tiny table. If you've already done all of those things, great! If not, there's still time, you might just need to rush. But first and foremost, order that bird!

So, with the majority of your shopping done and your house filled with mismatched chairs and borrowed stock pots, what is left to do?

Until Thanksgiving day, we're bringing you preparation tips to ensure your Thanksgiving is as smooth as your gravy (should be).

By this point, you should have a head count and have already placed an order for an appropriately sized turkey. You may have made an outline of your menu. Now it's time for the heavy lifting.

1. Finalize your menu.
You should have a rough idea of what you're going to serve for the holiday meal. Now it's time to decide how many pounds of Brussels sprouts you'll need and how you're going to prepare them. Are you going to brine your turkey? What kind of rolls are you serving? Salted or unsalted butter? Are you making pies or asking someone else to bring them? Now is the time to make all of those decisions, and then make a shopping list based on the recipes for each dish.

Think it's too early to start planning Thanksgiving dinner? Think again! Nov. 26 may seem like a long way off, but for the holiday host, it's right around the corner. That's why each Tuesday until Turkey Day, we'll bring you preparation tips to ensure your Thanksgiving is as smooth as your gravy (should be).

1. Get a head count.
Now's the time to start inviting people to Thanksgiving dinner. If you're thinking about it, chances are good your friends and family are, too. So if your cousin is bringing her new boyfriend, and both sets of grandparents are coming to town, as well as your parents and siblings, you're going to need to figure out how to seat everyone at your small table with three mismatched chairs.

Getting a head count this early ensures you'll have enough time to borrow tables, chairs and whatever other furniture items you need to so that everyone can eat comfortably, and then have a place to lounge when the tryptophan-wine combo sets in. And don't forget to find out who's a vegetarian, who's allergic to nuts, and any other dietary restrictions you'll be dealing with. The last thing you want to hear as you put your orange-scented green beans with toasted almonds on the table is that your cousin's new boyfriend has a severe nut allergy.