Saturday Share: Plan Your Thanksgiving Feast

Yep, you just learned your new in-laws are coming to Thanksgiving at your house!

Or maybe it's your uber critical mom or your boss or your hubby's boss—or both!

Don't panic.

There's a way to deal with the high-stress situation of providing a Thanksgiving feast that will amaze and delight everyone.

It's called Planning, and here's a step-by-step guide that you'll realize is just common sense and not something on the scale of the WWII D-Day invasion.

How to Plan a Great Thanksgiving Dinner

Sharing a Recipe for Success for Thanksgiving Dinner

1. Make an Event Planner on which you'll write down everything that must be done, step by step. This will be detailed in the steps that follow. Every day you will review your Event Planner.

2. Decide whether you're going to cook or order a ready-to-eat dinner from a restaurant or excellent supermarket. Or if you'll do a combination of both.

Who says a Thanksgiving Feast must be home-cooked? Not I. What's important is enjoying the day, and that means the food and the guests. So discuss it with your spouse/sig other and figure out what works for you.

If it's ordering everything or some things, then follow the next step.

3. Decide on the menu from appetizer to dessert to beverages. Write it out. Beside each item you list, make a note of how far in advance you can prepare and store the dish.

4. (a) If you're ordering some or all, place your order immediately. On your Event Planner, notate the day and time you must pick up the dishes and/or meal.

4. (b) If you're cooking some of dishes, add your Prep/Cook Schedule to the Event Planner so you know when you'll be prepping foods, cooking, and serving.

Decide on who will fill the water, tea, or wine glasses.

Refresh your memory of the recipe and start a Shopping List as you read.

If you're trying something new, make sure you know how to do the required procedures.

Make sure you write down the prep time and the cooking time for every dish so you can coordinate all dishes to be ready to serve at the same time.

If you're doing a turkey, know when you'll put it in a brine solution and what you must have for that. Plan for where you'll place it in the refrigerator or in an ice chest that's replenished regularly with ice.

5. Get your grocery shopping done as soon as possible, keeping in mind that you must have refrigerator shelf space available for storing produce and cold goods.

6. When will you clean the house and make the guest rooms ready? Add that to your Event Planner.

7. How will you serve your guests? Buffet? From dishes on the table? Set it up now, even to setting the dining table. Use place cards to avoid the, "where do I sit" conundrum. Cover everything with a king-size sheet to keep the dishes dust free.

8. Who will help you with your Event? Spouse? Children? Guests? Plan this in advance with specific tasks for each.

Always have something the guests can do because most people, especially women, will ask, "Is there anything I can do?"

9. Set out the serving dishes and platter on the kitchen table or long counter with the serving fork or spoon too.

Place a note that tells what goes in each dish so others won't be asking you where to put the gravy or the green beans.

10. When the turkey is resting before carving, you should be finishing up everything else. That's when you take a 10-15 minute break, all by yourself. This will give you a chance to check your Event Plan one last time and make sure you covered everything. Touch up your makeup, check your hairstyle, change clothes if necessary, and return to the kitchen.

11. Have the dishes and platters filled and carried to the sideboard or table. Have the glasses filled.

12. Be seated and indulge in a Thanksgiving tradition of holding hands around the table and saying grace and/or each person saying something for which they're grateful.

Takeaway Truth

Most of all, enjoy the day and the people who gather with you. Happy Thanksgiving.