Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Do yourself a favor and follow this 7 day Thanksgiving prep guide for a stress free holiday meal this year. I can’t promise you that the in-laws will keep their political views or child-rearing advice to themselves, but the food will be good and you won’t be rushing around the day they all arrive.
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Bring the What?
We always celebrate Thanksgiving with my husband’s family. I’d always take something like stuffing or mashed potatoes. Those are easy enough to transport when it’s only a half hour drive and you’re the passenger.
Since we moved five hours away, making a contribution to the meal has been a struggle. The first year after the move, I took a sourdough pumpkin roll. I was able to freeze it and by the time we got there it was perfect. But I felt like I needed to contribute more than just a dessert.
So last year, I made an artisan loaf of sourdough bread shaped like a pumpkin. That traveled just fine and would have been super easy to transport by itself. But then, I decided to take mashed potatoes at the last minute too. After spilling mashed potatoes on the floor of my Jeep while taking the first turn, I decided I needed to stick to more solid food contributions.
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7 Day Thanksgiving Prep Guide
2 Weeks to Go
First you need to get a final headcount. Then make sure you have enough dishes, silverware, cups, chairs, serving dishes, and serving spoons.
10 Days to Go
Since you now know how many guests to expect, you can now go ahead and start planning the meal. Don’t forget the appetizers, meat, sides, desserts, and drinks. When serving a crowd I provide tea, water, and lemonade. Perhaps coffee or tea depending on who’s coming over.
Then you need to make a grocery list. I prefer to do a grocery pick up order because I can shop for the best deals and it takes up way less time. If you’re needing items that won’t last for 10 days, you can either do another shopping trip closer to the day or prep and freeze things ahead of time.
1 Week to Go
Go ahead and do the bulk of your cleaning. I promise nobody is going to notice a week’s worth of dust. Then you can just do a quick wipe down of the kitchen, bathrooms, and floors when it’s time for company. Pick up your groceries and place the turkey in the freezer.
Now is also a good time to start laying out your serving pieces. Place the serving spoon and dish together with a sticky note inside to help you remember what you plan to put in the dish.
5 Days to Go
It’s finally time to get cooking. Prepare as much as possible ahead of time. Bake the pie crusts, cook up some mashed potatoes, put the green beans and bacon in the pan, and get the sourdough bread bulk fermenting in the fridge.
4 Days to Go
Today, make sure to get the turkey out of the freezer and into the fridge, so that it is thawed in time. Continue to prepare any food that can be prepped ahead of time. You should have some room in the freezer now if need be.
2 Days to Go
After the food preparation is done, you can start decorating. Set the table, arrange a centerpiece, put on a clean tablecloth, and grab any extra chairs or tables. Don’t forget to empty the ice bucket into a plastic bag, so that you will have plenty of ice on hand. Or make a quick run to go get a bag of ice now that the turkey is no longer taking up precious freezer space.
1 Day to Go
Take a deep breath because you’re almost done! Make up any drinks and get them chilling in the fridge or an icy cooler. If you’ve got any food left to prepare ahead of time, get it done. Double check that there are enough dishes for all of your guests and if not put the dishwasher to work.
Thanksgiving Day
Woohoo! You made it. Get the turkey cooking along with any other food that needs cooked or warmed up. While things are in the oven take time to do a quick wipedown of the kitchen counters and bathroom surfaces. Then make sure to do a quick sweep and mop if needed.
Recipes for the 7 Day Thanksgiving Prep Guide
Mashed Potatoes
You can make up a large batch of mashed potatoes and freeze them until you’re ready to reheat them. Frozen mashed potatoes would also be much easier to transport on the floorboard of your car during a 5 hour road trip.
Sourdough Dinner Rolls
These sourdough dinner rolls are phenomenal. They taste just like yeast rolls, but with all the benefits of sourdough. They are my new favorite bread to make.
No-Bake Pumpkin Pie
It’s cheating, but it’s delicious. A no-bake pumpkin pie takes hardly any time to prepare and it takes just as good as the real thing. Pumpkin pie is my all time favorite, but we eat this easy dessert all season.
Sourdough Artisan Loaf
If you prefer bread to rolls then you must try my sourdough artisan loaf of bread. I get so many compliments on this loaf. It’s crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.
Homemade Stuffing
You could also turn that artisan loaf into some yummy homemade stuffing. It’s so much healthier than the boxed stuff at the store and it tastes better too. Real food can taste really good too.
Sourdough Pumpkin Roll
This sourdough pumpkin roll has become my signature dish. It’s what the family requests when I ask what I can bring to holiday meals. They also ask for it as a Christmas gift. I like that it’s easy to make and can be frozen ahead of time.
The site may contain links to affiliate websites, and we receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As a Revive EO Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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