If the thought of hosting Thanksgiving has your head spinning, just take a look at these Thanksgiving tips to make hosting Thanksgiving easy peasy.
The holidays are a time for family and friends to gather together and unite as a small band to prepare a gigantic feast requiring all 4 (or 6) stove burners, both ovens, the toaster, and a slow-cooker.
It may sound like a lot of work – and it is – but I’ve gathered some killer tips to help you reduce the workload significantly. Instead of stressing about the meal, plan to take time to work smarter and be thankful for these Thanksgiving tips.
23 Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving the Lazy Way
These tips will help making hosting Thanksgiving easier on all levels. Check them out!
Throw a Mismatched Holiday Party | Oh Julia Ann
Don’t worry about impressing anyone. Let the cutlery, placemats, plates, and cups mismatch! Thanksgiving is about family and food, not what the table looks like.
If you want a centerpiece terribly bad, put the turkey on a lazy Susan—the turkey is the star of the meal anyway.
Leaf Place Markers | The Paper Mama
If you want a mix of casual and chic, head outside to the driveway and pick up some dried leaves. Then, use a sharpie or metallic sharpie to write your guests’ names on them and place them with their setting.
Keep an Ice Chest Handy | Food Network
With refrigerator space being such a precious commodity during the holidays, use an ice chest to keep unused condiments and other small items cold while keeping refrigerator shelves open for holiday ingredients. Brilliant!
Sanity Saver
Layout a cutting board with meat, cheese, and bread and let guests help themselves.
You don’t need to work hard on a pre-course to the huge feast already in the works, and un-entertained guests can keep themselves busy cutting up snacks.
Use Your Slow Cooker | Living Lou
Spend less time cooking and more time with family by making your turkey in a slow cooker. You don’t need to constantly watch it, and it will still turn out moist and delicious.
Make an Overnight Turkey | Zabar’s
If you are hard-set to make your turkey in the oven, try an overnight turkey. Prepare the bird, then go to bed as normal. By 7 a.m., it should be ready to go!
Roast Your Veggies | BuzzFeed
If you have the turkey all set but are looking for an additional vegetable side, try combining all of the vegetables into one pan and roast them next to your turkey. Add some herbs and move on to other dishes that need fixin’.
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes | Gimme Some Oven
Why not get multiple slow cookers working for you and try out this recipe? You can customize these mashed potatoes in so many different ways, or keep them plain and traditional to please the simple folk.
Once they’re done cooking, you can keep the slow cooker on “warm” while you finish preparing the feast. That’s my favorite part!
Time Saver for Peeling Potatoes | DaveHax
Potato-peel hack: Ok, the slow-cooker will save time mashing the potatoes, but the peeling can still take a lot of effort. Try this peeling hack to save your veggie peeler and some active-hostess time.
Make-Ahead Gluten-Free Gravy | Kristine Kidd
Who doesn’t love a recipe you can make ahead? If you love your mashed potatoes swimming in gravy, try out this make-ahead gravy to save time on Thanksgiving Day.
Essential Gravy Hacks | Food Network
Gravy giving you fits? Me too! Use these hacks.
If your gravy is too runny, add equal parts water and flour, bring the gravy to a boil and add bits of the paste until it is the desired consistency.
On the other hand, if it’s lumpy, use your blender to quickly puree the sauce.
4-Ingredient Green Bean Casserole | Life Hack
This side is pretty simple as is, but check out this 4-ingredient classic recipe. Just mix, bake and top with fried onions!
Buy it Rather Than Make it | Pillsbury
Sometimes, when hosting Thanksgiving, store-bought food is necessary – and 1,000 times worth it. Rolls can be tricky so unless you have someone who makes really great dinner rolls, just buy store-bought.
If you know someone who is great with bread baking, tell them that’s their ticket to Thanksgiving dinner and have them contribute to the meal. ?
Overnight Rolls | Whole and Heavenly Oven
If you don’t want to buy rolls, give overnight rolls a try along with the overnight turkey. It’s amazing how productive you can be while you sleep!
Easy Cranberry Orange Sauce | Betty Crocker
Maybe opt for something different. With 5 ingredients and 2 steps, this cranberry-orange sauce is sure to jazz up your table with minimal effort.
Pecan Pie Cookies | PopSugar
Cheat time with these amazing pecan pie cookies. If you don’t have enough time (or energy!) to make yet another pie, give these yummy cookies a go. Half the time but still a satisfying Thanksgiving tradition? We’ll take it!
Make a Throw-Together Casserole | Ruth’s Chris Sweet Potato Casserole Via Food.com
Because a throw-together casserole is just “divine.” This Sweet Potato Casserole recipe is a throw-together casserole with candied pecans on top that you can serve as a side or as dessert!
3-Ingredient Slow-Cooker Pumpkin Pie | Willow Bird Baking
Well, this is different! This Slow-Cooker Pumpkin Pie is DELICIOUS, even if it looks different from its traditional counterpart. So try out this easy recipe, perfect for the lazy hostess!
Makeshift Rolling Pin | Lifehacker
If there are lots of cooks in the kitchen, make an impromptu rolling pin out of an empty wine bottle. Dishwashing should be a chore for after dinner, not during the preparations!
No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake | The Gold Lining Girl
S0, here’s a thought…try some NO-BAKE recipes! If you’re tired of baking or you want to change up the traditional menu, try this no bake pumpkin cheesecake. It requires a little time, but very little effort.
Hack for Even Dough | Oola!
Use paint stirrers to make sure you get even dough! While rolling out pie dough, roll the rolling pin across paint stirrers to quickly create even dough thickness.
Avoid Burnt Pie Crust | A Real Life Housewife
Yes, you can buy a pie crust shield but if it is Thanksgiving day and you don’t have one (or need more than one), make a quick shield out of tin foil.
Handle Leftovers Like a Champ | Food Network
Make leftovers a piece of cake with this hack! Create a stew with all of your Thanksgiving leftovers and combine all kinds of leftovers into a Day-After Soup.
Whether you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner solo, you have help, or you have too much help, these tips will make hosting Thanksgiving easy by creating more room for family time without the holiday hostess misery.
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