T Minus 3 Days and Counting

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? Are you ready to prepare that lavish feast for all your family to enjoy?

I am, but please don't hate me. I do this every year and I've got a routine going now that works for me. Maybe it'll help you too.

I went grocery shopping last week. I made an extensive list based on each dish I was to prepare and then kind of smooshed it together. For example, I need so much cream cheese for this dish and so much cream cheese for that dish so on my list I've combined them for a grand total of cream cheese needed.

I thought I'd made it through the store without forgetting anything, but it turned out that I had forgotten the potatoes. How?? I have no idea, but I ended up needing to go back to town for something else anyway so I got the potatoes.

Over the weekend I got the turkeys thawing (yes that really is plural) and plugged in my cooler/fridge. It's one of those coolers that plug into a car, but I have an adapter that allows it to plug into the house. Makes a great back up fridge when the holidays come around. All the non-holiday items go into it.

The schedule for the rest of the week looks like this. I've found that if I just spread the work out over a few days it's not bad.

Today (Monday) I will spend catching up on laundry and dishes.

Tuesday I will clean house. It is so much easier to get the house clean now and just have the kids do a quick pickup and run the vaccuum Thursday morning before people show up.

Wednesday will be baking day. All the desserts can be made ahead of time and then placed in the now mostly empty fridge for the big day.

Wednesday night I get the turkey roasters, utensils, stuffing ingredients and any else I need for that early morning turkey cooking and place them on the counter (or fridge). That way I am not searching for things at the last minute.

Thursday morning comes way too early, but I get up and with the help of the hubby, we get the turkey in the oven and get on with the day. I am sooo not a morning person.

I spend the next bit of time rearranging furniture, getting out the tables and finding all the silverware.

At some point in the morning I also make the mashed potatoes. Did you know that mashed potatoes keep really well in a slow cooker until it's time to eat? They'll keep up to about 4 hours or so.

With the mashed potatoes already made, the tables set and the turkey cooking, I'm left with only heating the veggies and making the gravy at dinner time. These are both simple things and means that I'm not spending the entire time in the kitchen while guest are arriving.

So how to your prep for Thanksgiving?