Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, eating turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, playing board games like Apples to Apples, glancing at the Black Friday adds, and nibbling on left-overs with whomever stops by for a visit.
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For the past few years it has become a tradition for me to host the Thanksgiving dinner.
Being a good hostess requires lots of organization & preparation.
Doing as much as you can beforehand helps to make the holiday a smooth transition.
Here Are Some Tips
Doing as much as you can beforehand helps to make the holiday a smooth transition.
Start an inbox message on Facebook including all the guests whom are invited and have them mention what they would like to bring to the dinner. So many family and friends are connected to social media, making communication easy.
Once this is done you can plan on seating arrangements such as the number of chairs and tables that will be needed.
I like for my tables and chairs to color coordinate.
Here is a very affordable place to purchase chair and table coverings:
http://www.tableclothsfactory.com/Folding-Chair-Cover-Round-p/chair_rnd_wht.htm
You can purchase chair coverings for as little as $1.15 per item. I like to use sashes on some chairs and those run around $2.29. The sashes and coverings come in a variety of textures and colors.
It's nice having candles & decorations for the tables to make the atmosphere very warm and festive.
Shopping at this time of the year is a great time to purchase candles & decorations; many stores have those items on clearance after Halloween.
For early prep, a week or two before the holiday, bring out your chafers and make sure you have chafer fuel (sternos). It can be very frustrating if you happen to notice, after the dinner is prepared, that you are out of sternos. Locate your power strips if you will be plugging in slow cookers.
Rearranging furniture may be necessary to make room for tables. You may need to remove a coffee table or so in advance. If that is the case, think about doing it the weekend before the big dinner.
Another early prep would be to iron table cloths ahead of time.
Take a look at your guest list and decide fun activities to do for all who are present. If you have little ones attending the dinner, you may want to bring out a few toys, puzzles, coloring books, and things to help keep them entertained.
Even adults have fun coloring, doing word puzzles, and playing trivia games.
You could have a word search & trivia contest; then have prizes waiting for the winners ($5 Dunkin Donuts gift cards). There are plenty of free Thanksgiving downloads for such activities.
