Thanksgiving Hacks

While there is no real way to “cheat” at entertaining for the holidays, I hope you can use some of these with your family this holiday season.

Realization

Hosting the family for Thanksgiving is a lot of work, especially if you have kids at home to care for while trying to prepare. Accept that you might not have magazine-worthy table décor or five-star food. Cook the things you cook well and enjoy cooking—whether or not these are traditional Thanksgiving foods. Outsource or doctor up store-bought items for the rest. Enjoy the time with your family.

Minimization

Think about what aspects of the holiday are the most important to you and focus on those. Does your family even LIKE turkey? Or do they just like all the trimmings? Cook a different main course with the favorite side dishes instead. The butcher can provide any miscellaneous turkey parts you need to make turkey gravy without cooking an actual turkey. Do you really need four or five side dishes? Are cloth napkins and real silverware mandatory? Events can still be elegant and festive without going overboard.

Delegation

If someone asks whether they can bring something, tell them exactly WHAT to bring and for how many people. Know your invitees: Don’t assign the appetizers to folks who are perpetually late or an important component to someone unreliable. Easy categories to delegate are beverages (adult and/or kid), bread, biscuits or rolls, an appetizer (something light), a specific side dish (preferably one you like to eat but don’t like to cook) or an easy alternate dessert, such as cookies or brownies.

• If you are planning a potluck, online tools like SignUpGenius.com or Dropbox.com are perfect for organizing who is bringing what.
• Put the kids to work! When you give kids useful jobs to do, they become more invested in the event. Even young children can help with:
• Table decorations. Have them gather leaves or pinecones or pick out gourds at the market. (Do this in October when nature is at its autumnal peak around Kansas City.)
• Table setting. Draw it up on a piece of paper and have the children duplicate it with the real items, or set one place for them to use as the model.
• Place cards. Children can make the place cards on their own or just color white card stock with fall colored scribbles, and you can print the names over their creations. Pinecones are easy place card holders.
• Scrubbing potatoes or washing vegetables.
• Planning activities for other young guests. Preparing a skit or play to perform for the adults after the meal can keep children occupied and gives everyone something to do in between dinner and dessert. Promise to record it for posterity.
• Announcing the meal and showing guests to the dining area.

Preparation

• Clean out your refrigerator!
• Making a pie with lattice strips? Press a cooling rack over your rolled dough and you have guidelines for your lattice.
• Serving fresh green beans? Snip the ends off a handful at a time with scissors.
• Don’t forget to employ your crock pot if your oven is otherwise occupied. A closed microwave or an extra cooler will help items stay warm. If you end up with extra stuffing, scoop the remainder into muffin tins for perfectly-sized individual leftover servings.
• Gravy is one of the more difficult Thanksgiving offerings to prepare and time correctly; however, it freezes beautifully. Flour-thickened gravy can be frozen for several months. Reheat in a saucepan while whisking frequently. Put lumpy gravy in the blender.
• If you want to send your guests home with leftovers, purchase disposable containers ahead of time and put them someplace convenient.

Decoration

• Set out holders containing photos of loved ones, maybe from Thanksgivings past? Kids love seeing old pictures of parents and relatives. If you have a photo of each guest who will be in attendance, these make fun place cards as well.
• Carve an opening into a colorful gourd for a seasonal tea light holder.
• Those woven construction paper placemats your kids made can add color under your table decorations. Or have them laminated to make great wipe-clean mats for the kids’ table.
• Place floating candles in a glass bowl filled with water and fresh cranberries.

Celebration

• Schedule your preparation so that you have at least 30 minutes to relax, admire your handiwork and get changed before the guests arrive. In reality, this is unlikely, but at least you will have a little cushion.
• Have your children answer the door and take coats (instruct them on the particulars in advance). Kids can staff a “coat check” with paper tickets they have made. Older children can assist with beverages and appetizers. (HINT: If you want to discourage your guests from congregating in the kitchen, set up a beverage station and appetizers in another room.)
• If you don’t like place cards but still want a way to divide your guests among different tables, alternate different colored plates in your buffet stack. Request that your guests sit at the table that is assigned to the color of plate they have chosen.
• Reduce stress by cutting the turkey on your own in the kitchen. You will have more room to work and can arrange the results to your satisfaction on a platter. If the meat seems dry, sprinkle it with broth. If the turkey is not going to double as a table decoration, cook two smaller turkeys or a small turkey and an extra breast—you will have plenty of meat with less thawing, cooking and cooling time.
• Once your guests move to the dining area, have extra beverages nearby so you don’t have to go back to the kitchen or bar.
• To make cleanup easier, fill a cooler or plastic storage bin with warm soapy water to soak pots and serving pieces. Want this out of sight? Put it in the bathtub.
• Leftover turkey makes great turkey nuggets. Cut pieces of turkey with a cookie or biscuit cutter. Dip them in a few tablespoons of milk mixed with honey and then coat with bread crumbs. Spray a cookie sheet and broil for a few minutes on each side until they brown. Use cranberry sauce for dipping.

Donation

Encourage your guests to bring items for donation to a food pantry or thrift shop. Contact a local organization to ask what they accept. Some will accept perishables that you might have left over.

Laura Miller McEachen is a part-time attorney and a full-time mommy. She lives in Overland Park.