8 Things You Can Do to Prep for Thanksgiving Now
By 
Thanksgiving is coming, and maybe we’re still a little unprepared for “normal” holidays. However, you can definitely prep for Thanksgiving now if you’re the one hosting the family dinner this year.
I can’t stress enough the importance of prepping as much as possible in advance. Not only does the day of your dinner run smoother, but the food usually tastes better when the flavours have time to ‘marry’ in the fridge.
If you’d like to know how to prep for Thanksgiving dinner ahead of time, here are 8 things you can do this week to make the big day just a little easier…
8 Easy Ways to Prep for Thanksgiving Now:
- Make pie crusts: Feel free to do this ASAP and tuck in the freezer until needed.
- Make the cranberry sauce: This can be done up to five days in advance, so if you plan on eating your turkey dinner on Sunday, feel free to make a pot of your favourite Thanksgiving condiment as early as Tuesday evening. Allow the sauce to cool completely before storing in a lidded container in the fridge until needed.
- Make any sauces or vinaigrettes: These can be prepped up to three days in advance.
- Wash and trim the vegetables: Brussels sprouts, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, and sweet potatoes can be trimmed and prepped up to two days in advance.
- Start the stuffing: Cut and cube the bread, and saute the onions, celery, and garlic up to two days in advance. Don’t add any eggs or stock to your stuffing until just before cooking.
- Defrost the turkey: Give the turkey at least 24 hours for every 5 lbs of turkey. Meaning, if you have a 20 lb turkey it will need four days in the fridge to defrost. If you’re purchasing a fresh turkey, make sure it’s ordered by now. Here’s how to cook the perfect turkey.
- Brine: If you plan on doing it this year, the turkey should rest in the brining liquid for 12 to 24 hours, so plan for that and be ready by Saturday.
- Order rentals: I usually have 21 to 25 people for Thanksgiving dinner. To make things easier for myself, I usually order rentals for the day and have dinner and dessert plates, cutlery, and wine glasses delivered to my house. Not only does this provide me with enough dishes for everyone in attendance, but the rentals go back into their containers immediately and are returned dirty, meaning there are fewer dishes that will need washing.
Do you prepare prep for Thanksgiving (or any holiday) dinner in advance? If so, what do you like to do before the big day?
I think given the craziness of this year you guys at Savvy mom could have done a better job and helping us parents feel LESS stress than more. Nothing looks like it did and our holidays will be very different with no one inside eating except the few people in your actual household. This article is helpful I guess if you are Martha Stewart and have the ability to do these tasks in advance of a big holiday…. but most parents (I won’t just say moms) I know are full tilt right now – looking after kids with colds, navigating a new very different school year for their kids, working in a totally different way and having NO programs outside of school running anymore. The last thing on most of our minds is making cranberry sauce for a meal that won’t happen…. unless you have a giant deck and are wealthy enough to have purchased giant heaters for said deck. It would have been more appropriate to write about different ways to get creative outside with friends/ family. I thought you might be more in tune with the majority of folks out there. This is a disappointment.