Hosting any type of dinner party in your home requires a lot of planning and preparation, but it's nothing like being in charge of Thanksgiving. So much hangs on the food itself.
The perfect roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, casseroles and all those wonderful pies come together for a once-a-year feast unlike any other. To achieve this mouth-watering meal, though, requires a lot of preparation and planning.
As one of those meals most people in the U.S. partake in, it's often, "go big or go home" on Thanksgiving Day. According to data gathered by CNBC, Americans ate 45 million turkeys in 2017 on Thanksgiving.
Not only that, but a typical American consumes more than 4,500 calories throughout this food-filled day. For those hosting the meal, the average cost is around $334 for about 11 guests. This meal is no joke.
Depending on the size of your kitchen and the number of guests you've got coming, it can feel daunting to arrange so much food and still have places for everyone to sit. Do you go the formal route with place cards, centerpieces and everything laid out on the dining room table? Do you throw formality out the window and set up an enticing buffet in the kitchen? Either way works and gets people to the food, which is what's the most important.
To suit your specific Thanksgiving style, here are some pointers to help arrange the food so everyone gets to gobble to their heart's content.
Before the shopping and cooking and buffet line set up even begins, it's best to sit down and make a plan, says Kaylee Hammonds from Southern Living. “Take a deep breath. Get out some paper and a pen," to keep all the details sorted. Figure out a few essential pieces of information first, including:
As you answer these questions, start making lists of everything from ingredients for recipes to which days you need to shop for what. Once your meal preparation feels organized, you can turn your attention creating the perfect buffet.
When setting up your buffet space, whether it's on a table or the island in your kitchen, the most important thing to remember is traffic flow. If you're hosting a potluck, where each guest brings something to share, make sure you designate space for each dish before it arrives.
This means you should know what each person is bringing before Thanksgiving Day. As guests trickle in, instruct them on where to put their culinary creation by creating name cards with the dish and who made it. People will love the personalized praise for their cooking once everyone begins sampling the dishes.
Flow isn't just for the food. Getting everything onto the table is important, but you also have to keep the people in mind. Don't set things up so guests have to weave back through the line after they fill their plates.
Leave plenty of space between where the buffet ends and where people will sit to eat for easy access. If you can, put the buffet in a separate room or against a far wall to maximize distance.
Make sure to equip your guests with the right materials to enjoy the meal you've so carefully organized. Put plates at the beginning, and make sure they're large enough to hold a good amount of food.
Napkins and silverware should go at the end of the buffet for the last grab. This way people will know whether they really need a knife, spoon and fork. They also won't have to hold everything as they go through the line and risk dropping something.
While you may want to group certain foods together, consider separating your buffet space into two categories, cold and hot. Start with the cold foods so the warm items don't sit on people's plates too long while they're going through the buffet.
Situate your space so anything served in a Crock-Pot or other hot appliance has a nearby outlet. Make sure to tuck away cords to prevent anyone from tripping, as well.
As you're arranging your food by temperature, don't forget to consider the order in which people want to put food on their plates. For hot foods, remember that people often like to pile things on top of their turkey, so put that big boy first.
Then, follow with gravy and stuffing. Keep condiments like cranberry sauce close to the dish they're meant to accompany. They can break the hot/cold rule of organization. You may end up with multiple little dishes of the same condiment, but that's totally fine.
Don't be afraid of trying some space-saving displays for food. Instead of laying out dish after dish, go vertical with a tiered set of serving plates. These are great to hold cookies, crackers, rolls or veggies, and they free up more space on the table.
Speaking of cookies, and all the other desserts you know are part of the perfect Thanksgiving meal, make sure to organize them separately. You don't want people to feel like they have to serve themselves dessert as they're grabbing dinner. You may even want to wait until after the main course is over to put dessert out.
Setting up a formal table where people will pass around the dishes of your Thanksgiving meal creates a different atmosphere than a buffet. It may feel like more work, but it doesn't have to break the bank or require a huge time investment.
This more formal style may compel you to get a little more creative with your centerpiece, spend a little more on place settings and make you feel like dishes need extra flair, but it's OK to budget.
Audrey Bruno from Self suggests you pick “low-fuss" recipes for your Thanksgiving table that easily feed a crowd. “Avoid finicky recipes that need to be prepared one at a time. For one, they probably won't make as much food as family-style food would, and they'll be a bunch of extra work for you." Make things easy for yourself as a hostess by opting for more casserole-style items so you can enjoy the festivities, as well.
Once you've got the meal and the decor all set up, you can turn your attention to creating the perfect Thanksgiving table.
Make sure to enlist an experienced turkey carver to handle your bird. They should know the difference between white and dark meat and have done the honors at a previous Thanksgiving.
You want pretty, portion-appropriate slices for guests, not mismatched chunks. If using a regular knife, make sure to sharpen it before the meal. Electric knives also come in handy when tackling such a large job.
Hot serving dishes can damage your table if set directly on it. To preserve your furniture, make sure you lay out enough trivets, pot holders or small dish towels to protect your table.
When in doubt, you can even use a few extra placemats to create a barrier between the table and a scorching-hot casserole dish.
You're asking for a disaster to strike if you pass dishes around the table that are too hot or too heavy. Instead, put one person in charge of spooning portions.
Whoever sits closest to the dish should be willing. Then, ask everyone who'd like some of that item to pass their plate before loading it up with other stuff on the table. Less mess is best.
As the host or hostess, you may have to interrupt your own meal to keep the food flowing. Everyone will appreciate your attention to removing platters as they empty or refilling dishes where there's more waiting in the kitchen.
Allow the turkey platter to stick around, though. Even if it looks like there's not much left, people often love to pick at the bird. Keep those bellies full and happy.
Make sure each dish you set out has an appropriate utensil for serving. Ideally, you want something that gets the food from dish to plate with one hand. Large serving spoons, forks and tongs are often best bets.
Whether you're keeping it casual and going the buffet route, or "Pinterest-ing" your way to a perfect formal meal, Thanksgiving is about the people around you and the food you can enjoy together.
As long as you enjoy yourself, keep the hot food hot and have lots of desserts, your Thanksgiving meal will be remembered as a perfect way to celebrate the holiday.