Thanksgiving Shopping Tips and Dinner Party Ideas

Reposted from November 2009

 Thanksgiving Shopping Tips

Hosting a Thanksgiving dinner can be quite stressful. Make your Thanksgiving easier this year.  Start your grocery shopping early! Don’t wait until the week of Thanksgiving to buy what you need. Not only are you risking empty pantry shelves, but it is too expensive to buy at the last minute.  Not to mention stressful. Too many people wait until the last minute.

Browse your weekly grocery ads, they always have items on sale prior to the holidays. There are great sales starting around the end of October after Halloween for baking supplies and such.  Don’t worry about having to0 much, you will definitely use it later.

Stock up now. If you’re not one to make homemade stuffing, and stuffing mix is on sale when you are at the market for milk, pick it up. You are going to need it anyway. You can also get cranberries cheap way before the big day. Cranberries freeze well too.

Turkeys are usually on sale weeks before. I was at the grocery store the other day and made a purchase $99 or more. I received my choice of a Free Turkey or Turkey Breast. There’s my Thanksgiving Turkey. If you have an extra freezer like we do, spending $99 is pretty easy with a weekly shopping trip. On your next trip to the grocery store  you’ll receive another Free Turkey. Freeze it for another meal. Leftovers from Turkey dinners are great. There are lots of recipes you can make from a leftover turkey and you have your weekly meals already done.

Dinner Party Ideas

Plan your cooking day. This should  most likely be the week before. Decide what you have left to do and prep as much as you can. Mix up the stuffing for the turkey and put into bowl and store in fridge two days prior. Bread rolls can be made ahead. Cook up those fresh cranberries. They will be much better the next day anyway after setting.  Two days before, defrost all those baked goods you froze the weeks prior to now.  The day before, bake up those pies you froze. Doing as much as you can on this day will help you to have more time with friends and family.

And Finally Thanksgiving Day! Your turkey is in the oven. The morning of, set the table, organize serving dishes and setting out appetizers for your guests to enjoy while the meal is being prepared. Snacking is an important part to hosting a party. This is a must when entertaining. So set out the appetizer trays and mingle with your guests because you have planned for this day and you will now enjoy it too!