Countdown list for Thanksgiving bash

By Amy Brenna

When my sister told me she was hosting Thanksgiving again this year, I was flabbergasted. It’s true, she’s the only one of my brothers and sisters who’s married and living in a big house, so perhaps she feels like she’s the one who should gather the clan together at the holidays. But this year is different.

Relatives are flying in from around the country and will be bunked throughout her house for a good week, to take advantage of the extraordinarily inexpensive lodgings so close to New York City and Philadelphia. She’s working, teaching a college course at night and serving as an officer in the PTA and neighborhood association. Then there’s the rest of it – getting the leaves raked, the carpool driven, the college visits arranged. So she insists on keeping her free time between midnight and 1 A.M. to herself.

Being the single sister, it’s unlikely that I’m the one, in anyone’s imagination, who would take on the Thanksgiving celebrations. So I’m volunteering to chip in by offering some pointers on how my sister, or anyone with a typical, overbooked life, can schedule all the things that have to get done before the guests arrive for turkey and stuffing.

What’s the secret? Grab a piece of paper and a calendar, and in fifteen minutes you can make a schedule that should keep you on track to cross the finish line without collapsing face-first in a slice of pecan pie.

Countdown to Thanksgiving Day

ASAP

Finalize your guest list. Herd together those indecisive relatives and friends and get a commitment. If you’re going to be expected to make airport runs, you need to start now recruiting someone else to drive, so you can focus your energies on the actual get-together.

6 weeks before Thanksgiving

Buy the decorating and table settings you need. The most attractive Thanksgiving-themed decorations sell out quickly, so you want to choose yours before you can’t find the napkins to match the cute paper dessert plates that will save you from running the dishwasher a third time.

4 weeks before Thanksgiving

Christmas isn’t the only time the post office is deluged with packages. If your Great Aunt Melissa can’t make the trip and you don’t want her to feel left out, you can send her a bouguet of her favorite flowers. Or you college roommate is staying home with her newborn daughter, so you help out the new Mom by ordering pies for her. Order, by phone or online, early. Avoid the hassle of either missing the holiday or paying rush delivery charges.

If you want any specialty food items -- like the particular brand of curry powder your food magazine specifies for the spiced squash soup -- order them now. There is nothing you can’t find online, but do it early so you’re not hovering around the door waiting for the UPS man on Thanksgiving Eve.

3 weeks before Thanksgiving

Start placing your grocery orders. This is when having a firm headcount makes all the difference.

Order a fresh turkey at your grocery store.

If you’re ordering pies, confirm where to pick up and when.

Lots of guests want to bring a dish. Just say, “Yes!” Make a list of who will bring the cranberry sauce, who will bring the wine, and so on. And if someone offers to supply the centerpiece, volunteer your color scheme.

You’re buying the centerpiece? Call your florist now. Waiting until the last minute means you end up with whatever wilted stems are left over from all the other gorgeous arrangements.

2 weeks before Thanksgiving

Run the last minute errands ahead of the last minute crowds. Pick up the table favors, the place cards, the weird favorite liqueur that tells your mother-in-law “I’m really on top of everything.”

Finish the grocery shopping for pantry items, like the canned pumpkin.

The week before Thanksgiving

Grocery shop for perishable items.

Cook dishes that can be frozen and later defrosted.

Pick up turkey and pies.

Iron linens you plan to use. Do a onceover on silverware and glasses to make sure they’re shiny and clean.

Don’t do a major house cleaning. Wait until the celebrations are over, because that’s when the house will be really dirty. All you need to do ahead of time is dusting and sweeping and a little straightening up, and you’re all set to greet the guests.

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To contact us, you can email us at Amy@BrennaConsulting.com or call us at (212) 387-8536.