Blog

Kitchen Festivities: 5 Ideas For Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, you’re probably starting to get everything together for the big day. With so much to do and lots to keep track of, certain tasks have a way of creeping up on you at the final hour, which can result in unwanted stress. Luckily with the right preparation, a firm plan in place, and well managed time, you’ll get to skip the holiday chaos and be able to enjoy a stress-free day with your loved ones. 

Appliances

Your appliances are going to be putting in work on Thanksgiving day, and double checking on their functionality beforehand could help prevent any kitchen mishaps. In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, use your oven’s self-cleaning function and manually check the temperature so you can be sure it’ll perform to the best of its abilities.

Another simple task you can do ahead of time is putting away all clean dishes so you can start the day with an empty dishwasher. While you’re going through your appliances, confirm you have all the tools you’ll need to prepare every meal. 

Kitchen Festivities: Organize refrigerator 

Your fridge and freezer will play a vital role during Thanksgiving dinner preparation, and it’ll help immensely if you can get them organized beforehand. Taking inventory and throwing out any food that’s gone bad will get you off to a great start – keep your checklist nearby so you can ensure you have all necessary ingredients.

From there, give the shelves a good cleaning and make sure they’re sturdy. As you put everything away, group ingredients together based on the individual meal, group any pre-made items together, and make sure to leave some space for leftovers. 

Kitchen Festivities: Utensils

This task is super simple, but it’ll take some time to complete, making it a great task to do ahead of time. Regardless of your guest size, you’ll want to make sure you have enough dishware and utensils for everyone.

If you’re going to be using a dish set that is for special occasions, give them a wash and polish before setting the table. With that, make sure your knives are sharp and ready to cut delicious turkey. From there, get a station ready for packaging up leftovers by collecting all tupperware, zip-lock bags, and plastic wrap. 

Clean countertops

There’s going to be a lot going on throughout the day, and the last thing you want is a cluttered workspace. Before the day arrives, re-home any item that lives on the counter that won’t be useful to you while you’re cooking. Being able to maximize your preparation space will help you stay organized and on schedule.

While you’re decluttering, make sure to disinfect your countertops to ensure a safe environment for food preparation. 

Cooking timeline

Having a game plan in place for the big day is going to alleviate stress and help you stay on schedule. Put together a list of all the meals, the ingredients and tools they require, cooking instructions, and your shopping list. If there’s anything you can prepare ahead of time (pre-cutting vegetables, for example), go ahead and get that done the day before so you have less tasks to complete on Thanksgiving day. 

At the end of the day, Thanksgiving is all about getting to spend quality time with family and loved ones. If your kitchen isn’t properly prepared, you may have to deal with a few extra tasks during the day that’ll take you away from the festivities.

To improve the amount of time you get to spend eating, watching football, or enjoying your own traditions with family this Thanksgiving, make sure your kitchen is ready to handle anything.