Make it a Stress-Free Thanksgiving This Year
It's funny, isn't it? Thanksgiving is all about enjoying your family, taking time to celebrate our abundance and create a warm, nurturing feeling in the house. But how often does Thanksgiving end up being anything but that? If you're the one in charge of fixing that big feast, those last-minute details can lead to way too much stress and far too little relaxation and enjoyment.
There's a way around that, however. Call it the Three S Plan: simplify, streamline and substitute. What it really boils down to is getting your priorities straight: it's not how much work you put into the dinner; it's how much everyone enjoys themselves—including you!
Simplify Thanksgiving by cutting out the unnecessary aspects. You don't really need three vegetables and four pies. Your table will look fine without a fresh-flower centerpiece. And believe it or not, everyone will survive without a turkey! If roasting that gigantic bird is a source of stress for you, then skip it! Create a tradition of Thanksgiving lasagna, or stop by Super 1 Foods and purchase a heat-and-eat Thanksgiving dinner, turkey and all.
Streamline your meal preparations by working as far in advance as possible. Several weeks before Thanksgiving, you can shop for canned, dried and frozen foods you'll need. They'll store just fine for a few weeks, and that'll save you having to make a mega-trip to the store closer to the actual dinner. The night before Thanksgiving, set the table. Get out all the dishes and pans you'll need and make sure they're clean and ready to go. Pre-prepare any foods that you can. Cook and mash the potatoes, cut up the raw veggies, put together the stuffing…..do as much as you can, ahead of time.
Substitute when the need arises. No time to make dinner rolls? Pull some pre-made biscuits out of the freezer. Forgot about a cake? Get a store-made one instead. The gravy is full of lumps? That's what jarred gravy was made for!
Someone famous once said, "Don't sweat the small stuff. And it's all small stuff." That's pretty true. If you smile and make the best of it, everyone else will, too.
Published 10 /26/07
