Get Ahead Before Thanksgiving Week
Hunnies, I love Thanksgiving.
The food. The family. The house full of people. Somebody hollering from one room to another. Kids running around. Coffee brewing. Pie sitting somewhere within reach.
I love all of it.
Here’s the thing:
Thanksgiving should not surprise us.
It’s on the calendar every year, babycakes.
My Mamaw taught me plenty about feeding people and making them feel welcome.
But asking somebody to bring a dish?
I think that woman would’ve rather cooked the whole meal herself.
Maybe she’d let you bring a dessert.
Me?
Babycakes, I delegate.
And that’s really what I’ve taken from my Mamaws and made my own:
Do as much as you can ahead of time so when your people get there, you can actually enjoy your people.
And I don’t mean start cooking Thanksgiving dinner three weeks early.
I mean make the decisions early.
Buy what you can early.
Figure out who’s doing what early.
Because every decision I make in the beginning of November is one less decision Thanksgiving-week Jane has to make while she’s standing in a kitchen full of groceries wondering where she’s supposed to put a turkey.
So we’re starting before November ever gets here.
Before November 1: Make the Dang Menu
Before I buy a single can of cranberry sauce or box of stuffing, I want to know:
What are we eating?
Make the menu first.
And I mean the whole thing.
Main dishes.
Sides.
Desserts.
Appetizers.
Drinks.
Whatever normally shows up at your Thanksgiving.
Then figure out who is making what.
My sister-in-law’s mashed potatoes?
Iconic.
Why on God’s green earth would I make mashed potatoes when hers already have a fan club?
At this point, they’re tradition.
So sometime before Thanksgiving, I’ll send a message:
Hey girls, mashed potatoes and a dessert for Thanksgiving?
She gives me the go-ahead.
Done.
My sweet potato casserole?
Signature Jane.
Nobody else needs to concern themselves with the sweet potatoes. I have spoken. 😂
My husband’s ham?
Legendary.
That’s his department.
And if I don’t have oven space for both a ham and a turkey?
Grandma gets the turkey.
We’re not playing Thanksgiving Oven Tetris if we don’t have to.
Everybody has a job, but here’s the important part:
This is a take-it-and-go situation, not a hostage negotiation.
If somebody can’t make what they planned, just tell me as soon as possible.
No guilt.
No Thanksgiving tribunal.
I just need enough time to adjust.
Delegating isn’t about making my guests earn their seat at the table.
It’s about looking around at the people I love and saying, You make that really well. Will you bring it?
And bonus?
Those dishes start becoming part of the family’s Thanksgiving too.
Nobody asks who made mashed potatoes this year.
We know whose mashed potatoes those are.
They’re hers.
That’s how traditions sneak up on you.
Now Make the Grocery List
Once everybody’s dishes are assigned, then I make my grocery list.
Not before.
Because I don’t need to buy ingredients for mashed potatoes my sister-in-law is making or a turkey Grandma is cooking.
Go through every dish you’re responsible for and write down what you need.
Then before you go buying all of it:
Shop your kitchen first.
Check the pantry.
Check the refrigerator.
Check the freezer.
We’ve already learned this one, babycakes.
No sense buying three cans of something if I’ve got four hiding in the pantry behind the ketchup.
Thanksgiving groceries are expensive enough without buying duplicates because I couldn’t be bothered to move a jar of peanut butter and LOOK.
Once I know what I actually need, I split the list into two groups:
Perishables and nonperishables.
Now we’re ready for November.
November 1: Start Buying Thanksgiving
The perishables can wait.
But starting around November 1, I start slipping some of those nonperishable Thanksgiving groceries into my regular grocery trips.
A few cans here.
A box of something there.
Baking ingredients.
Broth.
Whatever I know we’ll need and can reasonably buy ahead.
I’m buying it anyway.
The difference is that I’m not buying all of it at once.
Because groceries cost too darn much for Thanksgiving dinner to come stomping through one week’s grocery budget like it owns the place.
I’d rather spread that expense out.
A few Thanksgiving things this week.
A few more next week.
By the time Thanksgiving gets here, I’ve already bought a good chunk of the meal without sacrificing one entire week’s grocery budget to the green bean casserole gods.
And because the menu is already made, I’m not buying random Thanksgiving-ish things because they might come in handy.
I know what we’re making.
I know what I need.
There’s a plan.
Look at us being responsible adults.
While You’re At It, Gather the Stuff That Makes Life Easier
The food isn’t the only thing I start gathering.
November is also when I make sure I’ve got the stuff I’m going to want when Thanksgiving actually gets here.
Disposable casserole dishes.
Big ones.
Medium ones.
Little ones.
I especially like the little ones if I’m making variations of the same recipe—one with cheese, one without, that kind of thing.
And yes.
I use disposable.
My Mamaws had beautiful dishes and white linens.
Timeless.
Jane?
Jane would also like to sit down sometime before Christmas.
So for Thanksgiving, I splurge on the good disposable stuff.
Sturdy plates.
Nice paper napkins.
Plasticware that doesn’t snap in half when somebody tries to cut a piece of ham.
Disposable casserole pans.
Because every pan I don’t have to scrub after Thanksgiving is a few more minutes I get to spend with my family.
I still want things to feel special.
I just don’t think special has to mean I’ve created three hours of dishes for myself.
And Don’t Forget About the Food Going HOME
While you’re gathering supplies, think about leftovers now.
Not Thursday afternoon when somebody says, “Can I take some ham?” and you’re standing there holding one of your good containers trying to decide how much you love them.
Pick up some inexpensive food-storage containers.
Grab a few extra disposable casserole pans.
Or do what my Mamaw did:
Start saving containers.
Butter tubs.
Sour cream containers.
Ice cream tubs.
Anything clean, food-safe and lidded that can carry somebody’s Thanksgiving leftovers down the road.
Because Mamaw wasn’t about to send you home with her good Tupperware.
And honestly?
Neither am I.
The goal is for you to leave my house with enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
The goal is NOT for me to spend the next six months wondering where my favorite container went.
Thanksgiving Week: Buy the Fresh Stuff
Now we can grab the perishables.
Produce.
Dairy.
Whatever needed to wait until closer to Thanksgiving.
And because we’ve been buying the shelf-stable stuff all month, this grocery trip shouldn’t feel quite as much like we’re provisioning a small army in a single afternoon.
This is also a good time to look back over that menu one more time.
Do I have everything?
Did somebody’s plans change?
Is there anything I forgot?
Do I need ice?
Do we have enough drinks?
Do I have the ingredients for those appetizers I swore three weeks ago I wasn’t going to forget?
Now is the time to catch it.
Not Thanksgiving morning.
AND REMEMBER THE TURKEY EXISTS
Hunnies.
Please.
SET A REMINDER FOR THE TURKEY.
If your turkey is frozen, the general rule for thawing it safely in the refrigerator is about 24 hours for every 4–5 pounds.
So if you’ve got yourself a 15-pound turkey for Thanksgiving?
Babycakes, that bird needs to be in the refrigerator by Monday.
Do not wake up Thanksgiving morning and discover a 15-pound poultry boulder staring back at you.
Future Jane cannot fix everything.
And honestly, that’s the whole point of everything we’ve done so far.
We’re trying to make life easier for Future Us.
What Jane Reckons
By the time Thanksgiving week gets here, I don’t want to still be making the big decisions.
I want the menu decided.
The dishes delegated.
The grocery list made.
The pantry checked.
Most of the nonperishables already bought.
The disposable pans waiting.
The leftover containers ready.
The fresh groceries in the refrigerator.
And most importantly?
The turkey thawing.
None of this is particularly glamorous.
Nobody is going to walk into my house on Thanksgiving and say:
Jane, I can really tell you bought that can of cream of mushroom soup three weeks ago.
But they’ll feel the difference.
Because instead of running around trying to do everything at once, I can move into Thanksgiving week with a plan.
And that’s when the real work starts.
Tuesday, we’re chopping.
Wednesday, we’re assembling.
We’re making an oven schedule.
We’re getting the table ready.
And by Thanksgiving Day?
Babycakes, we’re going to sit down and have Thanksgiving too.
So get the groceries bought.
Get the containers ready.
And put that turkey in the refrigerator.
Meet me back here Tuesday, babycakes. We’re about to chop a whole lot of onions.
Download the official checklist below.
— Jane
Grace for the mess. Grit for the rest. 💗
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