Do you have to prepare Thanksgiving dinner by yourself? Do you feel like it’s an overwhelming task? Make your life easier and get organized for a stress-free Thanksgiving!
Last year (2020) was the first time we stayed home for Thanksgiving.
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That meant it was the first time I had to prepare the whole meal all by myself!
What an eye-opener that was!
I had to find all the recipes, figure out the time it takes to prepare each and determine what I could make ahead of time, etc, etc, etc!!!
Needless to say, I needed help!
I wanted no stress or chaos on the big day!
So, I created a fabulous planner to organize all the details!
So, if you need help in the kitchen, I invite you to grab a copy of my planner and get organized for a stress-free Thanksgiving.!
What’s in the Planner
I made eight handy printables that you can put in a binder and use year after year! You’ll have your guest list, menu, recipes, and more all in one place! Here’s the list, but keep reading, and we’ll discuss the importance of each sheet!
- Thanksgiving Planner Cover sheet
- November Weekly Checklist
- Guest List
- Menu
- Shopping List
- Cooking Schedule
- Recipe Sheets
- Holiday Weekend Menu Plan
For access to our FREE Thanksgiving planner click here!
Thanksgiving Planner Cover sheet
The first step to an Organized and stress-free Thanksgiving is to make a binder to hold the printables. Let’s start with the cover sheet. Just print it out and insert it in the binder of your choice. I like to use a ½ inch binder for my planner!
November Weekly Checklist
Preparing the Thanksgiving meal, shopping, cooking, and cleaning can be a huge task. To make it manageable, I have broken down the tasks into separate weeks.
Now you know what to do each week, no procrastination or worry about forgetting to do something! You’ll have plenty of time to plan a beautiful table setting!
Guest List
Whether you’re having a houseful of guests or just a few family members, my guest list can help you keep track of who’s coming, and who’s bringing what dish!
Harrison, Griffin, and Rich are ready to eat our Thanksgiving feast!
Menu
The all-important Thanksgiving menu! You want to make sure you have included all of your family’s traditional menu items and maybe try a few new dishes. You can keep track of it all, from appetizers to desserts, with this handy printable!
I adore a traditional Thanksgiving meal! I was so excited that the dressing was perfect! It tasted just like my Mom, Nonnie (my Grandmother), and Grandma Coates (my Great-grandmother) used to make!!
Shopping List
You should never procrastinate on buying the food items for your meal, but especially not this year with shipping shortages brought on by the pandemic. I have made shopping simple by dividing my grocery list between perishable and non-perishable items. This makes it so easy to shop early for all of the non-perishable items!
Southern green beans and homemade gravy, are so yummy!!!
Cooking Schedule
I think the hardest part of cooking this meal by myself was trying to figure out how to have each item finish cooking at the same time. To solve that problem, I developed this wonderful cooking schedule.
The cooking schedule printable was a lifesaver!! I don’t know how I would have pulled off the meal without it!! The smell of cranberries, cinnamon, and orange cooking on the stove is amazing!!!
Recipe Sheets
The recipes I needed for this meal were in several different cookbooks. I quickly realized that planning the meal would be so much simpler if all my recipes were stored in the same place. So, I decided to make recipe sheets to add to my binder! Because of my dietary restrictions, I had to convert all of the recipes to gluten and dairy-free!
No more searching through five different cookbooks for the recipe I need!! Here are my two favorite parts of the Thanksgiving meal, dressing and mashed potatoes!
Holiday Weekend Menu Plan
If you are having house guests for the whole weekend, you have a lot more planning to do! I added this handy printable to help you plan the other meals around the Thanksgiving Feast!
Yummy pumpkin muffins are ready for breakfast on Black Friday!!
Can you see my binder on the counter behind me? It’s open to the cooking schedule page! I’m telling you, I don’t know how I could have pulled off this meal without it!!
I hope you found my tips helpful, and you’ll get a copy of my planner, so you can have an organized and stress-free Thanksgiving!
If you’d like to use our planner, you can get it free when you sign up for our email list by clicking here!
Blessings, Donna and Rich
More Organizing Inspiration
- Organize Your Dining Room for Easy Entertaining
- 5 Secrets to Maintain an Organized Living Room
- How to Organize Every Entryway to Your Home
- Master Bathroom Organization Made Easy
- How to Organize a Master Closet on a Budget
Items to help you have a stress-free Thanksgiving
Click on the picture of the item you wish to purchase.
**Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. We appreciate your support. (disclosure policy)
Would you share your gluten free stuffing recipe? Your buffet looks wonderful!
Thank you so much! I’m going to email my recipe to you! Look for it in your inbox! I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you so much for featuring my post on Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop! I hope it helps others to have a stress-free holiday! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Donna