For most, Thanksgiving is an amazing holiday filled with food, football, and fun traditions, but for others it is a stress filled week, full of cooking, children screaming, and annoying in-laws. Whether you are headed home for the holidays, hosting your own Thanksgiving, celebrating Friendsgiving, or plan on celebrating by yourself, here are six ways to survive the Thanksgiving holiday.
1. Make a List
Lists can help clear out some head space and help organize your thoughts. Whether you are grocery shopping, planing the order to cook and serve your food, or preparing your movie marathon, you should make a list. With lists, you can avoid multiple trips to the store, not having enough room in the oven/fridge, and trust me if you do not make a list of everything you need and I mean EVERYTHING you will forget something.
2. Go Shopping Early
If you have ever tried to go shopping the day before Thanksgiving, you have probably had a much harder time finding what you need. To avoid this try to go shopping early. I would suggest shopping at least the Monday before to a week or earlier to avoid lines and sold out items. Buying your items early also helps if you did not listen to the first way to survive Thanksgiving and forgot something — shopping early should give you time to go back to the store without worrying that they might not have it or look like a weirdo going to the store three times in one day.
3. Don’t Turn Down Help (even consider asking for it)
No one loves admitting they need help but Thanksgiving is a great time to come together as a family and prepare an amazing meal. Thanksgiving can be a lot to take on — having others setting the table, chopping vegetables, or bringing a dish can be a big help.
4. Serve What you Love You do not have to stick to the original turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. It will be much easier to enjoy the holidays if you are cooking/ eating something you love. Serving food you enjoy will also make you more likely to eat and enjoy any leftovers. Instead of trying to make everyone happy, it is best to focus on certain dishes you enjoy this can be especially helpful if you have picky relatives or friends.
5. Everything Doesn’t Have to be Handmade Holidays are crazy enough without having to worry about baking pies and bread and other finicky items. Buying items from the store or local grocery store are great ways to lighten your load and free room to focus on other dishes. There are countless recipes on Pinterest on how to spice up store-bought stuffing or mash potatoes. Plus buying from some of your favorite local stores and bakeries ensure that your food will taste delicious and will support the local economy!
6. Relax and Have Fun Thanksgiving only comes once a year and is a great time to spend with those you love. Thanksgiving is also one of the few times you can eat all you want and not feel bad about it. You can celebrate old traditions or start new ones which are bound to create lasting memories. However, if you are having a hard time relaxing and getting into the Thanksgiving spirit either from the stress of cooking or relatives who can not seem to shut up about the most annoying of topics a glass of wine never hurts — or as my mother suggests, a shot of vodka can work much faster.
No matter what you are doing this holiday season, I hope you are able to use some of these tips to make the season go smoother and more enjoyable.