No last minute cooking rush – start planning your Thanksgiving celebration now.

Copyright: Brebca / 123RF Stock Photo

Are you hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year? Does the thought bring excitement, tinged with a little bit of panic? Don’t worry – some planning will erase all of that anxiety. Well, most of your anxiety any way!

There are two truths about hosting Thanksgiving Dinner.

1. Something may go wrong. It’s a busy time, so yes, the rolls might be a little underdone, the pies might be a little overdone, and the salad might not taste exactly like Mom’s. It’s ok. None of these issues are deal breakers. The point of Thanksgiving is to count your blessings by spending time with friends and family.
2. Organization is the key! Don’t wait till the last minute to plan your dinner. Start now.

Whether this is your first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner, or your 40th time hosting Thanksgiving dinner, the time to start the plan is TODAY.

Step One – Two easy tasks this week will make the rest of the month much easier.

1. Determine who is coming for dinner. Invite your guests now, and try to get a head count by early next week. It is much easier to plan a meal if you know how many people are going to be eating!
2. Find out if any of your invited guests has a special diet request. For example, are there any vegetarians? diabetics? anyone with a food allergy? any children who will only eat mac & cheese and raw carrots?

That’s it for this week. Check back next week when we start planning our menu.