Thanksgiving Guide

How To Host Thanksgiving Dinner

The holidays are meant to be a time for celebration and joy. However, I have spent plenty of holidays more stressed than anything due to a lack of planning.

I broke down this easy-to-follow timeline for planning, preparing, and serving Thanksgiving dinner to avoid feeling stressed or overwhelmed. I follow this no-fail guide year after year, so it's only right to pass it along.

The Month Before Thanksgiving

Planning the perfect Thanksgiving takes time. Therefore, beginning to plan a month ahead is the best way to avoid unnecessary stress this time of year.

This handy Thanksgiving guide will walk you through all of the key planning points for a perfect Thanksgiving celebration.

1. Plan Your Guest List

You can’t plan anything else until you know how many people you are planning for. Therefore, the first thing to plan for is who is coming to Thanksgiving dinner.

Begin by making a list of everyone you are inviting. Write it down somewhere you will have it to refer to leading up to the big dinner.

Once you have your initial list, begin to reach out to each person or family to confirm if they will be attending dinner.

As soon as someone confirms, add a little check mark to the list. In addition, cross off those who can’t make it.

Another important thing to note is those who are undecided. There is always going to be one or two that don’t confirm until the last minute.

It is best to plan for the maybe guests now so that you have enough seating and food (just in case).

*You can decide what specialty dishes you will include if there are any dietary restrictions (such as gluten-free, vegan, or dairy-free) or allergies. You want everyone who is invited to feel welcome and enjoy their meal.

2. Plan The Menu

Once you know who is coming to dinner, plan the menu! Ideally, you'll have a variety of finger food snacks and appetizers, side dishes, rolls or bread, one or two main dishes, and at least one dessert.

Here are a few examples of traditional Thanksgiving recipes broken down by course:

Thanksgiving Appetizers

• Deviled Eggs
• Charcuterie Board
• Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
• Ranch Cheese Ball
• Spinach Artichoke Dip
• Cheese Platter
• Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
• Sausage Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls

Thanksgiving Main Dishes

• Thanksgiving Roasted Turkey
• Grilled Spatchcock Turkey
• Traeger Smoked Turkey
• Baked Holiday Ham
• Glazed Honey Ham
• No Peek Prime Rib
• Whole Roasted Duck

Thanksgiving Rolls or Bread

• Butter Herb Dinner Rolls
• Oat Rolls
• Rustic Bread
• Cheese Rolls
• Drop Biscuits
• Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls
• Sweet Potato Cornbread

Thanksgiving Side Dishes

• Mashed Potatoes
• Turkey Gravy
• Stuffing
• Candied Yams
• Honey Glazed Carrots
• Green Bean Casserole with Bacon
• Jiffy Corn Casserole
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgiving Desserts

• Pumpkin Pie
• Pecan Pie
• Pumpkin Pecan Tart
• Apple Pie
• Coconut Cream Pie
• Cranberry Orange Shortbread
• Pumpkin Dump Cake
• Pecan Tartlets
• Sweet Potato Tart

In addition to traditional Thanksgiving dishes, you can also consider trying something new. Take a look at the list of non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner menus at the bottom of the page for more recipe suggestions.

3. Rent Extra Tables And Dishes

Depending on how large your Thanksgiving guest list is, you may need to rent some additional materials. You can rent everything from tables and chairs to glasses and tablecloths.

While some may tell you to borrow these things, renting is often less stressful. When borrowing tables and chairs, you run the risk (and stress) of things changing at the last minute and the items not being available.

You may also find yourself stressed that a glass or plate you borrowed may break.

Renting eliminates these stresses. You know a month ahead that all the items will be available.

In addition, insurance is often included in the rental in case something breaks. Another great thing about renting glasses and silverware is that everything will match. 

A Few Weeks Before Thanksgiving

4. Create Your Shopping List

Now that you know what you are serving, it is time to create your shopping list. While it may seem early, this is the best time to do it because you want to begin shopping the week before Thanksgiving.

*Be aware that even in 2024, I still see shortages at the grocery store. If you're not in a big city with lots of stores to choose from, you really need to get what you can in advance to avoid this.

Don’t forget to check ingredients you already have on hand. This includes things like sugar and flour. While most of us keep these items in the pantry year-round, you may need to restock before the holidays.

5. Gather Your Cooking Gear & Supplies

In addition to your food shopping list, remember to add any items you need to properly do all the cooking. This includes things such as pie pans and serving trays.

Also, make sure that you have everything you need to properly prep the turkey, such as a large roasting pan and a meat thermometer. This may also include a turkey brining container or an XL deep fryer.

If you don’t have a meat thermometer, I highly recommend investing in one! They are not expensive and will make all the difference in making sure your turkey is cooked perfectly.

Some ovens have a meat probe that can be inserted into your turkey so that you'll know when you've reached the perfect temp without opening the door. This is true of a lot of smokers, too.

6. Order Your Turkey

Speaking of turkey, where do you plan to get your turkey from? I suggest ordering one from a local farmer or butcher to guarantee the turkey you want.

While it can be a bit more expensive than the grocery store, the extra cost is worth it. Grain-free and pasture-raised turkeys are also available and amazingly tasty.

Local orders mean you know you will have the exact turkey you want for Thanksgiving. Plus, you don’t have to worry about finding the right size at the grocery store.

In addition, you know you are getting a fresh turkey. Another bonus is knowing that you are supporting a local business.

7. Shop for Alcohol & Non-perishable Foods

The more shopping you can get done early, the better! Therefore, use this week to stock up on all the goodies that won’t go bad.

This includes drinks, canned goods, and other non-perishable items.

Not only does shopping for these items save you time, but it also guarantees you will have everything you need for the big day. There is no risk of the store being out of the exact item you want.

It also saves you the headache of holiday crowds. If you have ever gone to the liquor store for wine the week of Thanksgiving, you know it can be a bit of a madhouse!

Two Weeks Before Thanksgiving

The two weeks before Thanksgiving is all about taking advantage of all the menu items you can prepare and freeze ahead of time. Things like pie crusts, pies, rolls, and homemade turkey stock.

Furthermore, this week is great for planning (and possibly preparing) decorations for the big dinner. An amazing tablescape adds so much to a family gathering!

8. Free Up Space In The Freezer

Before you can start preparing pies and other goodies to store in the freezer, you need storage space. Therefore, use the beginning of this week to start freeing up some storage space in the freezer.

Have a family dessert night where you eat the ice cream. Thaw and cook up frozen dishes you made earlier in the year. Use what you can.

However, don’t be afraid to toss anything that has exceeded its ideal date for eating (even frozen foods have a “best by” date).

9. Pie Preparation

If you plan to make your own pies, you can purchase or prepare an all-butter pie crust ahead of time. This will save you a lot of time during the week of Thanksgiving.

It also eliminates one other thing that needs to be done in the kitchen that week.

Pie crust dough can be rolled into a ball and frozen, or fill your pie pans before freezing. Either way, remember to tightly wrap the dough with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.

In addition to preparing crusts, you can even bake some Thanksgiving pies early. Many pies freeze beautifully and can be thawed the night before the big meal.

Follow my guides to freeze your pies in advance:

• How To Freeze Pumpkin Pie
• How To Freeze Pecan Pie
• How To Freeze Sweet Potato Pie
• How To Freeze Fruit Pies

10. Freeze What You Can

Pies are not the only menu items you can freeze. Homemade rustic bread, onion dinner rolls, and cloverleaf rolls freeze exceptionally well. If you plan to make your homemade broth or stock, that can also be frozen.

In addition, if you plan to serve any soup at dinner, most soups can be frozen.

11. Prepare Decorations

The holidays are always more festive with decorations, and when you plan this far ahead, you have extra time to enjoy decorating. So, pull up your Pinterest board and see what decorations are calling to you!

Use any extra time this week to buy or DIY your decorations. Depending on the type of decorations you choose, you may even be able to put them up around the house.

For example, wreaths and centerpieces can be set out ahead of time. You can pre-fold napkins if you are having an elegant Thanksgiving dinner.

Warm fall colors like deep red or burgundy, brown, and orange are synonymous with Thanksgiving.

One Week Before Thanksgiving

At this point, you have already planned so much and are hopefully feeling excited (and less stressed) about hosting the big dinner. The week leading up to Thanksgiving is all about finalizing details.

12. Schedule For The Week

Sit down at the start of the week and make a countdown timeline. Review what you have already done and consider what you still need to prepare.

Write out a schedule for this week as well as the day of Thanksgiving.

While creating your schedule, don’t forget to think about who you can delegate to do things. Thanksgiving is not a one-person job.

13. Pick Up Refrigerated Items

The main thing you will need to do this week is pick up your turkey - especially if you didn’t order your turkey.

If you pick up a fresh turkey from the butcher or farmer, you can store it in the freezer for the week. (See my guide to freezing turkey for instructions). Store-bought turkeys will already be frozen.

In addition to the turkey, you can also pick up food items that will stay fresh for a week. This includes hearty vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and other root vegetables.

Heavy cream and other dairy products will also stay fresh in the refrigerator until Thanksgiving.

If you ordered your turkey and don’t need to pick one up at the store, you can wait to do one final grocery store run a few days before dinner.

14. Prepare For Leftovers

This week is a good time to think about the day after Thanksgiving—specifically, all the leftovers. Do a quick check in the kitchen this week to see what containers you have available for turkey leftovers.

You should also consider if you want to send guests home with leftovers.

If you plan to send guests home with leftovers, grab some disposable plastic containers while you are at the grocery store. This will make it easy to pack up leftovers at the end of dinner.

One thing many people miss when they don’t host Thanksgiving is the leftovers. So your guests will be thankful for a to-go container.

3 Days Before Thanksgiving

15. Defrost the Turkey

Frozen turkeys take a little bit of time to defrost. Plus, it is important to allow them to defrost slowly as broken down in my guide to safely thawing turkey.

The best thing is to move your frozen turkey to the refrigerator 3 days prior to Thanksgiving.

Even though the turkey will stay wrapped while defrosting, it can still drip. So you should always place it on the bottom shelf to defrost on paper towels or a small tray.

16. Final Grocery Run For Veggies

While it would be ideal to not have to go to the grocery this week, you will most likely need to do a final run. This is the time to pick up any fresh veggies that do not have a long shelf life. For example, the celery needed for your Thanksgiving stuffing. 

In addition to fresh veggies, this is the time to grab any other items you need and may have forgotten.

If you didn’t head to the store last week, then make sure you get your heavy cream, root veggies, and any other items you haven’t picked up yet. 

17. Clean The House

Having guests over for dinner will likely prompt a desire for a deep clean, which may take a bit of extra time. Plan to do most of your house cleaning a few days before dinner.

You need to do a quick pick-up the morning of (especially if you have kids). However, finish all the big things (like vacuuming and mopping) earlier.

This will not only help you prepare for guests but also help you feel more relaxed leading up to the holiday. 

18. Pickup Rentals

If you rent any items you need to pick up, plan to get them 2-3 days before Thanksgiving. This way, you have time to get any errors or shortages fixed before turkey day.

If anything has changed, this also gives you a few days to make last-minute adjustments. 

2 Days Before Thanksgiving Dinner

19. Prepare Side Dishes

Make ahead Thanksgiving side dishes are a life saver. Taking time to prep these early saves you a lot of time and stress on the day of dinner.

Soups and stocks you didn’t freeze can be made at this time (if you froze soup or stock, move it to the fridge to defrost). In addition, most homemade cranberry sauces can be prepped and stored in the refrigerator.

This is also the perfect time to assemble any casserole recipes you are serving. For example, green bean casserole and yam or sweet potato dishes.

Many of these can be assembled and then stored in the fridge until the day of Thanksgiving.

20. Make Pumpkin Pies

While there are a couple of pies you need to wait to make until the night before, most pumpkin pie recipes can be made a couple of days in advance. Once they have cooled, cover them and place them in the refrigerator.

If you froze any apple pies or pie crusts, this is to take them out to thaw. Place frozen apple pies and crusts/dough in the refrigerator to slowly thaw overnight. You can use the crusts the next day to bake the last fresh pies.

The Day Before Thanksgiving

21. Set The Table

Setting the table the day before is a great way to take one last thing off of your plate on the day of.

If you have kids at home, this is a good activity to have them help with that will keep them busy (since most kids don’t have school the day before Thanksgiving).  You can even have them polish the nice silverware to add extra time to the activity.

22. Plan Cooking Time And Schedule

Take a few minutes to sit down and plan the cooking times for tomorrow. Start with how long you will need to cook the turkey. Then, look at the list of other items you need to cook.

Remember, there is limited oven and stovetop space, so plan accordingly!

Many of the side dishes and casseroles only need to be reheated. This means they can be put in the oven after the turkey.

23. Prep Additional Ingredients

Prepare any additional ingredients that you have left. This includes chopping vegetables for salads and stuffing. It may also include preparing hors d’oeuvres for guests to snack on before dinner.

Basically, if you need anything you can chop and store in the fridge for the night, go ahead and chop and store them. If chopping root vegetables like potatoes, store them in a bowl of cold water once they are chopped. This will keep them from turning brown before cooking.

24. Bake Apple, Cherry, or Pecan Pies

If you are serving apple pie, cherry pie, and/or pecan pie, you can bake them today. Once pies are baked, they can be left on the counter to rest until the next day.

25. Prep Turkey

While your pies are baking, use this time to prepare your turkey. Place it in the roasting pan and add any seasonings you plan to use.

If you brine your turkey before cooking it, you want to refrigerate it in the brine today. Aim for 16-24 hours before you start cooking (16 hours for smaller turkeys, 24 hours for turkeys over 18 pounds).

Once your turkey is prepared, cover it and place it back in the refrigerator until it is time to cook.

Thanksgiving Day Guide

Thanksgiving is here, and it's showtime. Remember to breathe and that no matter what, being thankful for this time with your friends and family is what the day is all about.

The food is going to be superb. Your home looks inviting and festive.

26. Defrost Rolls & Let Rise

If using frozen rolls or bread, take them out first so they can defrost and rise before baking or reheating.

27. Chill Drinks

As you move food out of the refrigerator to cook, you will free up some space. Use that space to chill wine, beer, and other beverages you plan to serve with dinner.

28. Take Pumpkin Pies Out Of The Fridge

If you made pumpkin pies early and refrigerated them, take them out the morning of Thanksgiving. Let them sit and come to room temperature before serving after dinner.

29. Prepare The Stuffing

Prepare your stuffing before cooking your turkey so that you can stuff it. Even if you don’t plan to stuff your turkey, you can prepare stuffing first so it is done and out of the way.

Then, you can quickly heat it up with the other side dishes after the turkey is done cooking. 

30. Cook The Turkey

There are many ways to cook a turkey, with roasting being one of the most popular options. If you don't already have a signature turkey recipe, you can give one of my tried-and-true Thanksgiving turkey recipes a try:

• Roasted Turkey
• Grilled Spatchcock Turkey
• Herbes de Provence Roasted Turkey
• Smoked Turkey

Regardless of your preferred cooking method, the turkey will take the longest amount of time. Make sure you have calculated how long it needs based on its weight and that you put it in at the right time.

*Remember, you should also plan for the turkey to rest out of the oven for 1 hour.

Once the turkey is in the oven, you can use the next few hours to prepare any last-minute dishes. 

31. Prepare Sides While The Turkey Cooks

If you have followed this guide, you may not have many additional sides to prepare. However, if you have anything left to prepare, you can do it while the turkey cooks.

This is a good time to peel and chop potatoes for mashed potatoes or to put together a quick garden salad.

32. Rest The Turkey

Often, we think that once the turkey comes out of the oven, it is time to eat. However, to get the juiciest and moistest turkey, you want to let it sit for a bit.

Use your meat thermometer to take the turkey out of the oven when it is about 10 degrees less than your desired doneness. Once out of the oven, place a loose piece of aluminum foil over the turkey.

This will keep the heat in and help the turkey to continue to cook internally.

Let the turkey rest for 30-60 minutes before serving.

33. Reheat sides

While the turkey rests, use the oven to heat up all the sides you prepared ahead of time (green bean casserole, yams, rolls, etc.).

Don't forget to put your warming tray to good use today, too.

34. Make Mashed Potatoes

Make the mashed potatoes while the sides heat up in the oven. If you already chopped the potatoes, you will need to boil and mash them.

35. Make The Gravy

Gravy should be the last thing you make. Use the drippings from the turkey, along with any additional stock, to whip up a delicious and classic turkey gravy. This will only take about 15-20 minutes and can be done right before eating.

36. Sit Down To Eat

Once everything is heated and ready to serve, it is time to eat. Depending on how you want to serve dinner, you can place all the menu items in a buffet style or set everything on the table.

However you decide to serve your guests, the most important thing is to enjoy the meal and be grateful.

Don't forget to check out all my leftover turkey recipes for a great collection of recipe ideas.

🦃 Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Menu Ideas

• Southern Thanksgiving Dinner
• Midwestern Thanksgiving Dinner
• Budget Thanksgiving Dinner
• Elegant Thanksgiving Dinner
• Friendsgiving Dinner Ideas
• Thanksgiving Dinner For Two
• Thanksgiving Dinner For Four
• Buffet Style Thanksgiving Dinner
• Italian Thanksgiving Dinner
• Irish Thanksgiving Dinner
• Thanksgiving Ham Dinner
• Keto & Low-Carb Thanksgiving Recipes

I hope you find this full Thanksgiving guide handy for planning your meal like a pro, no matter if this is your first time hosting the holiday dinner or the 50th.

📖 Recipe Card