I’m not sure about you, but in my family, Thanksgiving is a three-day event more akin to a marathon than a relaxing holiday. We take our Thanksgiving meals very seriously. Even though the hours and minutes leading up to the main event can be chaotic, the stress is worth the beautiful spread that eventually takes up the entirety of the dining room table for Thanksgiving dinner.
Friendsgiving is often the same way. Hosting a group can be stressful, especially when everyone brings their own Thanksgiving traditions — and you need to consider allergies or dietary restrictions.
With years of hosting experience, I’ve nailed down several cooking and hosting tips to help you perfect your Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving dinners. Below you’ll find 10 essential tips you can add to your arsenal this upcoming holiday.
For more ways to navigate the holiday like a pro, explore our Thanksgiving cheat sheet to prevent making common mistakes.
1. Make a detailed list well in advance
A detailed list will keep you organized.
Maybe not a hack, per se, but it’s one of the most foolproof ways to prevent a would-be disaster when hosting Friendsgiving or Thanksgiving. Preparing in advance will guarantee you don’t let something slip and it can help ease your anxiety day-of.
I recommend writing at least two lists. One should be a grocery list, itemizing every food, beverage, spice, dishware or decoration you’ll need to purchase. This is also a good time to gauge your dinnerware to make sure you have enough plates, cutlery and cups for all of your guests.
The next list should be your plan of attack. List out everything you’ll need to do, how long each task will take and what order you should do each task. You can even type out your list if you want to feel like a pro.
2. Hit the grocery store early
Don’t put yourself in a nightmare position where you head to your favorite grocery store and the shelves are cleared out of the sweet potatoes, cranberries and pecans you need. The key is to buy your groceries — especially nonperishables — ahead of time. It’s best to go the weekend before Thanksgiving Thursday.
3. Defrost early, too
Do it early! I mean it. Don’t wait and don’t even think about putting your glorious, frozen turkey in the microwave.
Thawing a turkey really is simple, you just need time. To make sure you take it out in time, set a reminder on your phone for when you need to switch the turkey from the freezer to the fridge. Here’s our full guide on safely defrosting your Thanksgiving turkey.
Proper thawing is essential.
4. Create counter space
This is always an issue, isn’t it? Even if I had a mansion with 1,000 feet of counter space, I bet I’d still run out of room in my kitchen to prep, chop, mix and marinate.
The trick is to create counter space. Sure, sure, matter can’t be created or destroyed — but it can feel like it if you break out that tailgating table you’ve got stashed in the garage. If you have any sort of foldout table stored away, dust it off and move it to your kitchen for extra counter space.
5. Print out your recipes and tape them on the cabinets
Maybe you don’t mind pulling up the recipe on your phone every few minutes, but I get frustrated by having to stop and check directions — not to mention ending up with greasy smudges all over my screen.
By printing recipes and taping them to your kitchen cabinets, you’ll always know where to look without toggling through different screens. Plus, you won’t take up any of that sparse counter space. If you’re using a recipe in a cooking book or a handwritten family recipe, I recommend typing it up to print, or tape the recipe card to a cabinet.
Write out your recipe card and tape it onto the kitchen cabinet, so it’s out of the way.
6. Prechop everything you can
Chopping vegetables is known to be therapeutic, but it’s time-consuming. With the fray of everything going on Thanksgiving Day, spare yourself the agony. Wash, prep and chop the day or night before. This goes for all your vegetables, fruits and nuts.
Simply seal everything into separate containers and take it out when you need it.
Chopping veggies can be time-consuming, so do it beforehand.
7. Don’t be afraid to make dishes ahead of time
Unfortunately, even if you chop veggies ahead of time, it’s hard to do everything in one day. That means you’ll have to do some pre-Friendsgiving or pre-Thanksgiving cooking. Luckily, there are a lot of dishes that you can make ahead of time that will still be delicious at dinnertime.
For example, the all-important mashed potatoes. Between scrubbing, peeling, chopping, boiling and mashing, this dish can be an unexpected time-suck. You can keep mashed potatoes up to two days ahead of time and they’ll still maintain their fluffy texture.
Here’s several other dishes that will fare well overnight in the fridge:
- Gravy can be refrigerated or frozen days in advance and then whisked back to life in a saucepan before serving day-of.
- Stuffing will need to be popped back in the oven for a few minutes or under the broil to re-crisp the top, but with all the chopping and mixing involved, it’s worth your time to prepare in advance.
- Desserts tend to keep well for days. Pumpkin pies, pecan pies and apple pie bread pudding will thrive in the fridge overnight.
- Booze is always a no-brainer for preparing ahead if there’ll be drinking at your party. Throw together a fun and fabulous large-batch cocktail and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.
Desserts, especially pies, are no-brainers for making ahead of time.
8. Hack the turkey
Thanksgiving is literally nicknamed Turkey Day. It’s kind of important. While I’ve always preferred sides, turkey is the single most important dish for many people. While I’d never judge anyone for opting to skip the turkey, if you have the time and energy, I recommend following this guide on the best way to roast a turkey perfectly.
Here are some extra “hacks” to make the turkey prepping go smoothly.
Cooking Hacks to Make Your Thanksgiving Day Less Chaotic
Go dry
Cooking snobs may turn their noses up at me, but use a dry brine instead of a classic wet brine. Brining is the technique of coating the turkey in a salt mixture to keep its meat flavorful and tender, and to prevent dryness.
A dry brine (vigorous salt rub) is a much simpler endeavor than a wet one. It requires fewer steps and less time, space and equipment. Dry brines also give you a very salty, crispy skin.
Go high
There’s a lot to love about high-heat cooking — it results in crispy skin, juicy meat and, of course, takes much less time to prepare. The high-heat recipe calls for just a two-hour roast at a scalding 500° to 525°F for a 16- to 18-pound bird. Adjust for time and weight as needed.
Spatch me if you can
Spatchcocking, a popular roasting method that involves removing the turkey’s backbone and cracking the breastbone to lay it flat, can be a real time-saver if you’re in a pinch. Plus, the risk of drying out decreases greatly. To save even more time, ask your butcher to spatch the turkey for you. But remember — you should still brine your bird.
9. Don’t be afraid to be the boss
Don’t be afraid to delegate dishes and tasks to family, friends and guests (but be sure to gauge their capabilities in advance). If you’re hosting a Friendsgiving, make it a pot-luck affair so that everyone brings one to two sides or a group beverage, while you take care of the staples, like turkey and stuffing.
10. Have appetizers and drinks ready upon arrival
There’s nothing worse than feeling like you need to entertain your guests while trying to finish up dishes for the big dinner. To take some of the pressure off, have an easy appetizer or two and a batch cocktail ready for your guests when they arrive. This way, they can talk, eat and drink while you finish up your hosting responsibilities.
I like to make my mom’s classic stuffed mushrooms if I’m hosting four to seven people. If there’s a larger group, I recommend making a charcuterie board for guests to pick at.
While you’re certain to find a fun holiday sangria or cocktail recipe online, I recommend exploring ready-to-serve cocktails, like those from The Cocktail Collection, that require zero bar tools and mixology skills. You can just open, pour and serve for the easiest hosting possible.
For more, explore these best Thanksgiving meal kits and how you can use AI to plan your Thanksgiving dinner.
