Linus' Thanksgiving prayer

Meal Planning Ideas for Thanksgiving Day

For many, the biggest part of the day on Thanksgiving is spent in the kitchen. There are dishes to prepare, meats to cook, and desserts to make. When the cooks finally get to sit down it is at the Thanksgiving table to join their family and friends in devouring the meal he or she has worked so hard to put together. It’s no wonder they don’t fall face down in the mashed potatoes after all that time and effort.

Here are some ideas for meal planning this Thanksgiving to help you spend less time in the kitchen and more time actually enjoying the holiday festivities.

• Begin early. Most people work up until Thanksgiving Day so they buy groceries and let everything sit until the night before at the earliest. This year, create a list of the food items that will be on the Thanksgiving table at least a week before the actual day. If it is not on the list, it doesn’t go on the table.

• Cook ahead and freeze. Casseroles, macaroni and cheese, and rice dishes are wonderful candidates for freezing. Be sure to let them completely cool before refrigerating them or it will cause condensation to form. Once the dish is evenly cooled, cover it with an airtight lid or in freezer bags and place in the freezer until Thanksgiving morning when you can pull them out and reheat.

• We all like to have our pies fresh and hot from the oven, but that is a lot of “perfect” timing for the baker, which is hard to come by when you’re cooking a huge Thanksgiving feast. Bake your pies before hand and let guests heat their single pieces up after dinner when they’re ready to enjoy them.

• Buy a fresh turkey instead of a frozen one. For one thing, a frozen turkey needs to thaw in the fridge for four to five days before preparing. That means your refrigerator won’t be available to hold too much else. It also means that raw, thawing meat will be right next to other foods for the big day. Not a good idea if you’re trying to save time and energy and start early. A fresh turkey can be bought later without the space worries. Even if it has to be cooked a day or two before, the entire bird can be reheated in the oven on Thanksgiving Day before meal time.

• Purchase or make appetizers. I don’t think there is one household that ever has dinner on the table exactly at four o’clock or whatever time you slate for the Thanksgiving meal. In case dinner is a little late getting to the table, munch on a tray of raw vegetables with ranch dip or a fruit salad. It is light and healthy and won’t ruin the appetite for turkey and gravy.

Do you plan for the big turkey day or just wing it? Planning takes the guesswork out of the occasion and leaves more time to enjoy with family, friends and the good food you’ve prepared.

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Kids' Craft: How to Make a Thanksgiving Garland

by Rachel Paxton
If your kids get bored this Thanksgiving, put them to work making a colorful Thanksgiving garland to help decorate your home for the holidays. It is easy to make, and your kids will love tracing, cutting it out, and putting it together. You may even already have the supplies you need laying around the house!

This craft is suitable for ages approximately four and up. Your child will need to be able to trace and cut out shapes with scissors.

Supplies needed:

Orange, yellow, red, brown construction paper
Fall-themed cookie cutters
Pencil
Scissors
Hole punch
Yarn

Get out your baking supplies and see what you have for fall-themed cookie cutters. We had a pumpkin and a fall leaf. Craft stores usually have a good selection of holiday cookie cutters to choose from.

All your children need to do is use a pencil to trace the cookie cutter shapes onto the construction paper and then cut them out with the scissors. If your child wants to, he or she can layer several pieces of construction paper on top of each other and cut out more than one of the same shape at once.

Next have them use the hole punch to punch a hole into the top of each shape.

They will then cut a length of yarn, tie a knot on one end and then string the shapes onto the yarn. Their Thanksgiving garland is now ready to hang!

This craft project is suitable for any holiday! Use your cookie cutters to make holiday garlands for any occasion.

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, gardening, organizing tips, home decorating, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.

Article Source: WAHM Articles