9 Tips for Hosting a Stress Free Thanksgiving

9 Tips for Hosing a Stress Free Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is easily my favorite holiday. But, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little stressful. Because behind every gourmet, Instagram-worthy meal is a frenzied human who cooked it.

This year Thanksgiving is going to look a lot different than usual (we are keeping things to immediate family and all getting Covid tests beforehand). That said, making a feast while people mingle in and around your kitchen (with masks, of course!) will still be a whole lot of work.

Now, I don’t wait to brag, but after hosting my fair share of Thanksgivings I think I might have cracked the code on keeping things fun and stress free. And lucky for you I’m going to share all my tricks.

I have to make a confession though…I have some help in the form of some super functional (and gorgeous) Café Appliances. Our Café Appliances make throwing dinner parties a breeze. No need to stress over not having enough room in the fridge, bake times, or doing loads of dishes by hand.

Thanks to our Cafe Appliances French door refrigerator there’s plenty of room for a whole turkey and all the ingredients you’ll need to put together a scrumptious holiday meal. The dishwasher is the most powerful one I’ve used and fits pots, pans, plates and silverware so you can spend more time hanging with your guests and less time up to your elbows in dish soap. And my absolute favorite is our Cafe Appliances Double Oven Range. You can cook a turkey in the bottom oven and broil potatoes in the top seamlessly. Plus, it has a proofing setting I love to use to keep food warm. The best part, you can control it entirely from your smart phone so you don’t have to be glued to the oven all day. A DREAM.

1. Plan your menu out in advance

Having a game plan always makes everything go so much smoother the day of. I like to check in with who is coming to make sure I have my bases covered on everything everyone wants to eat. For example, if half your dinner party are vegetarians, no need to buy a 15 pound turkey. This will also give you time to stock up on all the ingredients you’ll need and plan out the cook times.

2. Prep ahead what you can

Anything you can do to prep before the day of is a good idea. I always like to chop up my veggies, get together my turkey brine, and prep any pie crusts or desserts at least a day in advance. This let’s you spread out the work and allows you to enjoy yourself for more of the day, instead of measuring out ingredients for a salad dressing you could have prepped on Tuesday.

3. Invite friends over to prep with you

I LOVE having help in the kitchen. Many hands make quick work. Plus it’s an excuse to have a little extra one on one time with your closest friends and family before everyone else heads over for the big day.

4. Design your table to reflect the occasion

OK so we miiiight have gone all out on fall florals for our thanksgiving spread here, but it’s totally okay to keep it simple. My biggest tip is to make sure your table design matches the occasion it’s for. So for Thanksgiving, warm neutrals are absolutely beautiful and effortless. And when in doubt, remember that your food will be covering most of your table, so don’t overthink things too much!

5. Ask for help

Just because you’re hosting doesn’t mean you’re doing this entirely on your own. If there’s something you absolutely hate making–ask someone else to do it! That being said, make sure you communicate clearly when asking friends to bring their own dish. If not, you’ll inevitably end up with 5 pumpkin pies and no side dishes.

6. Start off with a killer cheeseboard

Nothing is worse than hungry, impatient guests. It always seems like I underestimate the time the turkey will take to cook. Luckily, if you have a great appetizer spread no one will notice! I love to keep everyone tied over with an Instagram-worthy cheeseboard. It’s grazeable, super easy to throw together and has a little something for everyone. We actually have a number of cheeseboards on the blog for you to peruse:

• How to Make a Cheeseboard
• 5 Minute Holiday Cheeseboard
• Date Night Cheeseboard for Two

7. Make sure you have a variety of drinks

Just like having snacks on hand, I always like to have a variety of beverages to keep people happy while the cooking is still happening. Make sure you get a mix of beer, wine, and non alcoholic beverages so there’s something for everyone! And if you’re feeling like a cocktail (or a wine-cocktail, shall I say), check out this Super Simple Mulled Wine.

8. Make sure your dishwasher is empty and ready to go

Dishwashers are pretty much my favorite kitchen appliance. I truly could not live without mine. We love our Café Appliances dishwasher because it’s super powerful and fits a whole dinner party worth of dishes. I like to make sure it’s completely empty and ready to go before guests arrive so we can load it up all night and not even have to think about the dishes!

9. Have everyone brings containers for leftovers

This is my absolute favorite thing to do for dinner parties: make sure everyone brings containers to take food home! Everyone will leave with a container of whatever was their favorite, and your fridge won’t be full of tons of leftovers you’ll never be able to get through.

Now take a deep breath and go into your holiday plans with minimal stress!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

This post is sponsored by Café Appliances. All opinions are my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that make Broma possible!

Photographer: Broma Bakery
Florist: Boston Pollen
Stylist: Daylynn Designs
Tabletop: Grandview Prophouse and Lekker Home