How to Host a Thanksgiving Day Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner is a great time to host a dinner party for your friends and family. This is a time of the year when people want to gather together, eat good food, share good stories and time, plus watch a Football game or two.

Yet, many families can not share this holiday together because of distance. For this reason, if you are planning on hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner, be sure to invite anyone you know who has family far away. You know if you didn't have anyone to share this holiday with you would probably feel lonely. These people may, too. Also be sure to invite any older people you know, you may not have close family or friends close.

Hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner may be challenging. But if you plan ahead, it can be a doable and fun event for all, including the host.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Invitations
• Food
• Turkey
• Placing settings
• Pots
• Pans
• Dishes
• Desserts
• Drinks
• Silverware

1. Decide who to invite. You need to know the estimated head count. Remember if you invite any single people, they will probably want to bring a date or an escort. Count for this extra person. Also be sure to count for that one or two people you forgot to invite until the last minute.

2. Send out or give out personally invitations to the dinner. It doesn't matter if the invitations are custom bought or made from your computer (you can download many wonderful invitations online, some for free). What does matter is that you include the time, address and day of the dinner on the event. You should also make sure the invitees have your phone number in case they have questions or in case a problem arises.
   
   If you wish for the event to have a dress code, also include this in the invite.

3. Begin planning your meal. You need to write down everything you need from every morsel of food, from the condiments you plan on using, to the pots, pans and dishes you will need.
   
   Once this list is complete, go over it again and again.

4. Go shopping for your needs. Be sure to buy the meat early, especially if it is a turkey. If you wait until the last minute you will not have a good selection to choose and you may not even find one the appropriate size.

5. Be sure to thaw out the turkey a good day or two in advance.
   
   Also begin shopping. Once you get home, compare what you bought to the list you created. If you forget anything, go back to store now while you have the time.

6. The day or night before the big day, begin seasoning your turkey. You should also start any baking of desserts you have planned.

7. Eat up early and begin cooking that turkey and any other dishes that you can.
   
   A couple of hours before the guests are to arrive, begin setting your table. If you are planning on having a lot of guests, you may want to use place cards. Also be warned, if you have lots of guests, you will also need lots of dishes, this means you may want to keep the centerpiece at a minimum or skip it all together.
   
   If you decide to skip the centerpiece, you can add some nice foliage pieces in other parts of the room or in living room.
   
   Give the house a quick once over, don't forget the bathroom. Put out fresh towels in the there.
   
   Finish preparing your other dishes.

8. Have fun and remember the reasons you are thankful.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask any available family members or freinds for help. Cooking a dinner of this size is challenging and if you have help, it could go smoother.
• Start baking in advance.
• Go over that shopping list twice before you actually go shopping.
• Again, go over eveything you have the day before in case you forgot to put something on your list.
• Buy your turkey early. If you wait a couple days before the big event, you won't have a good selection to choose.
• Most of all, try to have fun when the dinner actually begins.
• Remeber you are one person you can not do everything at once.
• Expect a little bit of failure. Maybe not all dishes will be perfect.