How to Have Thanksgiving Away From Home

Being away from family during the Thanksgiving can be hard. But it’s not all TV dinners and fast food. It can be as easy as a few phone calls to create another family to share the holidays with.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Contact other friends in your area who are also away from home for the holiday. Maybe they have to work or maybe the distance is too great for a one-day trip. Invite them over for a potluck Thanksgiving.

2. As the host, it’s probably best you make the turkey. If your guests don’t volunteer, assign a dish like green beans, dressing, mashed potatoes, corn bread, pie, soda or wine.

3. Be sure to have enough table settings for the number of guests you’ve invited. You may not have room at your table for everyone to sit (or a table at all). The meal can be a casual event sitting on the floor in the living room, but you need enough plates, glasses and silverware for all the guests. Don’t forget the napkins.

4. Set a time for your guests to arrive allowing an hour before the meal to reheat any dishes that have gone cold in transit.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't want to invest in additional dishes or silverware, have a guest bring his over to supplement yours. Sure, it'll be mismatched, but the dinner is a collaborative effort!
• Be sure to keep track of who will bring what dish. You don’t need four dishes of creamed corn.
• Have some type of entertainment, whether it’s background music for great conversation, the day’s football game or a favorite holiday movie. No one likes dead air.