eHow launches Android app: Get the best of eHow on the go.

How To

How to Plan a Potluck Thanksgiving

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(4 Ratings)

Potluck Thanksgivings are great because no one person gets saddled with doing all the cooking. Of course, whoever hosts the meal will have to do much of the cleaning up afterward.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  1. Step 1

    Figure out how many guests to invite, taking into consideration the size of your home, the number of chairs and the number of tables. If you'll need more dishes and silverware than you already own, consider asking a few guests to bring along reserves.

  2. Step 2

    Determine the food preferences or restrictions of your guests. Are there any vegetarians or people with food allergies?

  3. Step 3

    Plan the meal before you assign dishes to guests. Consider the sequence of the meal and its balance. Balance heavy, starchy foods like mashed potatoes with lighter vegetable dishes. Figure out how many courses you want to serve, as well as how many appetizers you want available before the meal.

  4. Step 4

    Once you've planned the menu, delegate responsibility by assigning one dish to each guest. As the host, you'll probably want to cook the turkey at your own home, but if one of your guests is a whiz with turkeys, consider inviting that kitchen maestro over early to work the poultry magic. For guests who don't like to spend time in the kitchen, consider anointing them Thanksgiving Day wine stewards.

Tips & Warnings
  • People generally expect turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.
  • Leftovers are expected, so take that into account. Make sure you have plastic wrap and sealable baggies on hand so your guests don't go home empty-handed after all their work.
  • Don't ask people what they want to bring or tell them to bring "something"; you might end up with a lot of wine and five pumpkin pies. (Well, that might be OK.) Make sure you either assign dishes in fairly specific categories - side dish, salad, dessert, and so on - or assign specific dishes, such as mashed potatoes or yams.

Comments  

helenal said

Flag This Comment

on 11/11/2009 I have planned many Thanksgiving potlucks from office parties to classroom parties, to our family holiday get togethers. I agree that if the menu is not pre-planned, you could end up with alot of the same items. I have used the free invitations and potluck planner that I found on www.signupgenius.com/potluck to plan the perfect party. Aleviates alot of stress that comes with big events like this.

Flag This Comment

on 12/1/2008 Great ideas. Make sure you invite reliable people. I tried this and most people bailed on me.

Post a Comment

Post a Comment
  • Have you done this? Click here to let us know.
I Did This

Related Ads

Get Free Holidays & Celebrations Newsletters

Copyright © 1999-2009 eHow, Inc. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the eHow Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.   en-US Portions of this page are modifications based on work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.

Demand Media
eHow_eHow Holidays and Celebrations