Ready to gather friends and family together for Thanksgiving in your new home? If you’re feeling a little nervous, don’t worry. Here are our favorite tips to help you host this holiday dinner stress-free.
Plan Ahead
Planning ahead is the key to a stress-free Thanksgiving in your new home.
To start, make sure you invite everyone you want over far enough in advance. Even if your friends and family are the more spontaneous type, they may still book Thanksgiving plans early. Get the word out ASAP, and never assume people know they’re invited. Invite anyone you want to have at dinner and then let them tell you if they can make it.
Once you know who is coming, you can start thinking about logistics and the menu. Make sure you can answer questions these questions to help you prepare:
- How many people will you be serving?
- Are there any dietary restrictions?
- Which recipes can be made ahead?
- Which recipes need to be prepared day of?
- Will dinner be served or buffet style?
- Where will the food be served?
- Do you have enough tables and chairs?
Be Organized
Planning and organizing often go hand in hand, but during the stress of the holiday season, we think it’s still vital to mention. When you figure out logistics and menu, you can start to gather everything you need so you’re prepared and organized on Thanksgiving Day. After all, you don’t want to be running around like a turkey with your head cut off when you find out you’re missing ingredients, the house is a mess, and your guests are on their way over.
A few weeks in advance, make sure you have:
- A list of everything you need to do for your dinner (including a schedule of when things go in the oven and at what temp)
- Recipe cards or books in a place you won’t lose them
- Ingredients for dishes are bought (bonus points if you can group them together by dish in your pantry!)
Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate
Just because you’re hosting Thanksgiving in your new home doesn’t mean you have to cook every single thing. Especially if this is your first time hosting. Don’t overwork yourself, and don’t be afraid to ask guests to bring something to dinner. For example, you could assign a dessert or appetizer to each guest or ask everyone to bring their favorite side dish. Just make sure you write down what each person is bringing so you can ensure there are not two different mashed potato dishes on the table.
Think Outside of Traditions
Turkey and green bean casserole are classic Thanksgiving dishes. But that doesn’t mean you need to serve them at your Thanksgiving! Especially if certain classic dishes aren’t your favorite. If it’s your first Thanksgiving in your new home, why not start some new traditions?
If you’re having a smaller group, consider roasting a chicken rather than a turkey. Or if you’ve never been a fan of pumpkin pie, consider baking a pumpkin spiced cake or other festive treat for dessert.
Prepare Your Home
Before the big day arrives, make sure your new home is clean and ready for guests. During the week leading up to Thanksgiving, do little bits of tidying and cleaning so you’re not overwhelmed the day or even the morning before.
When cleaning, pay extra attention to areas where guests will spend the most time. For example, make sure the living room is vacuumed and mopped, the bathroom has plenty of soap and freshly laundered towels, and the kitchen is sparkling clean.
For your benefit, make sure the kitchen sink is ready to go with plenty of soap, a new dish scrubber, and extra drying towels or mats. That way, dinner clean-up will go even smoother!
Get Decorating
Hosting Thanksgiving can be stressful, but you should be enjoying the holiday season and your new home as well! Make time in all the business to decorate your home. It will make it feel cozy and ready for fun Thanksgiving festivities.
You don’t need to go all out for decorations either. Even just placing a wreath on your door and adding some pumpkins and candles to the center of your dining table can pull everything together.
Use These Ideas in Your New Ridgeline Home
We hope that these tips serve you well in your new home and you enjoy the holiday! If you’re looking for a custom home builder to build your dream home where you can host beautiful Thanksgiving dinners, Ridgeline Homes is here to help. We’d love to help create your dream home and show you how simple and enjoyable custom homeownership can be. We’re based in Montrose, Colorado, and are ready to start this exciting process with you.
