8 Tips to Help You Prepare for Thanksgiving

First things first, I get out my silver utensils and serving pieces.  I actually like to polish silver because it is instant gratification.  I love seeing the tarnish disappear to show bright, shiny silver! (Almost as fun as mangling! wink, wink)  If you still do not know what a mangle is, please check out my earlier post  What is a Mangle?.  I have not decided how I am going to decorate my table this year, should I go with the same look as previous years or create a new one?  I know I am going to use David Stark’s Napkins with a Twist for inspirations on how to fold my napkins.

I like to pull out all my platters, bowls, gravy boats, etc and label them with what will be going in them.   My Grandmother and Mother have been doing this since I can remember and, of course, I found a picture of this in Martha Stewart Living!  It is a great tip and very useful for guests and/or help when the kitchen starts to get busy with preparations!  It makes getting the food to the table that much easier!

While I am labeling the dishes I also want to organize where everyone is sitting and work on my place cards. Last year, I got together with two girlfriends and we made place cards for our families.  It was a lot of fun and I hope we do it again this year (hint..hint..)  I put three ideas below that I thought would be easy and  pretty for any table.

I like to buy my candles in bulk so that I don’t have to run out at the last minute to find the unscented white ones.  They are almost impossible to find!  It seems like every store carries only scented tapers and votives!  I love scented candles, but not in my dining room where the food takes center stage.  I remind my husband to stack fresh dry wood stacked by the fireplace and to locate the BINGO game.   With a family of all ages this has become a new tradition at the end of our meal.  Nothing is better than a little friendly game…with money as the prize.

I have got to go, I have to get to work on my list! If I missed something, please let me know.