Preparation Strategies  –  Keep in Step with the Spirit

Perfection, former procrastinators, is not our aim.  Whether we’re guests or hosts our aim is to express gratitude and to help and encourage each other as we celebrate Thanksgiving. The suggestions below are good for Christmas too. A run through at Thanksgiving might reveal a way you can tweak the idea for a better result.  Please tell us what helps you.  Anything that smooths preparations helps us focus on the Lord and the people with us.  The less harried we are, the more attuned we can be to Him.

Settle your guest list, time, place.  Be flexible in case you have additions or dropouts.

Check bed linens and set aside towels days before company arrives.  Let them help you if that’s needed.

How will you set the table?  Centerpiece or not?  Need extra card tables or chairs?

How do you want to commemorate Thanksgiving? Read a Psalm, Bradford’s Thanksgiving decree, or Washington’s?  How will you acknowledge Jesus’s birth?

Would you like folks to name one or two things they’re grateful for?

Clear spaces you’ll need to use – counter tops, fridge shelves, tables, etc.

Ask family members what their favorites or “must haves” are.  Concentrate on those.  You might discover some dishes are not “required.”  Omit them.

Cook ahead anything possible, even freeze ahead.  My grandmother kept pans of homemade biscuits in the “deep freeze” and she could grab them any time.  Pies, cake layers to assemble later, casseroles.

Ask others to contribute a dish.  Even if you think it doesn’t “fit,” it’s their gift and might be a hit.

Make extra ice ahead or buy bags.  Use coolers to store ice – or food dishes if necessary.

Stock up on plastic bags for leftover storage and for sending treats home with others.

Have some towels and club soda handy for cleaning up spills.

Set the table before Thanksgiving or Christmas Day if possible.

Utilize extra hands.  This helps guests feel included. Move chairs, entertain little ones, fill glasses.

Arrange for children to “succeed” in this situation.  Borrow highchairs, use plastic covers, seat children where spills don’t matter, etc.

Remember there will be glitches but God is in control.  Everything doesn’t have to be a certain way in order for us to celebrate.  Something different and unexpected could make the day even more meaningful and memorable.

What “do aheads” are you working on?