If you are like many people in the Omaha area, you are looking forward to Thanksgiving. But with planning a large meal sometimes comes stress. If this is added onto a situation in which you are also searching to buy or planning to sell your home the stress skyrockets. But if you plan everything out, however, there’s no reason why you can’t have a great Thanksgiving holiday without the stress.
Don’t Overplan
The first point to keep in mind is that you don’t have to be perfect. People coming to your home for Thanksgiving are generally glad to see you and are not going to be judging you for every little detail. That’s why you don’t have to feel as though you were under a microscope or being graded for your performance.
That said, it’s still a good idea to do some planning. That way, you can feel more confident that you have everything under control and that you haven’t overlooked anything vital.
The Simplest Solution is a Buffet
A buffet style meal takes a great deal of pressure off you. This allows everyone to take exactly what they want. Most people enjoy this way of dining, as it’s informal and takes pressure off both guests and hosts.
You can use any large table, or even convert a piece of furniture such as a long dresser into your buffet table for the occasion. Aside from the food, you just need enough plates, napkins and utensils to cover all your guests. You can use disposable plates and utensils if you want to avoid the trouble of having to do dishes later.
Plan Ahead
Preparing the main dishes well in advance is one of the main tricks to enjoying the meal. You don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen while everyone else is sitting down to eat. Make sure your turkey, potatoes, vegetables, stuffing and other essentials are all made in advance. This includes desserts such as pies. That way you only have to heat everything up before the meal.
If You Can’t Cook or Bake
If you find cooking and baking very difficult, or you simply aren’t good at it you can always “cheat” and buy many of the essentials pre-made. You can purchase good quality foods and sweets and supermarkets, delis and gourmet food stores in the Omaha, NE area. There’s no shame in doing this, and if you present everything the right way, people won’t even realize that you didn’t create everything.
Don’t Let the Dishes Pile Up
If you make sure dishes get done as people finish with them, they won’t pile up in the kitchen. Encourage your guests to do their own dishes. You should also put food away after people are finished with it. For example, don’t leave appetizers on the table while people are already on the main course. Keep food and dishes under control and at the end of the day you won’t have a huge cleanup job ahead of you.