I can’t believe it’s already time for Thanksgiving planning! This year has gone by so quickly! Organizing Thanksgiving can be a bit of a challenge, especially when everyone is so busy and there are tons of other things going on. Fortunately a few years ago I got SUPER organized and decided it was silly to constantly be making a new Thanksgiving menu every year when we eat basically the same dishes. So I busted out an excel spreadsheet and got organized. Now organizing Thanksgiving is a breeze!
This works especially well if you have the same general menu year after year. If you like to mix things up then you’ll have to do a bit more work ahead, but if your new dishes become favorites then you’ll have everything saved away for next year. I also like to spend a little time on Thanksgiving weekend to reflect on what went well and make notes of anything that needs to be changed for the following year.
At first I just used the spreadsheet to organize who is bringing what to my parents’ for Thanksgiving. Then I expanded it to include the grocery lists, which has definitely decreased the chances that we’ll forget something and have to make a last minute run to the store. Last year I also made a note of what kind of wine people enjoyed, and other notes about what went well and what we should think about changing for the following year. I added hyperlinks to all the recipes I make for easy reference, and make notes about whether recipes need to be doubled for our large crowd.
It might seem a little overly obsessive, but it definitely helps streamline the process! How do you get organized for big parties? Have you ever made a spreadsheet for holiday meals?
And just in case you’re still looking for some Thanksgiving dishes:
