My husband and I haven't hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house in a while, but that's not going to be the case this year. What we thought was going to be a quiet Thanksgiving dinner for just the three of us has grown to dinner for nearly a dozen.

If people are coming to you for Thanksgiving, it's going to be okay- I promise! Realistically, there’s really only so much that you can do between leaving work on Wednesday and Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, but there are some ways that you can get prepped in advance so that your Thanksgiving Day can be less chaotic and maybe even enjoyable.

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    Prepare Your Linens Now

    I used to use linens and fancy china, but now use plastic tablecloths and throw away plates and silverware. I do this because I want to enjoy my time with family I haven't seen for a while instead of spending all my time cleaning. But if you're going to be going all fancy, washing and iron your linens now to get it out of the way so that all you have to do on Thanksgiving morning is lay them out on the table.

  • 2

    Find Your Equipment

    When is the last time that you used your gravy boat? Probably last Thanksgiving, right? Dig through your cabinets now and pull your gravy boat, serving platters, carvers, and whatever else you think you'll need to cook and serve your meal. By doing this now, you'll know exactly where everything is before Thanksgiving morning and won't be scrambling.

  • 3

    Freeze Ahead of Time

    I'm all about making things ahead of time to cut back on stress. You've got a week, which is plenty of time to make and freeze things like homemade cranberry sauce and pies. I make and then freeze whatever I can so that I only have to pull the stuff out of the freezer and then heat it up.

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