Planning a happy thanksgiving - 1 week and counting!

This post has been edited from the original which was published on November 17, 2011.

Wow, the last three weeks have gone by so quickly! I am very excited to celebrate Thanksgiving — we have a super fun crew joining us this year — and I am also looking forward to some one-on-one time with the kids. I used to get all of them in the kitchen Thanksgiving morning to help me with pies or trimming green beans or whatnot, but my two daughters have taken to sleeping until noon on days off. However I had a stroke of genius two years ago, which was to tack my Thanksgiving to-do list on the refrigerator and have everyone sign up for three tasks. I asked my husband to help too, because good gracious the man needs to brush up on his cooking skills!

My last class is Monday night, so I’ll start getting busy this weekend and then I’ll go full steam ahead on Tuesday. I always plan Thanksgiving day down to the last detail because I don’t like forgetting things and a schedule makes me feel more relaxed, which equals more fun for me! But just because Thanksgiving is the star of the show this week doesn’t mean that I can forget about normal life on very other day. So I think about regular meals and activities, too. Here’s what my schedule will look like from Sunday until we eat on Thursday at 4:00 pm (-ish). This shouldn’t make you feel exhausted, but merely show you what you can do ahead for your own Thanksgiving!

Sunday

Go grocery shopping for most perishable items, bread for stuffing and food for remaining dinners this week.

Make cranberry sauce (I used to make applesauce on Sunday too, but my friend Caitlin is bringing it this year.)

Arrange tables and chairs

Write out placecards for table (a good job for one of the kids)

Dinner: orange and rosemary-glazed chicken, cauliflower-potato mash, and broccoli

Monday

Make salad vinaigrettes

Make bread cubes for stuffing

Make ice cream

4:00 leave to teach cooking class in Brentwood

Dinner: spaghetti squash bowls with beans, roasted vegetables, and guacamole

Tuesday

9:30 am Dentist appointment for Mr. Picky

Shop for last perishable items from farmer’s market

Pick up turkeys. Brine in the morning.

Buy flowers for entry table, family room and living room and put together table arrangements

Set table (I’ll set one place setting for the kids to copy and they can do the rest.)

Wash and dry greens (salad)

Toast pumpkin seeds (salad)

Seed pomegranates (salad)

Shred gruyere (tart)

Shred manchego (salad)

Defrost chicken/turkey stocks

Dinner: Italian wedding soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

Wednesday

Chop onions for soup, stuffing and roasted vegetables

Slice zucchini (tart)

Make soup

Steam, bread cauliflower

Blind bake crust (tart)

Herb oil (tart)

Make stuffing

Prep vegetables for Maple-Mustard Roasted Veggies

Thinly slice Brussels sprouts

Cut butternut squash into cubes

Make sweet potato casserole

Bake pecan pies

Set up for coffee and tea service

Check powder room

Dinner: shrimp with tomatoes, white beans and spinach, rice

Before bed: make sure garage refrigerator door is closed! (Three years ago, I left the door open to my extra fridge in the garage all night long. OMG. Needed to buy two new turkeys on Thanksgiving morning!)