Are you the host for Thanksgiving this year? If so, no need to stress over what needs to be done and when. We've created an all inclusive Thanksgiving checklist for you to help plan your Thanksgiving dinner party! Don't forget to bookmark this page or save it to Pinterest so you can hold on to it forever!
For our Thanksgiving party checklist, we've broken things down into timelines. From what you need to do 3 weeks ahead of time to what you need to do after Thanksgiving dinner is served, we cover it all. We'll break it down in bullet points; however, we also have a designed out checklist at the bottom of this blog for you to save & use!
Three Weeks Prior To The Party:
- Finalize menu including appetizers and drinks
- Finalize your guest list and send out invitations
- Assign different dishes to different guests--you can't do it all alone!
- Begin making your grocery list for Thanksgiving dinner
- Make anything that freezes well. Rolls and pie crusts, for example
- Order your Turkey or Ham and plan for 1lb of Turkey per person
- Start deep cleaning your home
- Take inventory and make sure you have all of the silverware and china that you need in order to serve all of your guests
- Make arrangements to borrow things that you don't have enough of
- Decide on your Thanksgiving decorations and begin purchasing them
Two Weeks Prior To The Party:
- Polish all of your silverware
- Finalize your Thanksgiving decorations & after dinner activities
- Maintain your freshly cleaned home
- Double check your grocery list to make sure everything you need is on it
- Follow up with guests for RSVPs to check and see who will need to stay overnight in a guest room and how many people you will be feeding
One Week Prior To The Party:
- Get your guest rooms ready for those that will need a place to stay
- Go grocery shopping with your list
- Make space in your freezer for your Turkey or Ham
- Stock up on alcohol
- Grab a few Thanksgiving party headbands from festivegal.com to boost family morale
- Did I already mention stock up on alcohol....?
5 - 2 Days Before The Party:
- Clean out your fridge and make room for all of the yummy food you're going to be making this week
- Thaw your Turkey if you ordered it online
- Pick up your Ham or Turkey if you're buying it fresh
- Baby-proof your house for any guests with children
- Grab anything you have forgotten from the store
- Send your wifi password to any overnight guests so they don't have to bother you on the day of while you're getting everything prepared!
The Day Before:
- Make all of your side dishes so that they're ready to go tomorrow
- Set up a drink station for your guests so that they can help themselves with ease
- Finish all last minute cleaning
- Vacuum
- Buy ice for guest's drinks
- Make sure all bathrooms are stocked
Thanksgiving Day:
- Cook your Turkey or Ham
- Set the mood with candles or potpourri
- Make the stuffing and the gravy
- Heat up all of your pre-cooked foods and sides
- Make room for your guests' coats in the coat closet
- Set your table(s)
After Dinner:
- Try to have all leftovers packed up within 2 hours after everyone is finished eating
- Get all of your dirty dishes into the sink
- Let the drinking begin!
Want to spice up your Thanksgiving party a bit more than usual this year?
Grab one of our Thanksgiving party headbands from our holiday shop! Peep the mini preview above and if you like what you see, check out the rest and grab one for yourself (and your guests) with this link! Wanna get straight to the Thanksgiving party checklist? Scroll just a little bit more and it's yours!
The Coveted Thanksgiving Party Checklist
If you want to keep up with all things Festivegal, follow us on Instagram here! And, if you ever buy one of our party headbands, tag us in any posts you make wearing it! We love sharing customer photos to our stories!
Need more thanksgiving tips? Here's a post we wrote two weeks ago on Thanksgiving Decoration, Craft, and Activity Ideas for Teachers!