One Week Until Thanksgiving Plan
YOUR one week until Thanksgiving plan
last updated November 10th, 2022
It seems like every year the gap between Halloween and Christmas tends to get more and more overlooked and slowly Thanksgiving has become all but a blip on the holiday circuit. But, I mean, who overlooks a holiday dedicated to stuffing yourself with stuffing?? Because, ya know, that’s obviously what this day is all about! Ha!
When I first put together this one week until Thanksgiving plan, we were in the middle of a move, holidays were the farthest thing from my mind and a plan to get organized felt very necessary. Little did I know this plan would continue to come in handy year after year both for myself and for others.
Whether it’s because you’re busy (Who isn’t this time of year??), you’ve forgotten about the holiday until now, it’s your first time hosting and you don’t know where to start, or you just feel overwhelmed and need some help making sense of it all, don’t worry, I’ve got you!
Below, you’ll find a step-by-step plan for everything you need to do to prep one week from Thanksgiving.
one week until Thanksgiving plan
7+ DAYS OUT
Decide on a MENU (check here for lots of Thanksgiving recipe ideas + get a simple turkey day menu here)
Order and/or go buy a turkey (This is most definitely one thing you don't want to wait until the last minute on! In fact, if you are buying one frozen/have room in your freezer, I suggest getting your turkey even sooner and just keeping it in the freezer until 7 days out, then transfer it to the refrigerator to defrost in time for Thanksgiving.)
5 DAYS OUT
Grab any table decor items that don't require a vase (i.e. gords, dried flowers, potted plants, baskets, linens if you're using them)
Decide on servingware + make sure you have enough serving pieces for all your dishes as well as all of your guests
4 DAYS OUT
Clean your home
Start getting groceries that will last longer, things like wine and beverages, squash, potatoes, nuts, etc.
3 DAYS OUT
If you have a separate dining room, start prepping and setting the table
Make place cards (if using them)
Start getting remaining groceries
If you picked up a frozen turkey, start defrosting it
2 DAYS OUT
Grab fresh flowers for the table (if you're using them)
Finish getting any remaining groceries (I like to wait as long as possible to get things like salad greens, vegetables, fruit and bread)
THE DAY BEFORE
Chill any necessary beverages (i.e. wine and/or beer, etc)
Prep any make-ahead food (pre-assemble appetizers, make cranberry sauce, prep stuffing, make and bake pies, whip cream, pre-wash salad greens, pre-measure ingredients where able, prep veggies, make salad dressing, make dough for rolls if having homemade rolls)
Decide on serving dishes and mark them with post-it notes so it's easy to assemble everything day-of
Run any last minute errands for forgotten items
T-DAY
Here are the highlights for day-of duties. For a full run down and more details, check out the plan in this post.
IN THE MORNING
Bake the turkey
Add any last touches to the table
Finish any other baking (pies, rolls, potatoes)
Quick clean-up
Get yourself dressed
IN THE AFTERNOON
Set out appetizers
Assemble salads and vegetable dishes
Mash the potatoes + make the gravy at the very end
Serve the food, enjoy with family and friends and give thanks
