This idea comes from Good Housekeeping and I think it is one of the best ideas I have seen for getting prepared for your Big Thanksgiving Feast. Once you have planned your menu and before you begin baking and roasting the turkey, organize your table by first removing anything that's not Thanksgiving-related from your dining room. Then decide which plates, glassware, casserole dishes, and serverware you will be using for your Thanksgiving dinner, and try them out on the table. Put a sticky note on each platter-and-utensil combo marking its place and purpose (as seen above). Once you do this you can clearly see what works where, and whether you're short on dishes, glasses and servingware. Plus, you'll avoid that last-minute scramble for a slotted spoon. To cut down on cleanup, pick bakeware that's nice enough looking to go from oven to table, or dress up plain pots by wrapping a festive tea towel around the base. Gobble, gobble!
This is a great idea that I have used for years, not only for Thanksgiving, but also for dinner parties and cocktail parties.
Putting everything out and setting up beforehand, helps me to figure out what I have missed. And, when I'm down to the final hour and starting to put the food in the dishes, I know exactly where everything needs to go!
Posted by: Julia | November 13, 2009 at 09:25 AM