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Do you have a plan to organize your Thanksgiving? Why you should change things this year for less stress!
I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is only 10 days away. Thanksgiving is a wonderful day when we should be gathering with family and friends to eat a fantastic meal and focus on how grateful we are for what we have in our lives.
But as wonderful as the Thanksgiving holiday is, it can also be pretty stressful as well. If you are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, you may be in charge of cooking the whole dinner by yourself. That will require getting a turkey, and all of the ingredients necessary for all of the side dishes and desserts. Then you have to make them all! You have to make sure the house is clean and may even host family or friends overnight. Then don’t forget about cleanup! If you are traveling to be with family, then you have to pack everyone in the car, or purchase plane tickets and get suitcases packed up for overnight visits.
Simplify!
One thing to consider is simplifying your Thanksgiving. That is what my family has done for the past several years. Years ago my Mom would take care of the whole meal and then clean up everything afterward. But it was leaving her exhausted and prevented her from truly enjoying time with the family.
So my siblings, siblings-in-law, and I decided to chip in. We made a list of all of the different dishes we typically had at Thanksgiving dinner and divided them among all of us. It meant that each one of us was responsible for fixing one or two dishes…but it really took a load off of my Mom. This year, since Mom is not with us, we have decided to simplify our dinner even more. We always had WAY too much food and so we took a look at the menu and cut several things out. We also make sure that we all pitch in to help clean up! It goes so much faster that way, and then everyone has a chance to sit down and visit with one another!
Here’s how you can organize your Thanksgiving
Get rid of unnecessary things
Take a look at your Thanksgiving dinner and see if there are dishes that really aren’t necessary. We found that there were certain dishes that only one or two people ate and so those were the things that were cut from our dinner.
Plan in advance
Planning in advance is one of the most important ways that you can reduce stress during the Thanksgiving weekend. Having a checklist that covers all of the things that you have to do in the weeks and days before Thanksgiving can really help to keep you focused and not pull your hair out!
Delegate
Delegate! When it comes to cleaning the house or cooking Thanksgiving dinner, don’t do it by yourself! Enlist family members or friends to help! Assign different family members different rooms to clean, or different chores to do….and don’t be afraid to ask family members to bring a dish to pass. That’s right…make Thanksgiving a potluck. And don’t be afraid to encourage everyone in the family to help with cleanup!
