Yes, it's wall-to-wall shoppers at the supermarket today--but if you must join them? Check your list for these often-forgotten survival items for your Thanksgiving gathering. They'll keep the fun in the festivities:
- Automatic Dishwasher Detergent Hosting a holiday gathering means lots (and lots and LOTS) of dirty dishes. If you use an automatic dishwasher, be sure it's stocked and ready to roll!
- Club Soda It's the non-caloric drink of choice with a squeeze of lime ... but an extra bottle can be a cleaning lifesaver when applied to the inevitable spilled food. Use it to blot fresh wine, gravy or pie stains for tablecloth stains or carpet first aid.
- Paper Towels Unfamiliar cooking routines, helpers washing their hands and little-kid clean-ups can burn through a roll of paper towels in record time. Keep a backup waiting!
- Toilet Paper If it's "just us chickens", a missing roll is no big problem. Not so when you've got a house full. Avoid red faces with a fresh supply!
- Camera Batteries Don't make the family wait to dive into the feast (while the cameraman raids the childrens' toys for fresh batteries). Stock up or charge rechargeables now.
- Sandwich Bread What's the number-one reason for a Black Friday trip to the supermarket? "We're out of bread!" Grab a loaf today, and be ready for turkey sandwiches (and no cooking!) on Friday.
It's the Tuesday before Thanksgiving ... and you're panicking.
So you haven't been planning menus, defrosting turkeys or pre-preparing side dishes for the last week? Do we have a Thanksgiving countdown checklist for you!
Here you go: a last-minute guide to getting the bird on the table anyway, from OutOfTheFryingPan.com. It's a bare-bones Wednesday night plan to get you from zero to sixty by next day:
Last Minute Thanksgiving Survival List Read more »
Has the upcoming Thanksgiving meal created chaos in the holiday kitchen? This year, get help--online, by phone or through Twitter--with all your Thanksgiving turkey problems!
Whether you need to know about thawing times, stuffing recommendations, cooking methods or problem solving, try these resources for holiday cooking questions:
By Phone:
- The Foster Farms Turkey Helpline is staffed 24 hours a day through November 30. Call with your questions at 800-255-7227.
- Get turkey cooking tips and solutions from the Butterball Hot Line at 800-288-8372. Staffers answer the phone from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through December.
- The Honeysuckle White Consumer Affairs Office offers turkey assistance weekdays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST at 800-532-5756. Office will be closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
- Get automated support for foil-based turkey cooking methods through the Reynolds Turkey Tip Line at 800-745-4000.
- Find answers to food safety questions at the U.S.D.A. Meat and Poultry Hotline, open 8 a.m to 2 p.m. EST on Thanksgiving Day, 888-674-6854
- Stumped by the mysteries of pie dough? Crisco Pie Hotline offers help with holiday baking questions at 877-367-7438.
American families will gather this week to celebrate Thanksgiving. Spark your holiday with these last-minute gift and craft ideas!
With free printable gift tags and bag toppers, these Thanksgiving snack mix gifts are easy to make.
Share them with guests, bring them to the workplace, or use as table favors:
Thanksgiving Day arrives on Thursday ... but if you're just now getting around to planning your holiday menu? The Food Network has help!
Check out this free printable Thanksgiving timeline checklist. Starting now, it'll keep you on track and organized as you count down to the big day.
We love the final entry: "Put your feet up and smile!" Now that's something to be thankful for!
Print a Thanksgiving Planning Timeline Read more »
Scratchy clothes, a long meal and aunties who want to kiss you: Thanksgiving Day can be tough on kids.
Keep the peace with these age-appropriate activities to keep kids entertained and happy, from RDLiving.com:
Entertaining the Kids on Turkey Day Read more »
Thanksgiving Day is on the way ... will you be ready?
Find a pretty bit of planning help with this free printable Thanksgiving planner from Web site Whaddya Lookin' At?
With menu planner and shopping lists, recipe cards and seating chart, these printable pages would be a nice addition to the Christmas planner or household notebook.
Editing to add: Well, kids, it looks like these folks got too popular and ran out of bandwidth. At this writing (November 19, 2009), this printable is unavailable.
And that cover! Oh, so pretty! In .PDF format:
Free Thanksgiving Planner Read more »
Ready to set a pretty Thanksgiving table ... on the cheap? You'll need to have a fairly recent copy of Microsoft Word, but if you do, check out this bonanza of free Thanksgiving printables from Microsoft!
From greeting cards to party invitations, dinner menus to recipe cards, you'll find a bonanza of quick templates to spark your holiday celebration.
Thankgiving Printables for Microsoft Word
Making seasonal S'Mores In A Jar for any holiday is easy--if Peeps ® brand Marshmallow Candies are available for the celebration of your choice. Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Valentines Day are on the list, but so far, Thanksgiving Day is not.
Until JustBorn, manufacturer of Marshmallow Peeps, gets with the harvest holiday, we have a work-around for you! Better yet, it's a frugal way to repurpose extra Jack O'Lantern Peeps left over from Halloween.
These Harvest S'Mores In A Jar are created using the back side of Halloween Pumpkin Peeps. Pointing the Jack O'Lantern faces to the inside of the jar creates a pretty harvest jar gift. Better still, with Halloween Peeps on sale at clearance prices after October 31, it's a frugal and festive way to say "Happy Thanksgiving!"
Add our free printable gift tag, and it's a Thanksgiving treat to treasure:
S'Mores In A Jar Recipe
Harvest S'Mores In A Jar Gift Tags Read more »
American Thanksgiving is on the way, and it's time to get organized? Check out this free customizable Thanksgiving holiday planner from OceanSpray.com!
To print pages for a Thanksgiving holiday planning book, check off items from a list of planning pages, menus, recipes and tips. Click the "create book" button at the bottom of the page, and the site will generate a .PDF file containing all the information you requested.
Don't miss the Holiday Countdown! A November calendar, it sets out a four-week schedule to prepare for Thanksgiving Day. Nice!
Thanksgiving Holiday Planning Book Read more »
