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How to Survive Your Next Thanksgiving
Celebration As A Host/Hostess
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By: Cassandra Barboza

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How to Survive Your Next Thanksgiving

Celebration As A Host/Hostess

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http://www.)lyingpigibiza.com/blog/christmas-celebration-in-ibiza-inviting-guests-for-dinner/

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So, youve gotten stuck with cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year or its the )irst
year that you are cooking for your mother-in-law and signi)icant others family. Dont
be terri)ied, everything will be all right. I am going to give you all of the steps to
make sure you host the best Thanksgiving celebration that anyone has ever been to
and that you live to tell the tale. This isnt about the cooking, as in how to cook all of
the dishes because that is the easy part, this is about the preparation and survival of
the actual cooking of the food itself. So here we go. Onwards to being the best darn
host imaginable.

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Importance of the task
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If you follow all of these steps you will save yourself a major headache and your
party will go off without a hitch. Dont follow these instructions and you will wish
you had. It is better to be prepared than to wait for disaster to strike.

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Necessary technical ability
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You dont need any skills to host a Thanksgiving party (obviously and hopefully you
know how to cook if you have volunteered for this, if not all I can say is Godspeed).
You do need to be able to plan, have patience, and an ability to maintain calm.
Cooking for several people at once is not for the faint of heart or nervous. You must
remember to breathe.

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Time required
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You will need several days to do it all. There is the matter of having your home look
nice, buying the things that you will be cooking with, and the actual cooking itself.
For the cooking portion, be prepared to wake up at 6 am on Thanksgiving to begin
the cooking.

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Material, tools, and equipment
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Recipes
Assistant
Baking materials (Dont forget those things that you lent out and others still have)
Thanksgiving food such as a turkey, pie, stuf)ing, etc.
Thanksgiving Decorations for around the house
Thanksgiving themed place settings.
Your )inest china

Before the cooking even begins

Most people think that hosting a Thanksgiving party is only about the cooking. Sure,
the food is one of the most important aspects of the event but cooking the food is the
least of a host or hostess worries. Cooking the food is the easy part, it is everything
else you should be worried about.

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To Host a Successful Thanksgiving Party You Must Follow these Steps:
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Step 1: Make fancy invitations, an e-invite, or even a
Facebook group.

Make sure that the people you are going to invite know that
they are invited. Nothing is worse than to expect someone to
join the party and later )ind out that they did not arrive because
they did not know they were invited. It may seem like a simple
thing but believe me it does happen, so avoid the hassle and
make the event of)icial. Dont let a miscommunication leave
someone out of the fun.

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Step 2: Find an assistant
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http://blog.tinyprints.com/holiday/diy-thanksgiving-centerpieces-with-
invitations-to-match/

You may think that going it alone is the best option but I
promise you that it is not. If you go it alone you will be
sleeping in the turkey at the end of the night before eating a
bite. Bribe, beg, or cajole someone but make sure you have an
assistant.

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Step 3: Ask your guests if anyone is going to bring something to eat or drink.
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https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/
jobprofiles/Pages/kitchenassistant.aspx

You dont want to have doubles of the same dish. You also dont
want anyone comparing your food to someone elses on this
day. People still offer to bring dishes so you have two options,
either say you have everything under control and assure your
guests that nothing is needed or ask people to bring those
things that you dont know how to produce yourself such as
wine or Aunt Ethels famous Pumpkin Cheesecake.

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http://www.winemaniacs.com

Step 4: Search for the recipes that you are going to use.

A. You do not want to be searching for a recipe the day that you
are cooking the dish. Have all recipes on standby. If you have to
call someone for a recipe do it early, do not do it on Thanksgiving
because they will most likely be busy.

B. This is not the time to experiment, this is the time
for tradition to reign, so have recipes that are tried and
http://www.cnet.com/how-to/)ind-great-holiday-recipes-online/
true. No one wants to try your )irst or new attempt at a
Tuna Casserole on Thanksgiving.

C. As a Latina myself I say, DO NOT have an ethnic Thanksgiving. For goodness sakes
you can do that for Christmas. Thanksgiving is the one day of the year when you
should do as all other Americans do and eat traditional foods.

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Step 5: If the people who are coming over have kids, think about kid friendly
food items.

You dont want your littlest guests to starve even if they are being just plain
annoying. Make sure to have kid friendly essentials such as mashed potatoes and
possibly macaroni and cheese.

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Step 6: Find out if anyone in the party has allergies.
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You do not want one of your guests bloating up like a balloon or dying because you
added nutmeg to the stuf)ing.

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Step 7: Purchase Benadryl or some other antihistamine just in case.
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People still risk eating things even when they shouldnt. So, be prepared, its
always better to be safe than sorry.

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Step 8: Clean your house.
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http://canigivemyrabbit.com/benadryl/

You want your house to be immaculate for your guests.

http://www.joyscleaningservices.com

Step 9: Get a room ready in your house for any guests that plan on staying
over.

Even if no one plans on staying, have a spot ready just in case someone overindulges.

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Step 10: Find out who has RSVPd.
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If you can call people to make sure that they are coming.
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Step 11: Plan menu and portions.
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http://lzwedding.info/rsvp/

It is better to have more food and have leftovers for days than for any of your guests
to not leave stuffed or with a doggy bag. Thanksgiving is the day of overindulgence
and dont let your guests forget that.

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Step 12: Make a list of all of the things you will need from the supermarket.
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Go to the grocery store early (at least a week in advance) and buy everything that
you can early. These will be all of the items that dont spoil. For the fresh products
such as fruits and vegetables you can buy those things the day before, but dont buy
them the day of.

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Step 13: Have lots of butter, like Paula Dean quantities of butter.

You can never go wrong with butter on Thanksgiving (see above on

overindulgence).

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http://interactive.wxxi.org/highlights/2012/08/
better-butter-marathon

Step 14: Purchase Thanksgiving themed decorations or

pull them out of your closet.

Make sure to have all kinds of decorations, from place settings, to fancy
candles, to china.

http://www.digsdigs.com/thanksgiving-
decor-in-natural-autumn-colors/

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Step 15: Set up the deceptions beforehand.
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Having the decorations up will keep you in a festive mood and having them around
will remind you if anything is missing.

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The Night Before Thanksgiving

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You are getting closer and closer to the day, so make sure everything that has been
said above is done. Its just about time to ramp up the action up.

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Step 16: Set as much of the table as you can the night
before.

Have placemats in place, )lower arrangements, ornaments,

and the likes. You do not want to be setting up right before
people are going to eat, chaos is likely to ensue if you do
so.

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Step 17: Marinate your turkey.
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http://
www.countryliving.com/
cooking/entertaining/
thanksgiving-table-
settings-1108#slide-1

http://
www.marthaste
wart.com/
269854/macys-
thanksgiving-
table-setting

Do everything in your power to make your bird delicious and moist,

nothing is worse than a dry turkey that tastes like a rock. Leave the
turkey out in the fridge (not the freezer), that way it is not frozen when
you go to cook it in the morning. A frozen turkey takes a while to thaw
and you dont want to be crying over a bird that still isnt done by 9pm on
Thanksgiving.

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http://www.divinedinnerparty.com/
fried-turkey-injection-recipe.html

Step 18: Make your desserts the night before the

event.

Pies, cookies, and cakes are perfectly )ine when made the
night before and baking a pie while you cook the rest of
your food will drive you insane if you even try it.

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http://www.stylisheve.com/pie-
dessert-thanksgiving-desserts-

http://
thanksgivingwallpapers.blogspot.co
m/2010/07/thanksgiving-desserts-

Step 19: Wake up early on Thanksgiving and make sure your assistant
is up too.

You are going to need to do this. You better be cooking by 7 oclock or you are going
to regret it, I kid you not.

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Thanksgiving Day

Step 20: Put the turkey in Yirst thing (if you are cooking it in
the oven).

When a bird weighs more than a chicken (or several chickens at that)
it is going to take some time to cook.

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http://www.levittowncomfort.com/10-ways-to-cook-a-turkey

Step 21: Have your assistant do all of the peeling of

the vegetables.

Peeling vegetables is not dif)icult but time consuming (time you really
dont have) so give this assignment to your assistant. This will save you
time and put your assistant to good use.

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http://www.justonjuice.com/juicing-recipes/

Step 22: While you are cooking have your assistant measure things
out for you.

This is another time consuming but easy task that assistants are best used
for.

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Step 23: Make sure that the oven always has the right temperature.
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http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Measuring-Spoons-and-Cups

Oven can sometimes be temperamental so make sure that the correct temperature is
being used, nothing can screw up cooking times worse than incorrect temperatures.

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Step 24: Do not cook on settings that are too high.
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Things can burn quickly if temperatures are just a little to high so avoid that and
keep the temperatures a little lower than need be. It is better for a dish to take a
little longer than to be ruined for speed.

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Step 25: Watch things as they are cooking or have your assistant keep watch.
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Do not forget that something is in the oven, have reminders to yourself because you
dont want for things to taste like charcoal instead of food.

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Step 26: When your guests arrive assign someone to be the person to serve
drinks.

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While you focus on the food you will need someone to be the bartender.
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Step 27: Take a breather and enjoy all of the delicious food you have made.
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See its delicious, right? I told you that was the least of your worries.
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Step 28: Make sure that all of your guests have a way to get home.

Make sure everyone has a designated driver or order them a cab home if they were
drinking. If they are trying to drive home drunk show them the room you prepared
earlier.

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Step 29: Bask in the glory of your successful party and give yourself a pat on
the back.

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Job well done my friend, job well done.
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Step 30: Go to bed exhausted or go Black Friday Shopping if youre crazy.
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Troubleshooting

1. Have appetizers, that way if your guests arrive and everything isn't down yet you
will be able to give them something to eat while they wait.

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2. Have ice on the ready. You dont want your drinks to be warm.
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3. If a dish doesnt work out, dont fret you will still most likely have a ton of other
dishes to serve your guests.

4. If something burns try to see if there is some of it that can be saved, if all is lost
again dont worry and see above.

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Warnings

1. Be careful with the hot dishes, you do not want get a nasty burn as you are
cooking.

2. Watch your )ingers while cutting things, bleeding all over the food is not a good
idea.

3. Do not leave any rags or towels near the stove unattended. Burning down your
house on Thanksgiving is not something you will be thankful for.

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