{"id":8825,"date":"2023-10-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theorderexpert.com\/?p=8825"},"modified":"2023-10-30T09:33:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T13:33:35","slug":"10-thanksgiving-dinner-time-management-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theorderexpert.com\/10-thanksgiving-dinner-time-management-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Thanksgiving Dinner Time Management Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Are you preparing Thanksgiving<\/a> dinner this year for your family and friends?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you need help managing your time<\/a> in the kitchen at home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanksgiving dinner planning requires a lot<\/em> of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s menu planning, followed by grocery shopping, not to mention the preparation and serving of food!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, just how are you supposed to keep everything streamlined and on schedule?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, you’ll find ten time management<\/a> tips to help you manage the complicated ritual of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These tips offer some helpful pointers when it comes to planning and preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get ready, it’s time to manage your time…the smart way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose dishes that require minimal preparation.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanksgiving dinner is not the time to choose five complex, overly laborious, and time-consuming menu items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll be attending to many different things at once on Thanksgiving day, so it’s important to plan smart so you can properly manage your time.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One easy way to do this is to select simple recipes or dish preparations that require minimal preparation steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll spend less time overall chopping, slicing, dicing, mixing, roasting, baking, grilling, and finishing recipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what if you’re really set on preparing a complex dish for the holiday?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Select one key dish and be sure to factor in extra preparation time for your masterpiece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you have your complex dish in mind, you’ll want to make sure you balance the preparation of this dish with a collection of basic menu items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create a meal preparation timeline.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A meal preparation timeline<\/a> can help you easily keep track of items on Thanksgiving Day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This document includes your targeted dinner time, as well as the preparation times, and stages for each of your dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can create your timeline with pencil and a sheet of paper or you can put together a spreadsheet on your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s extremely important you make a list of the dishes you\u2019re going to prepare before you create your timeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll also want to have recipes or instructions for each of the dishes, as well as your estimated dinner time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you have everything gathered, you’ll want to work your way backwards from dinnertime, counting all the steps involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll be factoring all the dishes you’re going to prepare along with their preparation times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s an example of how to do just that: let’s say you want to have dinner at 6 P.M. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know you’ll need approximately three hours to cook the turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, you’ll want to make plans to prepare the turkey around 1:30 P.M., preheat the oven around 2 P.M., and aim to get the turkey is in the oven by 2:30 P.M., with ample time left for cooking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Review your kitchen\u2019s resources.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s definitely worth taking some time to take inventory of the resources and tools in your kitchen<\/a> before<\/em> you begin your dinner preparations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You want to ensure you have enough kitchen materials and items on hand, from cookware, to utensils, to serving dishes, in order to cook all of your dishes at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otherwise, you\u2019ll have to wait for pots and pans to become available as you cook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Needless to say, this can be quite a trying experience!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many pots, pans, tables, trays, dishes, and lids do you have in your kitchen? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you need to purchase items in advance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will you need to borrow items from friends and family? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this is case for you, make a note to get in touch and ask for assistance sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assign duties to other people.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You shouldn\u2019t have to do all the work on Thanksgiving day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, Thanksgiving is a time to share, give thanks, and simply spend time with one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why not get your family and friends involved in the preparation of your meal? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When everyone pitches in and does their part, it makes the process less time-consuming for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s lots of ways people can be of help on Thanksgiving Day. All you have to do is use your imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, family and friends can welcome and attend to guests, set the dinner table, and refill beverages and snacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People can prepare dishes in the kitchen, or be on clean-up brigade washing up dirty pots, pans, cutting boards, and utensils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out this post for tips on how to organize a group of volunteers<\/a> to help you with meal preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give yourself more time than you think you\u2019ll need.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Do you think it will take you one hour to prepare a complex dish? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or perhaps 10 minutes to wash, dry, chop, slice, and dice food for three dishes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re unsure as to how long it will take you to prepare certain dishes, it\u2019s a wise idea to give yourself more time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll be able to make any corrections to your preparation timeline as necessary, without feeling any undue time pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t be afraid to add in an hour or two (or more!) to your Thanksgiving dinner planning estimations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, you can always find ways to fill or spend your time in the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the very least, you can give yourself a much-needed break!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check your progress at the top of every hour.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A great way to stay on track in your Thanksgiving preparations is to review your preparation progress at the start of every hour with a time management tool.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our family does this each year, and I have to say, it is a handy way to keep track of dishes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All you have to do is have a clock or watch on hand, pull out your Thanksgiving timeline, and ask yourself these three basic questions: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which dishes need to be started right now? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which dishes are currently cooking? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, which dishes are almost finished cooking? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you’ve gone through your timeline, you can then make any adjustments or modifications to dishes as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prep vegetables the night before.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Who says you have to prepare everything<\/em> on Thanksgiving Day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can save a bunch of time by pre-chopping and pre-cutting vegetables on Thanksgiving Eve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which vegetables could you prepare the day or night before? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about cleaning, cutting, and preparing\u00a0several recipes’ worth of onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and peppers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Store individual vegetables in air-tight food storage bags or containers, and label as necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what about those items that\u00a0quickly turn brown when exposed to air, such as potatoes, apples, and the like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make a plan to prepare these items early on Thanksgiving Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set dinnertime for later in the day.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At what time do you typically eat Thanksgiving dinner? Is it at 12:00 P.M.? 1 or 2 P.M.?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your friends, family, and other guests are flexible, see if you can\u00a0schedule dinner for the latter part of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This way, you won\u2019t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to start preparations for a 12 or 1 P.M. meal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This slight time adjustment can be a true lifesaver…especially if you\u2019re not an early riser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare a couple of dishes ahead of time.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since time is limited on Thanksgiving Day, you should strongly consider preparing a handful of items a day or two in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These dishes should be able to keep relatively well in the refrigerator or larder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some ideas include baked pies and cakes, as well as cold dishes, such as cranberry sauce and pickles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pull out your dinner meal plan and see which of your dishes can be prepared ahead of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ve nothing to lose but a few minutes’ worth of prep time on Thanksgiving Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t wait until the last-minute to begin your planning.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned earlier, it\u2019s extremely difficult to make up for lost time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking even the most basic of preparation steps can be a big help to you as you prepare your meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start planning your Thanksgiving dinner as soon as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s lots of different things you do in advance: brainstorm dishes you want to prepare, make a grocery list (or two), or shop for dry and non-perishable goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could sketch out your dinner table centerpiece, prepare holiday decorations, or make seating charts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is well-worth repeating, so I’ll say it again: start your planning as soon as you possibly can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Thanksgiving Day rolls around, you’ll be extremely thankful you did!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about you? Which of the above tips resonated most with you? What are you going to change this year for your Thanksgiving day preparations? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!  <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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