If you're anything like our family, hosting Thanksgiving dinner is as close to having 5 wild animals set loose from the Philly zoo, running back an forth on a boat, in a wind storm, with 10 adults as passengers who have all-but-diagnosed anxiety, with the fear of not being helpful enough, all packed in the square footage of an average kitchen. Hosting means you are both the captain of this ship and the deck hand required to do it all and on top of it all, make it look easy! Well, to tell you the truth the chaos returns every year despite all efforts. It's unavoidable. But there are a few products we have accumulate over the years that make it all slightly more manageable. Below is a list of things we are most thankful for this thanksgiving that we have put all in one place on our amazon store just for you to prepare.
Food Prep Items:
This is a must. Honestly if you don't have one of these it must be your first time hosting.
Might be time to toss that old nasty one and invest in a stainless steal one that's easy to clean.
Following along seasoning recipes that require you to scroll through a ridiculous amount of ads just to get to the recipe part is hard enough, especially with a house full. Get the seasoning kit and toss that turkey in the oven!
It has grooves for the turkey to stay in place while you cut it up and grooves around the end to collect the juices so your countertop doesn't become a puddle.
Not only does this make mashing potatoes easier, it's a job the kids can do. Keep them occupied in the kitchen and feeling helpful.
Thanksgiving really exploits the limitations of having only a single oven. I order this set every year to keep the sides I make warm as I make them. No food served cold in this household!
Table Top:
This comes with two gravy boats so you don't have to risk a spill passing from one side of the table to the other (or in our case from the kids table to the adult table). Plus it has a spot to put little candles to keep the gravy warm (no cold gravy when you go back for seconds).
Canned Cranberry Jelly is a mess. Make it less messy. You're welcome.
Butter that's been butchered from every angle is an eye sore. This pumpkin holder is adorable plus having something that covers the butter so little fingers and crumbs are less likely to mess the butter up.
These plates are perfect if you have little ones. They suction to the table so they can't be tossed or toppled. Plus, if your kids are anything like mine, having different foods touch is an epic tragedy. Avoid a tantrum with the separated compartments because God forbid peas touch the potatoes!
For the Kids Table:
11. Gratitude Cards
Get them in the true spirit of Thanksgiving and have these cards for everyone to write down what they are thankful for. We save ours each year and read the ones from the last year. These can be especially fun for little ones.
I just thought this was cute.
Keep the kids occupied and seated at the kids table with these fun coloring placemats.
14. Festive glasses
These are always a hit.
After Dinner Necessities
15. To-go containers
These are festive disposable containers to give your guests so that the next day you can have fridge space and so you won't have to eat left overs forever! People can't say no if you have containers they can take.
In our family we have a thanksgiving tradition of building a gingerbread house after dinner to kick off the Christmas spirit!
17. Probiotics and Tums
Having these on hand make the food coma after feasting a much more pleasant experience. Trust us you won't regret stocking up on these.