Hosting a #holiday feast but don’t have the proper table settings? Never fear — #thrift and #secondhand stores are overflowing with previously owned serving dishes, dinnerware and glassware that can lend your #Thanksgiving table a hint of seasonal elegance without a lot of money. Dishes and platters “don’t have to match exactly but should go together,” says Jane’s Distractions. “Here is where you can start to design the table with colors, textures or shapes.” For a great selection, visit a thrift store that’s supplied by generous #donations to ClothingDonations.org; the proceeds from #resale will go toward programs that help #veterans during the #holidays! #EasiestThanksgiving
Tag: cooking
How to Have a No-Cook, No-Clean Thanksgiving
Everyone has had at least one year in which cooking for #Thanksgiving was just too much hassle to contemplate. If you have more money than time this year and are just too #stressed to host a meal or contribute to a potluck, you have options. You can outsource the cooking to a local grocery store and buy ready-made sides, or order an entire turkey with all of the trimmings for the family. Another option? Go out! Chain and local restaurants offer Thanksgiving meals, and dining out eliminates #cleanup, too. “Heading to a restaurant to indulge in ham, turkey and the sides is a perfectly reasonable way to spend the holiday,” says Good Housekeeping.
Opt for Easy Recipes to Reduce Thanksgiving Stress
Hosting a #Thanksgiving feast takes lots of time and energy. If you want to enjoy the #holiday with less #stress, focus on simple recipes that don’t take a lot of fuss in the kitchen. If you’re having a small gathering, you can do a whole spread on two sheet pans, Food Network says, or pick from a range of streamlined recipes that will be big winners at your potluck or dinner without requiring a ton of prep work or time in a hot kitchen. Try an air fryer turkey breast or apple crisp, for example, instead of the traditional roast turkey and pumpkin pie for easy takes on the classics that will still please a crowd. #EasiestThanksgiving
Do a Pre-Holiday Decluttering
It may be hard to believe, but the #holidays are right around the corner! Two weeks from now, you’ll be enjoying a #Thanksgiving feast; then, it’s on to the big shopping and gift grabs of the Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa season.
Do yourself a favor, and #declutter ahead of those holiday events. Whether you’re going to be hosting or not, #streamlining your home and weeding out your extra #stuff will help you get ready for seasonal #celebrations with less stress.
Start with the #kitchen. You may be baking cookies, contributing a side dish to the potluck or hosting a family feast. Go through your cabinets and drawers, and pull out anything that’s broken, cracked or chipped. #Trash and #recycle these items immediately.
If you find anything you haven’t used in more than a year or is ever-so-slightly less than perfect but still could be of use to someone, set it aside in a box or bag and #schedule a #free #donation #pickup with ClothingDonations.org.
Before you know it, your kitchen will be streamlined and ready to churn out that green-bean casserole or roast turkey with no fuss. Why? Because you’ll be able to find the cooking tools, serving dishes and dinnerware you need quickly because you’ve eliminated the #clutter!
Next, do the same thing as you get any #holiday #décor items out of #storage. Are some of your table linens worn and stained? Are those strings of twinkly lights half-lit? Clean and fix them if you can, and #trash them if you can’t. And again, you can #donate anything that no longer makes the cut.
“I love a good declutter before the holiday season,” professional organizer Carly Adams told Real Simple. “The best time to #declutter and #tidy the spaces you’ll be using to #host guests is before the social expectations of the holidays are here.”
Prepare your home for the holidays now! With a quick #decluttering, you’ll be able to everything you really need faster, reduce the stress surrounding holiday gatherings and have a happier holiday season. #HolidayDeclutttering
Begin Your Holiday Baking Now
#Holiday stress will really start to #snowball after Thanksgiving. Why not get some of your baking out of the way now? There are plenty of #recipes you can make ahead of time and pull out of the freezer to enjoy at a later date, Parade says. Homemade cookies and confections such as peppermint bark, peanut brittle, sugar cookies, gingerbread, fudge and (everyone’s favorite) peanut butter blossoms can be baked weeks in advance. Freeze them and thaw them out a few hours before giving them as a gift in a festive tin or plating them for the holiday feast. You’ll have more time to relax and enjoy the celebration! #HolidayTips