Plan Ahead
Up to 2 Weeks Before
- Prepare Cranberry-Apple Chutney for Fall Cheese Platter.
Up to 2 Days Before
- Prepare Roasted Carrot and Herb Spread.
- Purchase store-bought dinner rolls.
- Thaw turkey breast.
The Day Before
Early in the Day
- Unmold the gelatin on serving platter; refrigerate.
Early in the Day…or the Night Before
- Cut cheese slices with leaf-shaped cutters; assemble Fall Cheese Platter. Refrigerate.
- Prepare Company Broccoli Three-Cheese Bake through step 2.
- Bake Pumpkin Praline Cake, Sour Cream-Cranberry Bars (if served) and Impossibly Easy French Apple Pie (if served).
- Wrap purchased dinner rolls tightly in foil.
About 9 Hours Before
- Prepare and cook Slow Cooker Turkey Breast Stuffed with Wild Rice and Cranberries.
Up to 1 Hour Before
- Prepare Winter Fruit Waldorf Salad.
About 45 Minutes Before
- Prepare and bake Crunchy Onion Potato Bake.
- Bake Company Broccoli Three-Cheese Bake.
About 30 Minutes Before
- Add crackers to serve with Roasted Carrot and Herb Spread. Set out Fall Cheese Platter. Offer drinks and appetizers as guests arrive.
About 15 Minutes Before
- Place rolls in oven to heat.
- Carve the turkey.
Party Guide
Make It Special!
- Remember those whimsical ceramic Thanksgiving characters you found at a tag sale or brought home from your grandmother’s house. Pull them out and arrange in artful way with “see over” vases of mums or small flowering plants.
- Let the great outdoors—gourds, grapevines, pine cones, nuts, colorful leaves and branches—take a gander down the center of the table. Add votive candles or use chunky pillar candles in seasonal colors. Use again by switching out colors for your next round of holiday decorating!
- Fill a low ceramic bowl with pears in various sizes and colors. You can eat them later when they're ripe.
Success Strategies
Plan and Work Ahead
- Invite guests online and offer links to the recipes each guest will prepare.
- Or, gather friends for coffee or lunch. Divide equally all the recipes, drinks and other needed food items.
- Share the expense, with even non-cooks pitching in to help buy the drinks, turkey or other foods.
- Share cookware or serving pieces if you are just getting started in the kitchen.
- Remind guests bringing food or drinks to have preparation completed as much possible before they arrive. Or, ask if guests can bring refrigerated items in a cooler.
- Plan ahead if refrigerator, oven or counter space will be needed. Ask an apartment neighbor leaving town for oven or refrigerator space if you need it. You don’t want guests taking over the kitchen when you’ve little space yourself!
Save-the-Day Tables and Seating
- Mix-and-match neutral dinnerware and linens. Add color with ribbon used to tie the napkins; tuck in sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme.
- Borrow card tables and chairs or stacking side tables if your dining table is small or you’ll use it for serving buffet style.
- Stock up on containers or plastic storage bags for the leftovers, particularly if those will be shared.
Serve Buffet Style
- With a buffet, all the food is set out in a central place and guests take a plate and help themselves.
- Set up a drinks table outside the kitchen. Keep it simple.
- Have a dessert buffet, too. Cut desserts in smaller portions. Arrange on dessert plates. Brew some great coffee.