Betty Crocker

Your First Thanksgiving

Your First Thanksgiving Holiday

Here's the help you need to prepare and serve a traditional and delicious Thanksgiving dinner. We provide dishes you can prepare in advance of the big day as well as help in dovetailing the preparations for this family-and-friends feast. If you receive offers of help, take them! Everyone likes to pitch in with this special dinner. So go ahead and send those dinner invitations!


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Tips from the Experts

Jennifer

"Serving up a big family dinner is a lot easier if you shop early for items that can be bought ahead, such as canned pumpkin and cranberries."

Jennifer Kalinowski, Food Editor - Betty Crocker Kitchens

Simplify Dinnerware and Linens

  • Mix-and-match your dinnerware with warm fall colors for table linens and napkins. Colored candles and ribbons or twine tied around napkins can tie everything together.

  • Those fall-tinted drinking glasses someone gave you as a gift might be just the thing for this dinner! What other wedding gifts have you yet to enjoy?

  • Or, select from the array of bright, colorful paper napkins and place mats available.

Stunning and Colorful Centerpiece

  • Float cut mums in a glass bowl.

  • Fill a shallow bowl with various sizes and colors of pears. Tuck a few blooms, such as gerbera daisies in waterpicks, among the pears. (Waterpicks are the small water vials that hold water for cut flowers added to potted plants. Florists are where you can find them.)

Success Strategies

To Roast or Grill

Save-the-Day Tableware

  • Short on serving bowls? Try inexpensive sturdy plastic bowls available in the housewares or party supply section of your favorite store.

  • Use a disposable roasting pan for the turkey. Ask Mom to bring her turkey platter!

Plan and Work Ahead

  • Make two shopping lists, one for items that can be purchased up to two weeks ahead and the other for items to purchase one or two days before Thanksgiving.

  • Sit down with your spouse or a helper. Go through the Preparation Guide. Divide and conquer, including those jobs like housecleaning and setting the table.
Up to 3 Days Before

1 Day Before

  • Make Bread Stuffing; cover and refrigerate immediately.
  • Make Pumpkin-Cream Cheese Pie.
  • Chill or thaw cranberry sauce.
  • Wrap purchased dinner rolls tightly in foil.

About 4 Hours Before

  • Wash turkey; pat dry with paper towels. Stuff with Bread Stuffing.
  • Place turkey in oven for roasting immediately after stuffing.

About 2 Hours Before

  • Wash apples and pears; core and slice. Dip into lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. Arrange apple and pear slices on a serving plate with a small bowl of lemon yogurt as the dip. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving.
  • Make Ultimate Slow Cooker Potatoes.

About 45 Minutes Before

  • Make Cheesy Green Bean Casserole; raise oven temperature to 350ºF. when turkey is removed. Bake casserole.

About 30 Minutes Before

  • Remove turkey from oven; place on carving board or platter, and cover with foil to keep warm.
  • Remove stuffing from turkey; place in serving bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.
  • Make Foolproof Gravy.

About 20 Minutes Before

  • Heat rolls wrapped in foil until hot.

About 10 Minutes Before

  • Carve the turkey and arrange on a platter. If serving time is delayed, cover carved turkey with foil to keep warm.
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