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30 Thanksgiving Hosting Mistakes You’re Probably Making

30 Thanksgiving Hosting Mistakes You’re Probably Making

The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the most special family events of the year. A record number of people travel via planes, trains, and automobiles to get home. Already, despite health experts’ pleas for people to stay home, more than 3 million Americans have traveled for the holiday. Aside from the coronavirus risk that comes with having a lot of people at the same time and at the same place, hosting the feast comes with a lot of stress, too, including how to ensure that everyone is happy.

So, if you have decided to spend one of the few days you get off from work in the kitchen, it may help to know how to make the most of it. Hosting a big feast is an admirable endeavor, but it can also be a tricky one.

Hosts try their best but the road to the “host with the most” award — while paved with the best of intentions — often turns out to be a stairway to hell. The day may start out in your mind with an Instagram-worthy feast but by midday you want to cancel the party because nothing seems to be going right. Turkey Day faux pas are OK, but avoiding them is better.

Right off the bat, and perhaps most importantly, drop the expectation to achieve perfection. Between deciding who to invite, shopping, planning logistics and, of course, cooking, many things can go wrong. That can end up costing you a lot of time as well as money. In the end you may have to opt out for a pre-ordered meal — take a look at the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner the year you were born.

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1. Too little time to plan

The Thanksgiving dinner is just one day but it takes days, if not weeks, to plan. Find out how many people are coming about two weeks in advance so you know at least how much food to buy. Begin the preparations — food and drinks menu, grocery shopping, and ensuring you have enough chairs and silverware — about a week before the big dinner.

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2. Not creating a shopping list

Ideally, you should buy everything you need at the store in one trip. Realistically, however, that’s not possible — unless you have a list of all the ingredients — from the big bird to the spices you’re going to use for every side dish — written down. It will take much longer if you have to go back to the store several times.

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3. Not asking for help

Don’t try to be Superman or Superwoman. “I’d love some help” can do magic. Thanksgiving dinner is a massive meal and no one expects you to do it alone. Ask the kids to help. You never know — they may even find it fun, especially if asked to assist with making desserts.

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4. Buying the wrong size turkey

How big should the turkey be? That’s why you need to know how many people are coming over. But then what? The rule of thumb is about 1 ½ pounds per person. That means, for example, a 12-pound turkey for eight guests.

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5. Skipping appetizers

Obviously, the star of the evening is the turkey. But what about the opening act? Keep some possibly hungry guests at bay with some bites and crackers to dip. Pretty much any finger food will work. Don’t overdo it, however, as you don’t want people to get too full before the headliner.

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6. Experimenting with recipes

If your recipe has withstood the test of time, don’t mess with it now. A new dish may be a hit, but what if it’s not? Test out any new recipes a few days in advance to make sure you like them as much as your old ones.

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7. Not following a recipe to the T

Recipes exist for a reason. There is an ideal way to cook most food and chefs have gone through many trials and errors to find out what that is. Don’t underestimate the power of ratios. If you have to put in half a cup of flour and one tablespoon of lemon juice, do it. Do you want your pie to be too dry or your stuffing too salty?

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8. Inviting your entire address book

Thanksgiving is sometimes called Friendsgiving. It is a celebration of thankfulness for one’s friends and families. And while you don’t want to leave anyone out, especially during a holiday that is all about spending time with the people you love, you have to be realistic about how many people you can host. How much time do you have and how big is your home? If you have room to fit 15 people, don’t invite 40 because they might just show up.

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9. Not having enough seats

Unless you are recruiting people for an experiment aiming to debate whether eating while standing up is bad for you, make sure you have enough chairs to seat your guests. Standing and mingling with others is fun but everyone needs to sit down at some point.

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10. Forgetting about guests’ allergies

This is a potentially very serious mistake. Do you have several epipens around the house? If not, make sure you know if some of your guests are allergic to any of the foods you’re serving. The most common food allergens are cow’s milk, eggs, nuts, and shellfish.

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11. Not making sure oven is in order

Disaster can certainly strike on Thanksgiving. Don’t be that host with the raw turkey that you thought was “cooking” all day. You’ve probably heard at least some stories about how someone forgot to turn on the oven. Don’t join the group of such hosts and make sure your oven is in working order.

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12. Undercooking the turkey

Unless you are on a version of the Santa Clarita diet, make sure the turkey is cooked. The ideal temperature for cooked turkey meat is about 165 degrees F for the breast and 170 degrees F for the thigh. Estimate the cooking time for the bird using a chart, but then, about 30 minutes before you think it will be done, start checking with a thermometer about every 10 minutes.

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13. Not using a meat thermometer

Don’t rely on your intuition. Use a meat thermometer to check when the meat is done. Supermarket turkeys often come with a small indicator inset into the breast that’s supposed to do the work of a thermometer, but by the time these pop up, the turkey is often already overcooked. The thermometer should be inserted into the thickest part of the breast on one side of the turkey, holding it parallel to the bird’s neck. Don’t let it touch the bone.

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14. Stuffing the turkey

Your parents and grandparents probably always stuffed their turkeys. But that’s no longer advisable. The stuffing, which usually involves breadcrumbs or some other porous substance, absorbs the raw turkey juices as the bird begins to cook, and those juices are often contaminated with bacteria. Bake the stuffing separately in a pan or casserole dish.

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15. Throwing out pan drippings

Don’t let the pan drippings, including any browned bits sticking to the bottom, go to waste. They are the makings of a great gravy, a key addition to every Thanksgiving table. The turkey juices, fat, and browned bits all contribute flavor to the gravy.

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16. Carving at the table

You probably want to show off that perfectly roasted turkey with its crispy, golden skin. By all means, do so. But then take the turkey back into the kitchen and carve it there. There is nothing glamorous about the process. Snapping bones out of sockets and really getting into the nooks and crannies with your knife is not a pretty picture. Certainly don’t do it if it’s your first time as many things can go wrong.

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17. Thawing the turkey too late

Turkeys are generally big birds and they need a long time to thaw. The best way to thaw them is slowly — in the refrigerator. And you’ll need at least a few days — usually a day for every four pounds.

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18. Running out of food

Don’t underestimate how much food you need for the big dinner. If there is one holiday party when your guests shouldn’t go hungry, it’s Thanksgiving. You also probably want to plan to have enough for leftovers, though these can be a source of contention as some guests may expect to take food home.

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19. Running out of alcohol

No hosts like their guests to get drunk and cause a ruckus, but Thanksgiving dinner without wine is like apple pie without apples. One bottle of wine hold about six glasses. Use that to estimate how many 750-ml bottles you may need.

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20. Running out of games to play

You probably know you should never talk about politics at Thanksgiving dinner. An effective way to avoid getting into trouble with potentially controversial topics — and to avoid getting bored — is to play dinner party games. Everyone will stay busy while eating delicious food — what more do you want from a party?

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21. Using breakable plates

Hosting a dinner or a party with a lot of people — especially if some of those guests are kids — can be a recipe for disaster. It’s not unheard of for people to bump into each other, spill drinks, and drop glasses or plates. You can easily avoid any serious consequences by using paper plates and plastic cups and silverware. (Just don’t forget to recycle them!)

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22. Cooking everything in one day

It’s not impossible to prepare everything in one day, but that day is going to be hell and will start at the crack of dawn. By the time the table is set, the football game is on, and everyone is ready to eat and have fun, you’ll probably be asleep on the kitchen counter. Make at least some of the dishes or sides in advance so you can enjoy Thanksgiving, too.

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23. Making fancy dishes

Ask anyone to tell you what foods they are looking forward to on Thanksgiving day and you’re most likely going to hear the usual suspects — turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, grandma’s pecan pie… Did any of these sound fancy? There is no need to stress over exotic cocktails or appetizers. The classics are more than enough.

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24. Not cleaning as you go

The kitchen is usually a war zone when you’re trying to cook a feast. Spills and splashes are inevitable. So do yourself and your guests a favor and clean up as you go in order to avoid as best you can any possible cross contamination and food poisoning. Also, cleaning up while cooking will save you time cleaning up later.

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25. Having too many leftovers

Most guests will happily take home some leftovers, but they are not likely to take an entire casserole dish of mashed potatoes or a whole pie, right? And do you want to be eating Thanksgiving food for a week after the big day? Probably not. Leftovers are safe in the refrigerator for up to four days. The risk of bacteria growing, leading to food poisoning, increases after that.

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26. Not eating all day

Health experts are unanimous: The single worst thing you can do on Thanksgiving is to not eat all day so you have room for dinner. Depriving your body of the food it needs will backfire on you, resulting in overeating, blood sugar spikes, lethargy, and ultimately a food hangover.

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27. Expecting everything to be served hot

Just accept that not everything will be piping hot at dinnertime. The Thanksgiving table probably has about a dozen dishes. Unless you have a dozen ovens with racks, you’re going to have to pick and choose which ones to warm up first. While the turkey has to be hot when you serve it, the rolls, for example, don’t have to come fresh out of the oven and onto the table.

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28. Not having enough serving plates

Not having enough table settings and silverware is a rookie mistake you can easily avoid. As soon as you know how many people are coming, remember to count your plates, cutlery, and even napkins. It may be a good idea to plan as if a few more people are coming, just in case.

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29. Insisting that everything be cooked at home

Thanksgiving dinner is a massive feast. Unless you have several people to help cook while using the multiple ovens and stoves in your fully equipped gigantic kitchen, just buy some of the food — or ask friends to bring a dish. There is nothing wrong with getting the desserts, at least, from the local bakery.

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30. Having no Plan B

While this is unlikely to happen, unforeseen circumstances can occur and ruin your plans. Research which stores around you carry Thanksgiving dinner packages. Many places offer ready-made Thanksgiving meals, including Whole Foods, Cracker Barrel, and local restaurants.

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