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Are you hosting Thanksgiving dinner? Here’s exactly how I plan our Thanksgiving Dinner as a hostess. This post is all about thanksgiving hosting ideas!
A few years ago my husband & I bought our first house, that year was the first time we hosted thanksgiving dinner.
Cue the beginning of my ‘hosting wifey’ era.✨
Up until then we were always traveling out to other family members houses for the day, but now that we have kids & our siblings have kids we kind of took it upon ourselves to start a new tradition for the next generation.
As a beginner hostess, here’s all the things I would recommend when planning to host Thanksgiving dinner.
This post is all about how to host thanksgiving dinner
1. Thanksgiving Menu Planning Basics
First we need to make a break down of the basics of Thanksgiving dinner. What will you serve?
The fun thing is that you can get creative and throw in whatever dishes you want but I do think there are some staple pieces that make up thanksgiving dinner.
Here’s my non-negotiables:
- Turkey
- Gravy
- Green bean casserole
- Mashed potatoes
- Bread stuffing
- Rolls
- Pie (pecan/pumpkin)
Thanksgiving dinner menu:
when hosting thanksgiving for a large crowd:
Cooking all the food by yourself can be way too overwhelming, especially for a large crowd. Which is why it’s pretty necessary to have your friends & family bring something or come over to cook with you.
Most of the time people will offer and ask what is needed, otherwise make a list of food you still need and have people pick from that list.
Turkey:
I suggest making the turkey yourself, after all you are host and the turkey is the main dish.
My husband loves smoking the turkey on our traeger grill it always comes out soooo juicy and delicious! But of course, you can oven roast your turkey too.
defrost rules:
More thanksgiving dinner menu ideas
How to keep food warm
With so many dishes it can be a challenge to keep things warm for when it’s time to eat. Here’s how I keep everything warm:
I buy these disposable trays in bulk that come with lids (save so much dish washing time).
- Keep trays of food in the oven on lowest setting/just warm
- Roasters
- Crockpot
- Pots on the stove on very low
2. Fall + Thanksgiving Decor
Fall decor can get expensive and in all honesty you will need to start building your fall decor arsenal over the years.
But there are a few key decor elements you can focus on if you are starting with minimal fall decor.
Front Door Decor
Adding a fall welcome mat and/or a fall wreath will be the first thing your guest will see when they arrive, this will give them that initial Thanksgiving/Fall feeling.
Plates + Silverware
I am all about creating an easy clean up after a large crowd which is why I love using plasticware (maybe one day I will have a beautiful fall dinner set with cloth napkins). But for now, paper plates, disposable cups, & napkins is my go to.
Tip: I like to leave a sharpie near the cups so that people can write their names and don’t get confused who’s cup belongs to who.
Thanksgiving Table Setting
Never underestimate the impression of a beautiful table setting! I personally am always so impressed when I arrive to a dinner and see a beautiful table setting.
Here's some Thanksgiving table setting ideas:
3. Thanksgiving Entertaining Ideas!
Here are some ideas to help keep your guests entertained. Usually everyone is having a great time socializing but it’s always a great idea to add some fun to the mix!
Photo Op:
Taking pictures at a holiday dinner are so fun to look back in the years to come. You will be busy hosting nad visiting with everyone but at every event that I have forgotten to take photos I always regret it!
Make taking photos part of the party with a photo backdrop to encourage everyone to take pictures.
Don’t forget a group photo!
4. Closing Out Thanksgiving Dinner
When people decided to begin to trickle out I always like to offer them a way to take food home with them (everyone loves thanksgiving left-overs!).
Over the years I lost too many tupperware sets that’s why I started buying these to-go plates in bulk.
You’ll love offering these to your friends & family! They love being able to build their own to-go plates
Remember To Enjoy yourself
Hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner can be stressful, you want to make sure all of your guests are comfortable and happy, you also want the food to be warm and delicious. Trust me, I know it can feel like a lot of pressure, but it is so worth the memories.
So just remember to enjoy yourself and have fun.
Happy Hosting!
And Happy Thanksgiving!!
