The holidays shouldn’t send you over the edge. We need to grab hold of them and make the adventure easy, breezy, and fun. For the next few weeks, I’ll be offering how to put the “celebrate” back into the celebration… as well as other tips and tidbits from MERRY CHRISTMAS AMERICA, my eye-popping look at the holiday. (In case you haven’t heard, it’s the book that Santa says, “Should be in every stocking!”)
Thanksgiving 101.
Tip 1. What you can’t cook (or the thing that turns you into a turkey)… order in! Many grocery stores, restaurants, and caterers will help you prepare the bane of your existence—from the simple (cranberry sauce) to the dastardly (the stuffed turkey)—at prices that are competitive with the cost of doing it yourself. If this is embarrassing, feel free to put said items in your bowls to heat and serve. This will bring a smile to your face… Rule number 1 at any occasion is that if the host is happy and having fun, the guests are happy and having fun.
Tip 2. Make your table gorgeous the day before. A special table makes for a great party and the “day of” might prove too hectic. A few of my simple ideas: Centerpiece. How about a collection of old bottles with sprigs of greenery and stems of flowers, interspersed with candles? Perhaps sprinkle your collection of antique buttons in the center of the table beneath the bottles. Or even easier, just fill your favorite bowl with red pears, cranberries, nuts, and sprigs of pine. Placemats. Instead of placemats, how about covering the table in colorful leaves. (If you’re really ambitious, you can use a dehydrator and preserve them for months. I’m personally not bothered by a little crunchiness.) Tablecloth. Get a fabric remnant from the fabric store or find an old tablecloth at a thrift store or garage sale and let your children finger-paint. Or help them make handprint turkeys at each place setting. Napkin rings. Tie colorful vintage ribbon or raffia around your cloth napkins, and then attach a pinecone or two with floral wire. (If you have the time, get out a can of gold spray paint and gild the cones. But do it atop newspaper outdoors – spray paint is not only messy, it is also fume-y.) Placecards. Use a Sharpie or paint marker to write your guests’ names on a walnut, a leaf, or use the back of a recipe card of your favorite dish that each guest can take home.
Tip 3. Make your guests feel special. Flowers. Place a little bottle at each place setting filled with a flower. Let each guest take one home. Icebreaker. Plan something fun and different for the table to do as you sit down for dinner. I like to give each place a notecard with the phrase “I am thankful for…” and let each guest fill in the blank. Then, put the cards in a hat and pass them around the table, letting each person read one. The goodie bag. My dinner parties are notorious for “the goodie bag” at each place setting. Filled with things from gag gifts (whoopee cushions) to the practical (nice soaps or candles), these bags get the party started and get people laughing and having fun. The fun of this will surprise you. Guaranteed. To go. At Thanksgiving I have on hand take out Chinese containers so that guests can take a few of their favorite leftovers home. Sometimes, if I’m extra ambitious, I pack up cookies and chocolates. Nothing says “I’m thinking of you” like a to go container of yum.
Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for the blessings we have, not what we don’t. Celebrate the family and the friends that are in your life. Let them know how special they are by taking the time to make it a real celebration. Gobble, gobble. More fun ideas coming soon….
