Thanksgiving Memories

Thanksgiving wasn’t always my favorite holiday, but that all changed when I started hosting the holiday feast at our house about 10 years ago.

I loved the days (weeks!) of planning and prep. I relished in the opportunity to spend endless hours in the kitchen, giving myself permission to slow down and take the time necessary to create a memorable meal for my loved ones. I got downright giddy about the table set-up—pulling out my family heirlooms along with my latest thrift store finds.

Above all, hosting Thanksgiving dinner made me realize how much I enjoyed connecting with my family over recipes and food traditions and sparked my passion for working to uphold these special memories and create new ones for my kids.

Holiday Meal Game Plan

Part of my Thanksgiving planning each year includes sitting down to map out the “day of” details from the guest list and seating chart to the menu and detailed cooking schedule. This is a huge help with maximizing oven space and ensuring everything goes smoothly on the big day.

I keep these “Thanksgiving game plans” from year to year, and often refer back to them to remember what I served the year before, what worked and what didn’t. These notes to myself have become a nice keepsake, which got me thinking that I bet others do the same thing. I asked a talented friend to help design a pretty template for me to use moving forward and now you can use it too!