Last year’s Thanksgiving was the first time I’ve ever cooked a full Thanksgiving meal and it was SO much fun! Honestly I expected it to be more overwhelming (not that it wasn’t overwhelming!), but we managed to make multiple things ahead of time and had incredible recipes that I think really helped.

For context, Dan and I had just gotten married in October and were getting settled in together at our apartment in Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec Canada! My dad, stepmom, and little sister came up to visit us and stayed with us Thanksgiving night so I made sure to have a festive breakfast ready for us all the next morning. We also hosted our dear friends Christy, Nick, and their twins for a total of six adults, one child, and two toddlers!

With the newness of our home we were missing some table staples that we last-minute had to shop for, but in the end we were very happy with our table and spread! I’ll add some links below as well as our menu and tips of what you can prep or make ahead of time 🙂

Menu

Appetizers:

• Baked Brie bites
  • fillo dough cups with a dollop of raspberry jam (or whatever jam is your favourite) and a bit of brie on top baked to perfection
  • these are AMAZING – I’ve been making them for years!

Dinner:

• Crescent rolls 
• Grandma’s Stuffing 
• Grandma’s cranberry sauce 
• Herb & butter roasted turkey
• White wine gravy
  • ***See my Half Baked Harvest Recipe Favourites post for a full review***
• Make Ahead Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Casserole with Maple Toasted Marshmallow
• Veg. (Christy)

Drinks:

• Spiced cranberry punch
  • Make mocktail version for Fin
  • *we added a bit of ginger beer*
• Wine
  • Have red and white available
    • Luxembourgish white wine
• Vanilla Chai White Russian
  • Make Fin a chocolate milk version
  • ***See my Half Baked Harvest Recipe Favourites post for a full review***

Dessert:

• Pecan pie with bourbon whipped cream
  • I will link the recipe when I find it! Dan & I have both made this many times. It’s a delicious corn-syrup-free pecan pie!
• Guglhupf
• Coffee

Friday breakfast:

• Cider pumpkin waffles with salted maple butter

Tips

PREP AHEAD OF TIME!

I can’t stress this enough. In my opinion, it’s necessary unless you have a massive and very well stocked kitchen as well as a talented kitchen crew. I was nervous about making things ahead of time, but honestly everything was delicious and I don’t think it made a noticeable difference in quality to make what I did ahead of time. Here’s what I prepped or made ahead of time:

• Cider pumpkin waffles with salted maple butter (I’d recommend making up to 2 days ahead of time)
• Pecan pie (I’d recommend making up to 2 days ahead of time)
• Vanilla Chai White Russians (make the chai syrup a day or two in advance)
• Spiced Cranberry Punch (mix ahead of time minus the fizzy drink(s))
• Baked brie bites (prep ahead of time if necessary, one day max and keep them chilled to avoid the jam from making the fillo soggy)
• Make Ahead Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes (finish/spruce up the day of, otherwise make in advance as the recipe describes!)
• Cranberry sauce (make up to 2 or 3 days in advance)
• Sweet Potato Casserole with Maple Toasted Marshmallow (prep in advance and then bake it the day of! Probably don’t make the marshmallow topping in advance)
• Make Ahead White Wine Gravy (make a day or two in advance & finish the day of!)
• Set the table ahead of time! This is a great time saver and a fun way to prep in advance. Obviously it’s not possible for everyone if you need access to your table up to the day of, but if you can make it work to eat elsewhere, it’s helpful! PRO TIP: If you have cats or small children put the silverware on top of your folded napkins and cover them with the big/main plate flipped over. You can also close off the room if needed or cover the table with a sheet!

LET PEOPLE HELP!

• My parents were unable to bring any dishes because the Canadian border was quite strict at the time and we didn’t want to risk it, but I still had help!
• Dan made the pecan pie and was very helpful with cleaning, setting the table, and grocery shopping.
• Christy & Nick also brought a veggie side and the Guglhupf (a German almond cake that is INCREDIBLE).
• Everyone also brought wine, so we didn’t even end up needing the bottles that we brought!

MAKE A SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK OF!

• Dan and I had a schedule for the week of including cleaning, grocery shopping, and exactly which days we’d make what. Make a Google Doc to help keep track!
• I also copied or wrote in all of the necessary ingredients onto our Google Doc to help keep track of what we needed to buy, how much of each ingredient we’d need (keeping in mind that multiple recipes called for some of the same ingredients), and what we already had.

What are you making this Thanksgiving? What are your tips & tricks?