We have hosted our family’s Thanksgiving celebration for many years. Each year about this time, I start making lists. Guest lists. Menu lists. Grocery lists. To-do lists. And so on. And every year I find myself straining my already-strained brain trying to remember last Thanksgiving and what worked and what didn’t. That is, until I started the note to self habit. Here is how to make a note to self: Thanksgiving planning made easy.
Note to Self: Thanksgiving Planning Made Easy
This year started out a bit different for me because I found the Thanksgiving planning list that I made last year on the computer. In five minutes, without any brain-strain whatsoever, I was able to review and update what we did last year from what we ate to the centerpieces on the table to which bowls/platters/pots & pans I used to prepare and serve each item. I had also included a few notes to my future self, like “filling for 6 pumpkin pies will just barely fit in the big yellow bowl.” An extremely helpful little tidbit, as that is one of the things I am always trying to re-remember.
How This Simple Thanksgiving Habit Helps Menu Planning and More
I was so excited to find the treasure of last year’s planning, that I decided to add to it this year. I typed up the menu, the shopping list and the guest list. During the preparing phase I’ll be adding more notes about what works and what doesn’t. After Thanksgiving I will add details about leftovers and anything that didn’t go quite far enough. So next year I will be able to look at the number of people we had and say, “Hmmm, 5 pounds of potatoes didn’t go quite far enough for 18 people, so this year I should get the bigger bag,” or maybe, “whoa, I threw away a whole bowl of cranberry sauce last year – I should halve that recipe.”
If you don’t do something like this already, I highly encourage you to pick up this habit this year. It won’t make a huge difference in this year’s preparations, but next Thanksgiving will be a breeze. Thanksgiving planning made easy!
More Thanksgiving Helpful Habits
- 10 Thanksgiving Habits for Your Homeschool
- Hodgepodge Holiday Homeschool Celebrations
- Thanksgiving Homeschool Activities You’ll Be Grateful For
-by Kendra, first published October 2010
I love less brain strain!! Great tip. Something we will be grateful to have every year. Thanks
Great idea!!!! Thanks!!!
I love this idea since I am always straining to remember exactly what we did!
Last Christmas, I had the thought to draw the layout of our village that goes on top of the kitchen cabinets. Now this year, I am not dreading putting it up because I won’t have to figure out how to set it up! So I can definitely see the benefit of doing this for everything else and the computer is a great place to keep it – no more lost lists!
I was just thinking as I was writing… “hmmm, this would be handy at Christmas too!”
I’m keeping track of my notes on this day before Thanksgiving. What a blessing for next year. Thank you.
Thanks for the great tips! I also find it helpful to photograph the table layout. It helps me remember which serving pieces I used (what fits in what!), ideas for decorating, etc. And I keep my day’s schedule in the computer, so I don’t have to reinvent my cooking/prep timeline (developed it by working backwards from dinner time).
Love the idea of photographing the table! Thanks!
And thanks for the link on Everyday Homemaking!
Wonderful, but don’t throw out that cranberry sauce. It makes wonderful holiday smoothies!