Today is our last chance on a non-workday to get ready for Thanksgiving. If you’re traveling, you’ll have different tasks than if you’re hosting or bringing food to a friend’s house. If you’re hosting, you probably have a lot of cleaning to do today!
QUICK THINGS TO DO TODAY:
- Do you need to go grocery shopping before Thanksgiving? Grocery stores are going to be very crowded today though. Still, better than waiting until Wednesday afternoon or evening!
- 5 weeks til Christmas! 2 weeks til Chanukah! How is your gift shopping and wrapping going?
- Don’t forget to enjoy looking at the full moon tonight!
- Finish laundry so it’s done for the week by tonight. Launder guest room bedding if needed, so it’s fresh and doesn’t smell dusty.
- Launder and iron (if needed) the tablecloth you’ll be using on Thanksgiving, if you’re hosting. Don’t put it on the table yet – it will get dirty!
- What are you wearing on Thanksgiving? Do you need to take an outfit to the dry cleaners? What shoes will you wear – are they clean? Do you have the right stockings or pantyhose? I like to dress up on Thanksgiving, especially if I am a guest at someone else’s home.
- Make menu plans and create grocery shopping list as needed.
- Fridge and freezer maintenance – clean one drawer, one shelf or two door shelves in your fridge and freezer.
TODAY’S PROJECT: Thanksgiving Preparation and Provisioning
Depending on what you’re doing for Thanksgiving (traveling a long distance to someone’s house; hosting dinner yourself; going to a nearby friend or family member’s house; or enjoying a quiet evening home by yourself or with just a couple friends) you have some projects to do before Thursday is here.
If you’re traveling a long distance, you might want to pack your suitcases now, plan snacks and activities for your children, get your hostess gift ready, call your petsitter, locate your travel documents, and phone your hostess to confirm. Don’t forget to pack your camera and charger or batteries for it, and don’t forget a cell phone charger too! Thank-you card addressed and stamped (so you can mail it when you get home after your trip?)
If you’re going to someone’s house nearby, you need to figure out what you’re wearing, buy and prepare the dish you’re bringing, and buy (then wrap) your hostess gift. Have you RSVPed to your host’s invitation? Prepared a thank-you note? Planned what you are going to do with your blessedly travel-free extra days off of work?
If you’re hosting, you probably have a lot of cleaning and grocery shopping to do. Guest room ready for overnight guests (or people who had a bit too much Thanksgiving wine?) Do you have plastic containers to send leftovers home in? Dining table ready to go? Fridge cleaned out to make room for the groceries you’ll shop for this week? Guest bathroom clean? Background music picked out and ready to go? Home smell clean and cozy?
LOVELY BLOGS: The Bitten Word
I love this blog’s tagline: “Resolving to put our food magazines to use.” I can so relate to that, with my endless stacks of food magazines, recipe clippings I’ve pulled yet and yet never tried to cook.. Clay and Zach live in Washington DC and share their cooking adventures with us here on their blog. They’ve currently tried a pumpkin layer cake from Martha Stewart Living, attempted a cranberry port sorbet, and cooked Bon Appetit’s Roasted red onions from the November 2010 issue. I love this blog so much, I’m adding it to Lovely Living’s permalinks.
LOVELY BOOKS: Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey
If you are traveling with your children around age seven to ten, you might amuse them with Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey. It’s just a short read, but it’s full of Amelia Bedelia’s usual funny antics and mix-ups – this time with a Thanksgiving theme. This would also be a nice gift to bring to your host’s young children.
LOVELY KITCHEN: Treat Boxes
I am so excited to bake up little muffins and cookies and gift them away in these gingerbread house favor boxes. They’re so adorable! However, they are very, very tiny – just two and a half inches tall. I wish they’d made them big enough for big muffins or upended banana nut loaves or such.
LOVELY LINKS FOR TODAY:
Cranberry Parfait (Supreme Design by Dianne Ross)
Dear Prudence Answers Thanksgiving Etiquette Questions (Slate)
How Should We Use Data to Improve Our Lives? (Slate)
How to Wear Socks with Skirts for Fall (Stylehive)
Luxury Birdhouse for Humans (PSFK)
Rosemary Au Gratin Potatoes (The Bella Life Blog)
Summer’s Harvest Revisited (The Domestic Goddess)
Sunday Morning Oatmeal (The Amateur Gourmet)
10 Hostess Gifts to Bring on Thanksgiving (Slashfood)
Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce (Simple Comfort Food)