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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Thanksgiving- It's November!
So, I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my family and DH's family.
I don't cook- like it's bad.
I'm confident I can do this, but um I dont know where to start 
I'm so open to ideas and suggestions... 
Any help is appreciated!
Re: Thanksgiving- It's November!
Are you doing it all on your own? My suggestion would be to do the big items yourself (maybe the turkey, stuffing, one other item) and have other people bring other things. This is what my family does every year so no one has to be responsible for everything. I can't imagine trying to cook a bird plus 4-5 side dishes at once!
MH and I always provide the mashed potatoes and the pies.
So, I take it you guys aren't coming to Tucson then.. ;-)
I'm in the same boat as you!!
I think we are going to fry a turkey and do one in the oven (if we have friends over also). Or we may just buy a pre-done turkey.
Or my mom will help.
(That seems like the most likely option)
WEllllll I WAS going to be hosting Thanksgiving at our house, but its sounding more and more like I will cancel it.
My dad is supposed to be having surgery this Friday, he had colon cancer 2 years ago...last year they said he was cancer free,,, A couple weeks ago at his check up they found colon cancer cells on his right lung.
He lives in CO, but the surgery is in Albequerque...which is a 8 hour drive or the cheapest ticket i found was $350++
Soooooooo now my sis and I are thinking, Cancel Thanksgiving here (which I was looking forward to our first thanksgiving in our first house) And drive up to Pagosa Springs and spend a quiet Tday with my dad and step mom...All our other family lives in Ohio.
Uuuuuuuugh Drama.
if you don't cook i would definatly go pot luck style. have family help and have them all bring a dish. as the hostess you should do the turkey and i would handle a couple others dishes as well.
by the pies or bake them the day before so you arn't to overwelmed
I am making Thanksgiving this year, with the help of my mom. I'm doing most of the major stuff, and I'm thinking I'll have her do dinner rolls, dessert, and a side. I definitely suggest having help...even for a great cook, it can be overwhelming to have to time and make everything yourself.
I've done Thanksgiving in the past. I promise it's not hard. If you've never roasted a turkey, try making a roast chicken. It's the same principles: you want it moist, you want it flavorful. Definitely brine your turkey. I swear by brining: it makes turkey moist and not a dried out nasty carcass of meat. You can buy brine seasonings in the grocery store and the directions for brining are super simple.
My other suggestion is to plan out what you can do in advance. Make the potatoes or other sides the night before and just warm them up the day of. That way you are freaking out about cooking 20 things at once. You can also make items, freeze them, and then defrost and warm up the day of.
As stupid as this sounds, I love watching the Food Network specials on cooking Thanksgiving dinner. They should be starting soon and if you can DVR a few...check it out. Also, pick up some magazines in the grocery store. A lot of cooking magazines will not only have recipes and meal plans, but ways to spread the cooking out over a few days.
And honestly in the end, if the potatoes come from a box, the stuffing is Stove Top and the cranberries are still in the shape of the can...it's not the end of the world. You can look back and laugh, and appreciate being together on the holiday.
PMeg--what a nice post--what's funny is that until I was an adult, I didn't know any other kind of cranberries--ours were always in the can shape, not even broken up lol!
K--sorry about your dad
I was almost in your shoes this year! We were hoping to be in the house by Thanksgiving, and my mother had insisted that if we were, we were doing Thanksgiving this year. Well now it looks like we could be moving right around that week, so I doubt will be settled enough to take care of turkey dinner.
We do a minor pot luck. DH and I bring the mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. My brother brings rolls (yah....so difficult), and Mum's SO takes care of desserts. Mum will pre-prepare all of the other sides (we usually have a MASSIVE meal) the day or two before. I go over early in the day and help her finish everything up, and we just throw everything in the oven at set intervals. It works out nice because then on the actual day, there is less prep and clean up work to do.
Definitely try to get your shopping done the next week or so if you can though. It gets CRAZY in the stores the week of thanksgiving if you are trying to get meal supplies!
I love Thanksgiving dinner. I agree with the other girls where having everyone bring somehing is easiest but if you want to go it alone, then make a few things the day before and just re-warm them... Easy as Pie :-)