Events By Errika: November 2014

Hosting Your First Thanksgiving .... How To Guide

By Unknown 5:53 PM

Happy Fall Yall!!! Its almost thanksgiving and you are hosting !!! are you super excited ? I remember when I hosted my first thanksgiving I prepared my menu for weeks and of course I wanted to cook everything my self but as the days got closer and closer I had to delegate a few dishes to some family members. So now its your turn .. are you ready ? Well if you are not hopefully by the end of this blog you will be ready and excited about you big debut !When I hosted my first thanksgiving I was a nervous wreck I couldn't sleep and I kept having that nightmare about my husband cutting into the turkey and it was still raw in the middle . So you may be wondering how you are going to pull off it ....

Your First Thanksgiving How To :

Plan ahead ... many people make fun of me when I plan for events or holidays months in advance . but when planning a big meal like thanksgiving its necessary to plan ahead .
Create A Menu : my first thanksgiving I went to the store blinded ( without a list or a clue ) , I walked aimlessly down each aisle and by the time I left I had half of what I needed and a whole lot of other stuff that wasn't even going to be used . So I encourage you to make your menu and once you have a clear idea of what you want to serve then make a grocery list . Also when shopping for a holiday dinner I suggest that you do a separate shop from your normal shopping ... this may seem annoying to make a second trip to the market but trust me , when you are trying to focus on the big dinner and other house hold needs something always gets forgotten and this causes you to go back anyway .
Delegate : Now That you have a menu ask the help of your guest .. it is perfectly ok for you ask them to bring a side dish ,sodas, or desserts . It is not ok to ask you guest to bring items that the host should provide i.e. paper products ( if you do that ) or the main attraction THE TURKEY !
Test It Out : If you can and it doesn't break the bank try out some recipes before hand . Practice makes perfect , you definitely don't want to serve dry stuffing or salty gravy ! Trust me a bad recipe can ruin a meal .
Alternative Routes : I remember trying to make my mothers sweet potato pie and I wanted to make the pie crust from scratch and what a fail that was ! So from that day on I opted to always take short cuts ... premade pie crust taste just as good right ?
Time : Be sure that if you tell your guest to be there at 3:00 be sure that the meal is ready at 3... guest don't like to wait ..but if you think that everything may take a little bit serve up some appetizers .
Décor : I love love love to decorate ! depending on how you plan to serve think of how you want to decorate your home . I have a large family so sitting all around the table wont work for us so I serve on a buffet .... My favorite two favorite décor items for my buffet are Flowers and pumpkins ... honestly I cant go wrong with those .
Finishing Touches : Some of the things that I add to all occasions are Signature cocktails ,festive pintables and take aways !I know it seems like a lot to add on considering that you just slaved in the kitchen for hours but your guest will be WOWED !