First things first, I wish you the simple joys of tradition, the company of good friends, and all the happiness of sharing a wonderful Thanksgiving. If you’re tasked with hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, it’s likely that your stress level is starting to rise—just a little!
Two of the biggest conundrums that many cooks face are 1) How to buy everything you need to prepare your feast in an efficient manner, and 2) How to store everything you’ve bought safely so it stays fresh prior to the big cook-off.
Here are some tips to help you tackle both:
Conundrum 1: You can’t buy all the food you’ll need for the big day in a single trip.
Solution: Divide and conquer. Besides the fact that an entire feast’s worth of grocery bags is too much for one person to carry or one trunk to hold―you’re more likely to forget a key ingredient or encounter depleted shelves if you try to buy everything in one go at the last minute.
Instead, make a master list now and use the next week to buy things a little bit at a time—one day non-perishables, the next produce and so on, until a day or two before you pick up meat and desserts.
Conundrum 2: You got everything inside the refrigerator, but closing the door is another story.
Solution: Empty the refrigerator of all but the essentials. You likely have many things in your fridge that you don’t need such as vinegars and jars of unopened jellies. You can also make space for Thanksgiving by:
- Cleaning out unidentifiable leftovers and expired condiments.
- Using up as much as possible of what’s in the freezer and the refrigerator before you go for your last big grocery shopping expedition.
- Storing hearty produce, like apples, fresh cranberries, and potatoes, outside of the fridge in a cool, dry place, like the trunk of the car or the basement.
Using a beach cooler for the turkey, casseroles, dips, and other foods that must stay chilled. Filled with ice or frozen gel packs and stowed in the garage or some other cold spot out of the sun, a cooler will keep food fresh for at least 24 hours. (To make sure you’re in the safe zone, place a thermometer inside and make sure it stays below 40° F.) Now that you have your plan for purchasing Thanksgiving staples and storing them safely away, we wish you a happy holiday and much luck for preparing a delicious feast!
Maximize Black Friday Savings with These Tips
For many Americans, after the Thanksgiving turkey is eaten, the shopping will begin—at late night sales on Thanksgiving Day and on Black Friday one of the biggest shopping days of the year. While retailers are hyping these sales as having the best deals of the holiday shopping season, if you’re not careful you can end up spending more than what you planned on poor quality merchandise. Use these tips to help you get the best shopping values possible:
- Go into the holiday shopping season with a pre-game plan by researching deals in advance.
- Review direct mail and email offers to discern the ones that are pertinent to your holiday shopping list, instead of being swayed to buy things you don’t really need.
- Check out social media for exclusive deals, too.
- Don’t let impulsive buying overtake logical choices when it comes to your spending—enlist a buddy if you need someone to talk you out of unnecessary purchases.
- Set a Black Friday budget and make a list prior to heading out to the stores or to your favorite retail websites stick to your list, and take a moment to think through your purchases before making them.
For some the Thanksgiving holiday is all about football, but for some, it’s about a kick-off of the holiday shopping kind. It’s great to take advantage of these special promotions, just keep the tips above in mind so you can maximize your savings and minimize any damage to your budget.
