How I throw a (Thanksgiving) partay!!

Happy two days til Thanksgiving Tuesday!! Can you believe it's almost here?! Can you believe how little time we have in between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year?! It's almost cruel. As I mentioned before we had 33 people in our house this weekend for a huge Thanksgiving celebration!! It was such a success! Everything was cooked wonderfully, everyone had a great time (I hope), and nothing was broken/stained/ruined in the process. How did I do it? I'll show you! First we went shopping!

 

 

A million 8 cans of green beans? Check. My island completely covered with supplies? Check. 3 bags of potatoes? Check. 3 tables set up (not including the kiddy table). Check. Enough trays and cups for a small army? Double check. 

One thing you'll learn about me is I'm a list keeper, a note taker, a writer downer. I always have a pen and paper with me and I write down e.ve.ry.thing. I've found it keeps me on task and from forgetting things. I am extremely forgetful...at least I think I am, can't remember :)

This list had everything we needed and who was bringing what. It helped out so much while grocery shopping. I also had my mom-in-law here all weekend to help out. We woke up early to get the bird in the oven.

We were smart and cleaned and dressed the bird the night before. All we had to do was grab the 25 pound sucker out of the fridge and drop it into the oven. Then I had another list breaking down our timing. I threw it away before snapping a pic but it went something like this:
Day before-Cook ham, slice and refrigerate. 
7am- bird in oven
8am- rolls set out to rise
9am- peel potatoes and put in water, start making gravy
10am- set up appetizer table and set the tables
11am-people start arriving and chaos begins , start noodles
Noon-turkey out, green bean casserole in, start boiling potatoes
12:30-rolls in, mash potatoes, and prepare the pies
1pm-time to eat!

Since we had an outline, we knew what was going to happen next. There was no confusion as to what needed to go in the oven when and if there would be enough room or time. We were also lucky in the fact our guests were bringing the stuffing and the salad so we didn't have to worry about those.

These were my quick and easy centerpieces for each table. The red bowl is full of cinnamon potpourri sticks and a votive candle. The glass jar is an old candle I filled with more potpourri mix and another candle. The glass tray was a gift from our wedding that I filled with "fillers" from Target. Simple, yet oh so fall. Sometimes less is good, and when your house is packed...it's great!

Our simple, yet yummy appetizer table. Olives, pickles, more pickles, and a cheesy turkey. I show you how to make the Turkey Cheese Ball here. We kept the drinks in the garage so they would stay cool and free up room in the fridge.

There's the magnificent bird in all its glory! There was so much food! We put everything on our island so people could come fill up and go to their seats without having a full table. It was wonderful!

I had to show off our aunts amazing 24 hour salad. I have to get this recipe, it's my second favorite part of the meal (first being the potatoes). If you've never had it before, you're missing out! And there are some great perks to hosting. These are the wonderful gifts I received:

 All in all I'd say it was a perfect Thanksgiving. I owe a huge thanks to my family for all their help in making the day so great! What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving? Love to hear it. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving, too.

Thanks for stopping by.

**I linked up to the happy housie and this silly girls life and the jenny evolution and buns in my oven and kitchen meets girl and lady behind the curtain and ginger snap crafts and the ny melrose family and bizzy bakes and sugar bee crafts and our delightful home and cornerstone confessions and linda-coastal charm and pint sized baker and inside brucrew life and the diy dreamer