Tips On Keeping the Peace at Your Thanksgiving Family Gathering
Holidays are meant to be a time of happiness, but the downside of celebrations on Thanksgiving and other holidays is that they can also lead to dinner table fights as members of the extended family, who often don't see each that much, gather together. In an effort to help keep the peace at your Thanksgiving dinner, the Mother Nature Network blog is offering some tips:
- Stay away from controversial topics -- Not only the obvious ones, like politics and religion, but family issues that are a source of friction too.
- Accept criticism gracefully -- When your grandmother bugs you about losing weight or your brother says you should buy a better house, think of this: "Though these people might not express themselves in the most graceful way, they love you and this is their way of showing it."
- Volunteer on Thanksgiving Day -- Before you get together with your family for dinner, volunteer at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen, which will help give you a better perspective on your Thanksgiving meal and turn it into something you'll truly enjoy.
- Seat strategically -- If you're hosting the dinner, trying to arrange seating to avoid potential conflicts.
- Leave early -- There's no reason you have to stay all day. Spend a couple of hours with the family and then go home.
The final piece of advice: "Remember that Thanksgiving happens once a year, so try to look around the table and appreciate your sometimes quirky, and sometimes disconcerting family."
Busiest Airports For Thanksgiving Travel
Want to get to your destination on time? According to Forbes.com, about 90% of all Hawaiian Airlines Thanksgiving flights arrived on time.
The average long distance travel for Thanksgiving is 214 miles.
Take some time off. Business travel which accounts for 17% of travel, drops to 7% during Thanksgiving.
About 91% of Thanksgiving trips are made by car.
Most Busy Airports Nov 21 – Nov 26:
1.Chicago O’Hare International
2.Los Angeles International
3.San Francisco International
4.New York LaGuardia
5.Boston Logan International
6.John F. Kennedy International
7.Orlando International
8.Denver International
9.Ronald Regan National
10.Ft. Lauderdale International
Least Busy Airports Nov 21 – Nov 26:
1.Buffalo Niagara International
2.Jacksonville International
3.Nashville International
4.Sacramento International
5.Bradley International
6.Palm Beach International
7.Cleveland Hopkins International
8.John Wayne Airport
9.San Antonio International
10.Salt Lake City International
___________________________________________________________________________
Your Stress-Free Thanksgiving Planner from abcnews.com
While a simple mention of the word "Thanksgiving" might cause your blood pressure to rise, it's not necessary with this detailed planner. If you follow these steps you're guaranteed to have a stress-free and incredibly organized holiday meal. With one week until Thanksgiving, make sure you're on track!
2 Weeks Ahead While it might seem like you have forever until Thanksgiving, you don't. These next two weeks are going to go fast. Here are some tips on how to prepare for battle. The more you can do now, the easier it will be later. 1. Compile a guest list: Who's coming over for dinner? Does anyone have any food allergies? Is your niece a vegetarian? Get an idea of how many people you're cooking for, and if anyone has any food allergies or special requests. 2. Plan the menu: How many courses will you have? Find out if any of your guests plan on bringing an item such as an appetizer or dessert. Decide the recipes you will make and keep everything together and organized. 3. Think about the bird: Are you ordering a fresh turkey? If so, do it now. 4. Table settings: Thinking about using fresh flowers as your centerpiece? Place your order with the florist now, or figure out what you plan on using to decorate the table.
10 Days Ahead 1. Clean out the freezer: Get rid of food that's old and taking up space. 2. Make a grocery list: Refer to your menu and make a grocery list. What foods do you have already and can cross off the list? Do you have coupons that you can use for the items to save money? 3. Make the frozen foods: Can you make cookie dough or pie crusts that can be frozen ahead of time? Look at your menu and make any of the foods that can be frozen in advance.
One Week Ahead 1. Clean/organize your kitchen: This means cleaning out the refrigerator of anything that is old. Organizing Tupperware and kitchen tools is another way to get ahead of the game. 2. Buy the bird: If you're buying a frozen turkey, pick it up today. It takes about 24 hours for 5 pounds of turkey to defrost. Sometimes it takes longer, so give yourself an extra day. So, for a 20 pound turkey give yourself 4-5 days. You can also thaw the bird in cold water. This takes about 30 minutes per pound. (So you would wait later in the week to do this.) 3. Buy all non-perishables: Check your grocery list. Get ahead of the crazy grocery lines and buy all non-perishables you need.
Two Days Before 1. Make the cranberry sauce: This lasts awhile, and it's one less thing to make! 2. Get your table decorations ready: Assemble your plates, napkins, table decorations, and silverware together. Tomorrow, you can set the table. 3. Prep the stuffing: If you're using stale bread for stuffing, cut up the bread and lay it out on a sheet tray overnight to dry out.
One Day Before 1. Liquid brine: If you're brining your turkey, do so now. Don't brine for more than 24 hours. 2. Buy perishable items: Buy produce and prep. Some examples are washing greens, or peeling potatoes (which can be held overnight in cold water in the refrigerator.) 3. Make sides: Make and bake side dishes or assemble to bake tomorrow. 4. Fresh turkey: If you bought a fresh turkey, pick it up today. 5. Stock: Make turkey stock for gravy. 6. Prepare stuffing: Prepare and assemble the stuffing, but don't add to the turkey until right before you roast the turkey. 7. Defrost frozen pie dough: Defrost frozen pie dough and bake the pies. 8. Set the table: At night, set the table for tomorrow.
The Day Of 10:00 AM Bring turkey to room temp. (This usually takes 1-2 hours depending on the size of the turkey.) Set dinner rolls out on a sheet tray and let thaw. Chill wine if necessary. 11:30 AM Preheat oven. Stuff the turkey with the stuffing you made yesterday. 12:00 PM Put the turkey in the oven. 2:00 PM Bake sides. 3:00 PM Prepare coffee and items ready for dessert. Set up appetizer platters. 4:15 PM Check turkey temperature. If done, let sit for 30 minutes. A 20 pound turkey usually takes about 4 1/2 hours to cook. If the turkey isn't done check every 10-15 minutes. While turkey is resting, prepare the gravy. 4:30- 5:00 PM Reheat any side dishes. Carve the turkey. 5:30 PM Sit down for dinner. Start the coffee machine. Enjoy!
Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Sides And Desserts from abcnews.com
Thanksgiving morning can be quite the frenzy in the kitchen, and if you want to keep your stove (both the top and the oven) from having a coronary, then having a few of your favorite side dishes and desserts made in the days leading up to your feast can help you relax a little on the big day. Here are our favorite Make Ahead Thanksgiving Dishes and a few tips:
Mashed Potatoes - Make your favorite "plain" mashed potatoes recipe, meaning mash the potatoes and just add the milk and butter. Put the simple mashed potatoes in a freezer baggie and freeze them. The morning of the feast, thaw them in a warm bowl of water and mix in whatever other ingredients you'd like, such as caramelized onions or green onions, gruyere cheese or blue cheese, plus salt and pepper. Reheat and serve as if you'd spent 2 hours making them that morning.
Pies - The crust, the filling, or the complete pie can all be made ahead and frozen. If you prefer your pies coming hot out of the oven, then make the filling or pie crust ahead of time so that you can assemble a "5-minute pie" that you can bake while you feast. Make whole chilled pies or cheesecakes ahead of time and let them thaw overnight in the fridge or on the counter so you can serve them perfectly chilled.
Cranberry Sauce - Making cranberry sauce from scratch is so delicious, as you can add fun flavors like orange and apricot to the sauce. But it also is labor intensive, as you have to watch it closely to be sure it cooks and gels properly. Making it ahead give you one less dish to stress about, plus having it in the fridge overnight allows the flavors in the sauce to mix, mingle and merry.
Sweet Potato Casserole - Steam-bake your sweet potatoes the day before your feast and you'll save yourself a dish and an hour in the oven. Once they are cooked, you can whip up your casserole in minutes and warm it in the oven that morning.
Bread - Homemade breads are labor intensive, but the most delicious. Make them the day before and keep them wrapped up in a towel on the counter. Pop them in the oven just minutes before your feast and you've got "fresh baked bread" to serve your guests.
Now that you've got your freezer full of goodies to just thaw and reheat, you might just have enough time to put your feet up on Thanksgiving morning to watch the parade or a few extra minutes to freshen up and put on make-up before you feast.
FIVE MOVIES THAT REMIND US WHAT THANKSGIVING IS ALL ABOUT (The Stir)
1) It Could Happen to You, starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda. If this flick doesn't teach a great lesson about being grateful for being with the person you love even if you're broke, I don't know which movie does. Especially the scene where they lose all their lottery winnings and have nothing and still feed a homeless man off the street in his time of need. They gave back even when they were penniless!
2) The Blind Side -- Hands down, this has to be one of the best movies EVER. Hearing about how Leigh Anne Tuohy took it upon herself to welcome a teenager in need into her home and adopt him as her son shows us all how much of a difference we can make by reaching out to others.
3) Freedom Writers -- Yet another movie that makes your heart swell with pride. Hilary Swank's character reminds us to believe in others and realize that we are all capable of making a difference.
4) The Pursuit of Happyness -- It's virtually impossible to make it through this Will Smith flick without crying, especially when he winds up sleeping on the floor of a bathroom with his son, and then heads off to his job the very next day. This movie teaches us that nothing in life is impossible if you persevere, and everyone has the potential to succeed.
5) Pay It Forward -- Haley Joel Osment's character is so inspiring in this film, as he aims to help three people do something they can't, and then asks them to "pay forward" the favor.
