Hosting a Large Family Thanksgiving Potluck

Being a part of a large family brings many joyful moments. There are plenty of chances to celebrate wonderful happenings among the relatives. Perhaps the most memorable time of year to gather all the family around is during the Thanksgiving holiday season. During this season we give thanks for our family and join together to share memories of the past and hope for the future. If you are lucky enough to be in this situation, perhaps you will have the experience of hosting the annual Thanksgiving potluck.

Note the ending of the term "potluck" indicates that what you have at the table is just that, LUCK. On an occasion like Thanksgiving, you can't leave it to luck and hope the meal will come together. Being the host or hostess of a large family Thanksgiving potluck requires some planning and coordinating before the day of the event.

Here are a few tips for the Thanksgiving potluck host.

Talk to family members early and set a date and time for the event. Having to change your time at the last minute will frustrate family members, cause people to cancel out and leave holes in your menu, and can be all around disastrous to your Thanksgiving potluck especially in the large family. Having to change date and time requires extensive work to insure everyone invited got the message. Save yourself the problem by discussing the date among family members, setting it, advertising when, and leaving that date unchanged.

Make a list of food items your family loves to have at your Thanksgiving potluck and plan for multiple people to bring them. Divide the menu up so that your main course items are coming from a variety of people. Don't have two turkeys coming from family members who are always together. One swipe of the flu bug could wipe out your main course if you do. Also consider the responsiveness of your family in previously bringing dishes. Don't ask someone who doesn't like to cook to provide a complicated menu item. Don't ask Uncle Joe who always shows up just before dessert to provide the appetizer.

Don't just plan your menu, plan your help. If your Thanksgiving family pot luck is really large, consider having different relatives responsible for certain things. Put one in charge of drinks, ice and cups. Ask another to be the dessert coordinator, have someone get extra tables and chairs, and maybe a different one to be in charge of coordinating the toast, prayer, announcements or any other Thanksgiving potluck traditions your family may have.

Don't forget to include the guys. Grills can be a wonderful asset for Thanksgiving cooking. You can reheat a ham cooked the night before, smoke a turkey, boil your potatoes for the mashed potatoes all on the grill which keeps your oven and stove top free for other items.

Ask those cooking hot food to bring it already prepared and in a crockpot if possible. Don't forget to have surge suppressors with multiple plugs available and check to see what limit you can plug into a given circuit. Tripping the circuit or causing power issues on Thanksgiving may make for a memorable large family potluck but the memory may not be pleasant.

After your menu is divided up, make calls a few days ahead of time to remind folks of the time. Take this time to ask them to bring a serving spoon, ask if the have an extra cooler or crock pot if you need one, and remind them how happy you will be to see them. The success of a large family Thanksgiving potluck depends heavily on your turn out.

Remember, hosting the Thanksgiving pot luck can be a lot of work but it is also a rewarding event. Don't forget to take the time to socialize and enjoy your family. Thanksgiving is about the things we are thankful for, not about what went wrong in the planning of the event.