Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner

Every family has a different Thanksgiving Day dinner tradition. Some include non-stop football, while others center on food and wine. The one thing every Thanksgiving Day dinner has in common is that someone is the host, and when you are that someone the planning details can be overwhelming. But they don't have to be, and here are some suggestions for how to streamline potential problems.

Use an interactive invitation. Even when the guest list is set and everyone has a pretty good idea about who is coming, an interactive invitation can streamline events for Thanksgiving Day dinner. Sites such as Evite.com enable hosts to request certain items, for all attendees to see what others are bringing, time changes, or any other Thanksgiving Day dinner details. These details are the primary benefit of using an electronic invitation. However, Evite.com also requires attendees to be computer savvy, does not guarantee that attendees will respond, and also takes time for the host to manage.

Make the dinner a partial potluck, with recipes. Assigning each attendee (or family group) a food dish to bring greatly relieves the cooking pressure on the host. Depending on what kind of meal, the host can provide the turkey and ask guests to bring the rest, or assign simple supplements such as wine and appetizers. Either way, hosts should ask guests to bring recipe cards and set out blank pads of paper so that everyone can copy down how to make their favorite dishes from the Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving dinner tastes great when it's (mostly) homemade. While boxed mashed potatoes definitely do not taste like the real thing, Thanksgiving dinner hosts can take short cuts with other dishes that no one will notice. Boxed stuffing tastes great when made with chicken broth and supplemented with diced carrots, celery and onions. And the refrigerated Pillsbury pie crusts are delicious and take one-third the time as starting a pie from scratch.

If a certain dish is a must-have, don't assign it. While the odds are great that guests will in fact bring what they are asked to, it is not 100 percent sure. A child may get sick, they may get held up, or might just make it a way other than the usual dish. If Thanksgiving Day dinner is not complete without pumpkin pie or a hostess prefers a certain type of wine, she should provide it.

Have a kids area. On Thanksgiving Day, the children will be excited and enjoy having company, whether it is two people or twelve. As Thanksgiving is a family day, children should participate however they are able. One easy tradition is to create a crafts area for children to make place mats, turkey hands, or other table decorations. For younger children, let them play with gourds and look at turkey picture books. Whether you sit at one long table or have the perennial kids table, be sure the table is both beautiful and child-safe.

Consider the attendees, and then assign seats (or not). For all-family Thanksgiving dinners, seating is probably not necessary. However, when the guest list is a mix of family and friends who may not know each other, pre-assigning seats or at least making suggestions can help encourage conversation without putting pressure on the hostess. Sitting next to a chatty relative will ensure that all guests feel included, and separating certain relatives may make for a smoother meal.

Give thanks. Once everyone sits down at the table, start with a tradition of giving thanks. Have everyone say something for which they are thankful, whether it is something that happened over the past year or for the people sitting beside them. Hearing what makes everyone feel happy, even if just for that particular moment, is a beautiful way to start the Thanksgiving dinner meal.

Bon appetit!