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7 Make sure you have enough dishware and flatware for all your guests, as well as serving platters, a big roasting pan, and a good carving knife for that turkey. If you’re into the eclectic look, yard sales, estate sales and thrift shops are great places to score a slew of funky/pretty dishware and silverware on the cheap.

8 Get a couple of good friends to come over early in the morning and share kitchen duties with you. Prepping for parties is always so much more fun when you’re not doing it alone, and Thanksgiving, in particular, is a day that’s meant to be shared with your favorite folks.

9 Accept that you will not be eating your meal when you think you’ll be eating your meal. Between turkeys having a tendency to take longer to roast than one might expect (we’re talking 3-4 hours minimum), friends arriving late, and miscellaneous mishaps and oversights popping up periodically during the day, your chances of sitting down to dinner at exactly 5 sharp (or 2 sharp or 7 sharp or whatever arbitrary hour you’ve designated as official start time) are just about nil. Don’t let it stress you out – your guests will be happy to sit back, relax, and chat for as long as it takes to get the food on the table. And if the turkey should end up a tad overcooked, your pies just a little burned, your favorite wineglasses broken, your tablecloth stained, take it all in stride. Because in the end, Thanksgiving isn’t about the food or the décor or the dinner party itself – it’s about spending a long, leisurely day giving thanks to the fact that you’re surrounded by all these people you adore.

o 
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