Birds are chirping, and the sun has fully risen. You are totally relaxed as you stretch and step out of bed. This is your first day off of work in a few months, and you’re ready to spend the day watching trashy reality television and your fav comfort rom coms. As you slide on your cozy slippers and glance at the clock you realize, it’s Thanksgiving Day. Your alarm never went off. People are heading to your house in a matter of hours where you’re supposed to have a gourmet feast lining every table and countertop in your kitchen. Every ounce of relaxation leaves your body and is overtaken by the feeling of panic.
Don’t fret — you’ve got this. Whether you forgot to thaw your turkey, are running out of oven space, or need a new way to decorate your dining room table, we have some useful tips for you. Pull on your fave Thanksgiving apron, turn on the Macy’s Day Parade, and check out these last-minute Thanksgiving food hacks that will save you time, money, and stress.
Use craft paper and sharpies for a tablescape.
In the stressful shuffle of work, you forgot to throw your Thanksgiving Day tablecloths into the washing machine. Instead of spending time worrying, you get to crafting. Simply cover your table with rows of brown paper and add markers or pens to everyone’s seat assignment. Offer prompts on the paper such as “what are you thankful for?” or “what’s your favorite holiday food?” With this hack from TikTok user @jeffandlaurenshow, nobody will know you forgot to wash the table clothes, they will assume this was planned all along to give diners a new, fun experience!
Thaw your turkey day-of.
You meant to take the turkey out of the freezer to thaw days ago, but unfortunately, you forgot. No worries, with this hack from @problemsolved, your turkey will be ready in a few hours. Simply grab your turkey and a pot large enough to fit the entire bird. Keep the turkey all wrapped up, drop it into the pot and fill until the turkey is fully submerged in cold water. Change the water every 30 minutes and soon, it will be ready to cook! For this hack, the turkey takes about 30 minutes per pound to defrost.
Skip peeling your potatoes and use this oven hack.
One of the most time-consuming parts of making Thanksgiving dinner is peeling the potatoes. This task is tedious and oftentimes, annoying. When you’re low on time and need to multitask you cannot be precious moments peeling potatoes. This hack by user @virginiahlane is simple. Poke holes in the potatoes with a fork, plop them onto a pan, bake for an hour and a half and soon after, the peels just fall right off.
Use a slow cooker.
When you’re trying to make a million dishes at once, you cannot just be using the oven. For dishes like mashed potatoes and stuffing, a slow cooker is your new bff. TikTok user @katcancook shows that you can toss all ingredients into the slow cooker, move the pot out of the way, and continue with your multitasking. This hack not only keeps the oven open for other foods, but it gives you more countertop and kitchen space.
Use a thermos to keep food warm.
As you’re cooking throughout the day, not every item can use space on the stovetop or in the oven. TikTok user @brunchwithbabs says to use a thermos to keep gravy warm until you’re ready to add it to the gravy boat for dinner and @jeffandlaurenshow use plug-in heating pads to keep side dishes warm and out of the way.
Sub in some store-bought goodies.
Maybe you’re the type of person who makes everything from scratch, but when you’re in a time crunch, buying some canned cranberries or premade pumpkin pie might be the right call. You can still nicely plate the foods (nobody has to know), but a quick trip to the grocery store will save you some time. You can use the hack from @juju.cares on the cranberries to be even more efficient. Take an apple slicer and push down on your canned cranberry sauce to cut them in one swoop.
Chill your bevs quickly.
You’ve been worrying about preparing the food all day that you forgot about the bevs! If you forgot to put your wines or sparkling ciders into the freezer, and guests are starting to arrive, @jeffandlaurenshow have another great hack for you. Wet a paper towel, wrap it around the bottle and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes. The mix of the wet paper towel and the icey freezing will have your drinks cool in no time.
Recruit some friends and family to help.
If you are really struggling to get Thanksgiving foods prepped and made alone, there is no shame in calling for some backup! As @hungryforhome says “make this a collaborative effort, make it fun.” Getting to spend some time with loved ones while prepping for a yummy meal is an awesome hack to use this Thanksgiving.