3 Things You Can Do Now to Get Ready for Thanksgiving

I’m sharing 3 Things you can do now to get ready for Thanksgiving.
Every year Thanksgiving holiday sneaks up so quickly.
There are so many things to do the day of Thanksgiving.
There are traditional recipes to make.
The big turkey needs to be cooked early in the morning in order to be ready for the guests when they arrive.
Just talking about it is getting me revved up in anticipation of that big day.
That’s why I’m sharing these ideas with you.
This year, let’s start the holidays by thinking ahead.
By preparing now, we can have less stress and simply enjoy the ones we love.
Here are 3 things you can do now to get ready for Thanksgiving.
No. 1: Setting the Table.

The Thanksgiving table is where all the beautiful family traditions are shared. So, let’s start here.
Right now, you can begin gathering all the things necessary to create an inviting dinner table that will wow your guests on Thanksgiving day.
Here are some ideas you can do now to prepare for setting your table.
Pick a color scheme.
- The typical Thanksgiving colors are:
browns,
orange,
yellow,
tan
and off-white.
The color scheme doesn’t have to be traditional, though.
For example, I’m pulling out my blue ironstone Currier and Ives plates for this Thanksgiving. See the photo below.
I love how they look!
You can, too, pull out your favorite dishes and create something fun and unique.

Don’t have enough plates for your gathering?
I got you!
Another way to set your table beautifully is by using paper plates.
I know, it sounds tacky.
But truth be told, it is brilliant!
After everyone is done eating the bounty of their Thanksgiving dinner, the plates go in the garbage.
No dishes to wash!
That’s makes the day even easier.
Plus, the array of choices for Thanksgiving paper plates is astounding.
Some of them look so fancy!
Like this one here. It’s big enough for those who want all the trimmings on their plate.
Or simple, like this one.
But the classic? I’m sure you’ve used these tried and true ones. If you’re wanting a more classic look, here are the thick white ones.
Use what you have.
- If you have a beautiful white crisp tablecloth, it’s perfect!
To dress it up, you can get a table runner.
I found one that costs $12.99 that I’m using for Thanksgiving on my table this year.
It’s lace and burlap.
Goes perfectly with the Rustic Victorian look I’ve been into lately. Here’s the link.
But the point is you don’t have to buy anything!
After all, it’s the memories we share together that means the most.
Decorate your table with cloth napkins.
- To make an impact for Thanksgiving without spending a lot of money is to invest in cloth napkins.
This is where your creativity can take your table up a notch by having
ivory or
white lace linen cloth napkins.
It’s like the perfect purse and shoes when dressing for a special occasion. Cloth napkins are the one thing that can give your Thanksgiving table a finished look.
Put beautiful sparkly glasses on your Thanksgiving table.
- Think about what kind of beverages you will have.
Do you serve wine or sparkling apple cider?
The Dollar Tree store in our area has pretty wine glasses for $1.00.
It’s a cheap investment but can make your table look more elegant with sparkly wine glasses.
Or if you’re only serving water, you can go to Home Goods, Goodwill or Value Village and pick up some beautiful crystal glasses that will make your table look elegant and inviting.
Here’s a link to some beautiful glasses.
Do all the shopping now in preparation for setting your dining table for Thanksgiving.
No 2. Buy the prepackaged foods now.

Buying these things beforehand will give you more choices at the store.
As you’ve probably experienced, as I have in years past, if you wait until the last minute, the shelves of the main ingredients are sometimes empty.
List of ideas to purchase early:
- Frozen turkey,
- Ham,
- Stuffing,
- Canned or frozen green beans and corn,
- marshmallows for sweet potato recipe,
- canned cranberry sauce,
- packaged gravy,
- Sparkling Cider,
- Frozen dinner rolls, to name a few.
I’m sharing this list as an example.
You can get so many things at the grocery store now to prepare for Thanksgiving.
This year, I already purchased my turkey and ham.
They’re frozen, but I’ll tell you, it’s a peace of mind knowing I have them already.
No 3. Plan out the pans, pots, utensils, and serving dishes you need for the big day.
Do you have a pan for the turkey?
You can get those inexpensive ones here.
Or, if you want to invest in a good one, I’ve used this one to roast several turkeys for Thanksgiving dinners over the years, and it’s awesome! The link is here.
Do you have enough serving dishes or bowls for the casseroles, mashed potatoes, or any traditional recipes you cook each year?
A tip:
For an easy and inexpensive alternative way to serve your Thanksgiving side dishes.
Get a stack of disposable roasting pans. Link here. Showing a photo below.
There are some bowls I’ve found over the years that double as oven-roasting bakeware.
Makes it easy to serve from oven to table. Here’s a link. Showing a photo below.
For a simple white 10-inch serving bowl set that’s affordable, here is a link. These ones will be useful for after the holidays, too.
What about utensils? That is one thing that I usually run short on. How about you?
Let’s get prepared this year and make sure we have enough.
For an inexpensive set, here are some disposable ones, here.
If you want something more elegant for your dining table, here are some that will make your day super special.
That’s it for the 3 things to prepare now for Thanksgiving day.
Hopefully, this has given you inspiration to go and get ready now!
No matter how amazing we make our table or how much food we prepare, the most important part of celebrating Thanksgiving is remembering our blessings.
Those sweet faces sitting in front of us are the greatest blessings.
They are the reason we give our best to make this day as special as we can.
I hope you have an incredible day on Thanksgiving!
We’re in this together!
If you have any questions, please comment below, and I will respond as soon as I can.
For 5 Thanksgiving place-setting ideas, follow this link to that post.
Also, if you want to prepare early for Christmas, I share 3 posts with gift ideas here.
I put together a simple Fall table setting that would look beautiful for Thanksgiving day. Check out my step-by-step tutorial video.
Thanks for coming by Victorian Lane Farms.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Until next time.
Bye for now.
Beautiful table settings Esther! And I completely agree about the paper plates. Some years it’s best to reduce stress and going with paper plates is the ticket!
Thank you! Yes, sometimes it helps to make life easier.