TGIT! I’m on a flight out from Dallas to go visit Adam for the weekend in Phoenix, and then I fly home on Sunday night to work from home early in the week… and then celebrate Thanksgiving. I can’t wait! Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday of the year, and this year’s celebration is shaping up to be pretty darn great.
First: the guest list. Two of my best girlfriends are coming, and bringing their boyfriends/husbands. Adam is flying in on Wednesday. And my mom is coming in this year too! It truly feels like the best Thanksgiving of all to get to celebrate with both friends and family. And this year, I get to do it at my new house too 🙂
To plan for all those people, I updated my Thanksgiving Excel this week… and was psyched that it only took a few minutes to update but I now feel totally prepared. My spreadsheet is basically the same as in years past, although this year I added a new sheet to the beginning that lets me track RSVPs and then updates the headcount in order to double/triple/etc various recipes and then adjust the ingredients list accordingly. I know it is incredibly nerdy, but I get such a kick out of my annual Thanksgiving Excel!
Although I’m keeping the menu basically the same, as I already mentioned, I’m really excited to be hosting at my very own house (rather than a teeny tiny apartment). I’m trying to be judicious this year about what decorations I buy for the holidays. I really love the idea of going all Martha Stewart and having my house decked out for every season, but I also don’t want to spend a lot of money. So, the plan is to stock up at the after-holiday sales for each season, and then I’ll be set for next year! Worth it, when I can get all the extraneous decorations for 90% off instead of an inflated full price.
But just because I’m not going all-out with the decorations, I still want to do something at least a little bit Pinterest-y. Today at work, some of my team members were participating in a Thanksgiving potluck. To help out those team members who travel and don’t have a kitchen, one of our local staffers invited people to her house to all make a treat together. And what they turned out was incredibly amazing: cupcakes with homemade candy turkeys on the top!
I couldn’t believe how perfectly those cupcakes turned out, and so I’ve decided I’d like to add something like that to my own Thanksgiving menu. Not necessarily cupcakes, since I’ll have plenty of food already, but perhaps a centerpiece, placecards, or craft of some sort. Any ideas? Otherwise, I think I have some Pinterest-ing to do…
Your Thanksgiving spreadsheet is genius! I loved using it last year and plan on pulling it out again this week 🙂 Have a great time hosting dinner at your new home – What a great way to show off your house and celebrate your favorite holiday. I’m sure everyone is looking forward to seeing you, your house, and eating some delicious food and drinking some tasty wine (there better be wine… hehe) 😉
Ooh, I love that you use it! I’m going to send you my updated copy in case it helps 🙂
I, much like your brother, plan to add a number of special line items to your spreadsheet and/or making myself scarce while that is going on. That said, could I put in a double order of the peach cobbler? Thanks!
I think you are going to really like the peach crisp – it has rosemary in it and the flavor is really unique! (In a good way.)