Thanksgiving Timeline

Use this Thanksgiving timeline to plan and prepare to host a Thanksgiving dinner with minimal stress.

A Thanksgiving timeline lets you, as the host, enjoy the holiday, knowing all of the details are thought of. From make-ahead dishes and having a cooking plan laid out to help make a first-time host feel more at ease.

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Thanksgiving dinner is the biggest meal of the year. With grateful hearts, families gather with their extended family for a full and festive meal. As the host, you’re acting as the conductor to line up the flow of the food prep so everything is ready when it comes time to sit down.

Enjoying and hosting a Thanksgiving meal are both possible; it all comes down to proper planning. Even though small tasks might not take a lot of extra time, like setting out the salt and pepper or making whipped cream, they all take time. When these easy tasks compound throughout the day, they can quickly get the best of you. Trust me, I’ve been there too many times to count. The solution? Create a Thanksgiving schedule so you can do as much ahead of time, even if it seems so basic in the moment. You’ll be happy you did.

Prepping for Thanksgiving can seem overwhelming, but with a variety of make-ahead recipes, tasks, and a well planned Thanksgiving timeline, the day can flow with little stress.

How to Use Thanksgiving Timeline

Guide – Use as a reference guide to save mental space and avoid missing key ingredients or steps.
Make it your own – There are a variety of hosting styles and you may not need everything in the guide. Tailor this Thanksgiving timeline to what makes sense in your context. Take good notes a day or two after when you’ve had time to rest, but while its still fresh in your mind. Note food quantities, heating times, recipes, and layout and flow.
Share – Knowledge for you is great, sharing it with others is even better! If you know someone who may benefit from this guide, along with your own expertise, share it!

Thanksgiving Prep Timeline

1 Month Before Thanksgiving

Create a Thanksgiving Menu – Creating a menu and a guest list go hand in hand. With the food being the main event, you’ll want to plan what type of Thanksgiving dinner you’ll serve. Plan what size gathering you’ll host. Be sure to anticipate stovetop, oven, and fridge space. Having a good assortment of slow cooker recipes, cold, hot, and room temperature sides helps eliminate oven and stovetop congestion.
Send Out invites and Food Assignments – Once the menu is set, send out invites with the arrival time and estimated eating time. Assign what everyone will bring. You asking each person to bring a specific dish, or decide collaboratively. Does someone have an iconic dish they always make? Include head count and any dietary restrictions.
Make and Freeze Pie Dough – The holiday season is short enough that you can make enough pie dough for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plan what pies you want to make and whether they are a single- or double-crust pie. Make the dough, flatten into discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and label single or double.
Bake Cookies and Quick breads, and Freeze – Pies aren’t the only desserts at Thanksgiving. I always make a batch of cookies for the nieces and nephews, who prefer them over pie. Our family always watches the parade on Thanksgiving morning with a simple, but special breakfast of quick breads and a protein like sausage links or bacon. Bake the cookies and breads, cool, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap before freezing.
Order your Turkey – Order your fresh turkey. Decide how big of a bird you need, and if you want leftovers. For little to no leftovers, plan 1 pound of turkey for every person. For ample leftovers, plan 1.25-1.5 pounds of turkey per person. For 10-12 people, choose a 12-14 lbs bird. If you have the freezer space, buy a frozen turkey early to avoid stores being sold out.
Cooking and Serving Equipment – Make sure you have the necessary equipment to cook and serve. Locate pots, pans, serving platters, gravy boat, and drink carafes. Decide whether you plan to serve buffet style or family style and assign the food to specific baking and serving dishes, so you know you’ll have enough. Most frozen turkeys come with a pop-up meat thermometer to let you know it’s done, but fresh turkeys don’t come with them. Make sure you have a meat thermometer if choosing a fresh turkey. Don’t forget extra to-go containers or plastic bags to send leftovers home with your guests.
Check your Spices. – If they’re old, they’ll be less potent. Plus, stores sell out of popular items, so it’s good to beat the rush.

A plate full of the individual ground and whole spices that make up pumpkin pie spice.

2 Weeks Before Thanksgiving

Create Shopping Lists – A proper Thanksgiving timeline calls for 3 separate lists for groceries based on when to use them. One grocery list for pantry staples that can be bought ahead of time, one for long-term produce that lasts for 7-10 days, and one for delicate produce and fresh items that need to wait for a few days before Thanksgiving Day.
Shop – Stock up on pantry staples, long-lasting produce, paper products, and frozen items, like chicken broth, flour, sugar, canned pumpkin, butter, apples, winter squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and beverages. Don’t forget nonfood items like paper products and disposable plates and utensils.
Decor – Plan table decor. It can be as simple as a bouquet of flowers, candles, or an elaborate tablescape like this pumpkin centerpiece. Order anything so it has time to ship.
Table Linens -Give cloth napkins and table linens a look and make sure you have what you need. Launder if needed to freshen up. Iron and set aside where they’ll be out of the way, like over a railing, couch, or bed.
Turkey Thaw Plan – Calculate when to thaw the turkey. You’ll need 24 hours for every 4 pounds for the turkey to thaw in the fridge. Be sure to place on a sheet pan or in a large roasting pan to catch any liquid as it thaws. As tempting as it may seem, avoid thawing at room temperature since bacteria can begin to grow on the exterior of the bird, while the inside remains frozen. Don’t forget additional time if you plan to brine the turkey.

Thanksgiving Week Count Down

7 Days Before Thanksgiving

Shop – Buy long-storage produce like carrots, onions, Brussels sprouts, garlic, fresh cranberries.
Ice – Start making extra ice or add it to your shopping list. Most stores stock up around the holidays, but are limited by freezer space and can run out. I like to buy a large bag ahead of time out to avoid the rush.
Cranberry sauce – Make cranberry sauce and refrigerate. Most homemade cranberry sauce can store in the fridge for up to 7 days or more.
Salad Dressing – Homemade salad dressings are simple and worth making ahead of time.

Small white dish with cranberry sauce. Jar with sauce behind and cranberries, oranges and orange rind around dish

3 Days Before Thanksgiving

Fridge – Clean out the fridge to make space for additional food.
Shop – Purchase short-storage produce, like herbs, lettuce, green beans, flowers, along with any last-minute food items.
Prep turkey brine – Gather the ingredients for your brine. Whether you use a wet or dry brine, calculate how long to brine, with additional time if you plan to air-chill before cooking. We always wet brine our turkey with great success.
Prep vegetables. Trim green beans, wash and dry lettuce, peel and cut potatoes, and soak in water. Peel carrots and cut celery, peppers, carrots, and any other vegetable for a relish tray. Add prepped vegetables into individual containers and refrigerate.
Gravy – If using turkey neck and giblets, make the gravy. Allow to cool completely before refrigerating.

2 Days Before Thanksgiving

Make the Stuffing – Homemade stuffing is a multi-day process with making homemade bread, drying it out, cooking the sausage and aromatics, and assembling in a 9×13 baking dish covered with foil so it’s oven-ready.
Make Mashed Potatoes – Mashed potatoes reheat really well in a crockpot if you’re limited on oven space. They may need a touch of milk or butter.
Make Sweet Potato Casserole – Prebake the casserole. Determine if you add the topping the day of or can be added ahead of time based on your specific recipe.
Clean your Home – Get your home company ready. In addition, I like to clean the kitchen counter and put away anything I don’t need for added space.
Pull out Extra Tables and Chairs – Bring extra chairs and tables out of storage and wipe clean if needed.

1 Day Before Thanksgiving

Make the pies and whipped topping – Pies need time to cool before serving to properly set. Bake, cool completely, cover, and store at room temperature. When ready to serve, warm in the oven for 10 minutes before plating. Make whipped cream, cover, and store in the fridge. Be sure to add a stabilizer, like a bit of gelatin, so it doesn’t separate.
Make custard pies and refrigerate – Some pies, like custard pies and pumpkin pie, and need time to chill for the best flavor. Make, cool, and refrigerate. Serve straight from the fridge.
Set the Dining Table – Set up extra tables and chairs. If you plan to serve family style, set out place mats, plates, napkins, eating utensils, and drinking glasses at each place. Add salt, pepper, and the butter so it has time to thaw, and decor.
Prep the relish trays – Assemble relish trays, cover, and refrigerate.
Prep breakfast – Thanksgiving breakfast kicks off the holiday for us. Prep egg casseroles, slice fruit, or refrigerate frozen quick breads so they have time to thaw.
Cool beverages – If you have extra fridge space, add the beverages. If not, add them to a cooler with ice. The cooler will keep the ice overnight. For best results, store in a cool space, like a garage if you live in a cool environment. Just be sure it won’t freeze to avoid exploding containers.
Make flower arrangements – Cut flower arrangements keep for a few days before wilting. Be sure to add fresh water on Thanksgiving morning.
Serving – Set out serving dishes, plates, utensils, drink station, and in their place.
Iron your outfit – With so many food details for the big day, we can often forget about ourselves. Plan what you want to wear. Make sure it’s clean and ironed so you have one less thing to manage on Thanksgiving Day.
Dinner Rolls – Make the roll dough, shape, place in a baking dish, and cold proof in the fridge overnight. Bake in the morning.
Cooking – You can finish most of the cooking ahead of time so its just a simple reheat before serving dinner. Wait to add green bean casserole crunchy onion topping until reheating.

Sourdough oatmeal dinner rolls on a piece of parchment paper

Thanksgiving Day

Thursday Morning

Cook the Turkey – Calculate roasting time for an unstuffed bird; plan for 1 ¾ hours for a 12- 15 pound bird, plus an additional 30-45 minutes resting period.
Run the Dishwasher and Empty – An empty dishwasher lets you fill it throughout the day, minimizing the after-dinner mess.
Bake the Rolls – Bake the rolls before the turkey goes in to eliminate oven congestion.

1 Hour Before Guests Arrive

Plate appetizers – Light snacks and appetizers for guests to snack on.
Prep the Drinks – Make punch or a big batch of cocktails. Open the wine bottles so they have time to breathe. If serving individual drinks, like soda or bottled water, set in ice.
Ambiance – Part of greeting guests is creating a festive mood. Turn on some music to play lightly in the backround, light some candles or start a diffuser.
Empty the Garbage – No one wants to empty the garbage in the middle of dinner. Starting with a empty garbage gives the most time before changing it out again.

3 Hours Before Dinner

Sides – Remove any sides that need to be reheated in the oven so they have time to warm up and take the chill off, reducing their reheat time.

1 Hour Before Dinner

Coffee – Brew coffee so it’s ready for dessert
Reheat gravy – Reheat in a large saucepan on the stove and pour into a gravy boat right before serving. The starch in the gravy has had plenty of time to fully hydrate, so you may need to add a bit more water.
Rest the Turkey – While the turkey rests, cover it with a piece of foil to retain as much heat as possible. Don’t skip this step for a juicy turkey.
Side Dishes – Once the turkey comes out of the oven, bake the stuffing and any remaining sides. You can keep already cooked dishes warm in the oven at 200°F/94°C.
Salad Dressing – If the salad dressing is oil based, remove from the fridge so the oil has time to warm up. Creamy salad dressings can wait until ready to dress the salad.

Right Before Serving

Cold sides – Remove from the fridge and set on the table or buffet line.
Beverages – Encourage guests to top off their beverages before dinner.
Serving Utensils – Add serving spoons and tongs to each dish.
Toss salad – Add the salad dressing right before serving to avoid a soggy salad.
Pies – Warm prebaked pies in the oven while serving dinner so they’re ready.

Hopefully this Thanksgiving timeline allows you to enter into your Thanksgiving meal and focus on time with your family with grateful hearts.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal!

I’d love to hear from you! If this Thanksgiving Timeline helped you, I would love it if you gave it 5 stars! Happy Thanksgiving!