How To Keep Holiday Panic Level Minimal

It may or may not be a three-ring circus, but the Thanksgiving feast is a major production that needs to be choreographed.

Here are some suggestions to help keep your head clear and your pulse rate moderate:

Plan a menu that includes as many prepared-ahead items as possible without sacrificing quality.

Appetizers and nibbles should be light and easy: raw vegetables with low-fat dips, cheese straws or crackers and other items that can be arranged in advance.

Allocate your heat sources. The turkey gets the oven (though there will be about 30 minutes available to heat bread or rolls while the bird rests before carving). There’s going to be gravy to warm on one burner and mashed potatoes on another. There will be other vegetables as well and there may be extra dressing to cook.

Everyone is willing to take a break before dessert, but stick to premade pies or cakes and limit last-minute preparation to whipping cream or scooping ice cream. Don’t forget to start the coffee before dealing with dessert.

Delegate. Appoint a child or adult to perform appetizer refills and an adult to tend to beverages. Someone else can be recruited to take charge of serving and clearing. You should decide whether to cook or carve, but don’t try to do both. Then you or your designated cook can finish the gravy and mashed potatoes while the turkey is being carved.

Make sure space is available when you need it at the two most valuable and vulnerable resources in your kitchen: the stove and the sink/dishwasher. Lacking a full-time helper, this may mean selecting an out-of-the-way space for used plates, glasses and silverware.

Above all, enjoy yourself.