Jeri,
Can you give some more details? TG is my favorite holiday, so I have lots of ideas.

1) How many people are you expecting for TG?

2) Do you think you will have other similar gatherings (next year or other holidays) or is this a 1 time thing?

3) How many kids/adults? Is this likely to change in the future much?

4) What is your decorating and dinnerwear style? What do you already have for everyday dishes, and also serving pieces?

5) Do you have enough chairs, or will you be adding new chairs?

Thanks

You can get linens at Target, Walmart, Bed,Bath n'Beyond or Macy's or Dillards.

Color pretty much depends on what you're comfortable with.

If you go with solid white linens you could add a colored placemat at each place setting and use white dishes.

Or you could go with a patterned cloth. That's what we did last year. I bought these table cloths at Home Goods on sale and they wash beautifully.

We used paper napkins, plastic cups, china plates and regular flatware.

How many people are coming? 27" sounds okay. Why not place your chairs side by side and do a pretend setting to check for the size needed? Your chairs may determine the space you need becasue of their size.

Before you go thru the trouble of renting stuff check out some of the sales and some thrift stores or antique shops. You can often find dinnerware deeply discounted. Glasses too.

One of my favorite looks for dinner is unmatched china and glassware in some of the old patterns.

Table covers can be any large piece of fabric that covers and compliments your dinnerware. I've used everything from flat sheets to hemmed pieces of fabric.

answer julie's questions and you'll get many more ideas.

Don't forget resale shops for interesting serving pieces - you need a ton for a meal like Thanksgiving!

Is there anything that strikes fear in the heart like hosting your first Thanksgiving??!! You get that first one under your belt and you'll have gathered a lot of information for future dinners and holidays. Keep notes!!!

Hi Jeri,

How many people will be attending? If you can, I'd highly suggest buying some simple white dinnerware, then adding fresh flowers and candles to compliment the colors of your tablecloth(s)/napkins. You can find good buys on tablecloths and napkins at Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, JC Penney, Overstock.com and Domestications (to name a few).

White dinnerware is so accomodating and makes all food look good. It's flexible and will serve you well through multiple occasions. JCPenney has some nice sets:

http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=78880&CatID=78880&Grptyp=PRD&ItemId=14e8c99&cmRef=http://www.jcpenney.com/products/Cg12245.jsp

As for wine glasses/water glasses: Ikea is fine, if it's convenient for you. We have a couple of "party packs" of wine glasses from BBB that we use when we have large groups for dinner/parties.

The most important thing is to accept all help and KISS (keep is simple!)

If you gang is HUGE, then use Chinet paper plates and plastic cups. I have a SIL who hosts her family every other year (25 people) and does it this way quite well.

The best part of this is bringing people together to share a meal. Everyone will be most appreciatve of your effort (sparing them the day off!) Enjoy!

Not gonna lie, I am one of those who use paper plates for the big meals (in this house, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter).

I agree with checking your chair size for how much room you need for a place setting. I know no one wants to be bumping elbows but I think a little crowded isn't necessarily a bad thing. We do rent extra chairs.

I borrow my mom's flatware for holiday meals but I am on the hunt for a large used set that I can mix and match with my own cutlery.

As far as decorating, as long as candles are involved, I think you're good to go :)

Here's one of my older TG tables

One of my things that I like to do is use real cloth/linen napkins with theme napkin rings. We're a real casual group, so its a little out of the ordinary to use cloth napkins with napkin rings. Adds a little festiveness.

I also make place cards with a Turkey theme design on them (Avery business cards folded in half). It helps me organize the seating and the kids like finding their name. With a big crowd, I like to organize the seating to keep the flow good.

I like an eclectic mix of warm colors rather than turkey tablecloths, serverware, etc. Makes everything usable year-round. I have a few Thanksgiving-only pieces, but not too many.

Fresh flowers are great addition.

Depending on the number and ages of kids, a kids table in the kitchen is a good thing for everyone.

make sure you have someone taking snapshots for you. You will be too busy.

If I were starting out now, I think I would head out to Target for a good selection at reasonable prices. Also, Bed Bath & Beyond is also great if you have coupons.

And I like to decorate the house somewhat too. Here's the mantel:

As far as the meal, don't be shy about asking folks to bring a pie or a side dish. They usually love to help and it crosses off one thing of your to-do list. Another time saver for the stuffing I started using lately is to buy pre-chopped celery and onions in the produce department.

Baste often.

Good luck

Here's what I learned hosting my very first Thanksgiving last year (for a crowd of 20+, no less!):

Take care of yourself. If you'll feel frazzled and frumpy unless you get a haircut/manicure/massage/whatever, by all means, do it. Entertaining is a lot of work, so if you're stressed out and feel bad, it'll splash onto everything else. Relax.

Keep it simple. Don't aspire to be Martha. Pick one thing that you want to be spectacular, then don't worry about the rest.

We chose to have a late lunch/early dinner, because this was easiest on friends and family that were travelling, and no worries about getting up at 4 am to start cooking, or having people straggling at midnight.

Is this a formal or casual affair? I'd lean more towards casual, but you can certainly still use cloth linens, and "real" dishes. Keep it simple.

Buffet style is easier than serving everyone at the table, unless it's a small crowd. Don't rush out and buy a bunch of serving pieces if you'll be serving from the crock pot.

The easiest table centerpiece? Pumpkins, real or fake, in a variety of sizes, a handfull of fall leaves or greenery, real or fake, and a smattering of white votive candles. Done!

Can others bring a dish, or will you be doing all of the cooking as well?

The most important thing...it's about family and gratitude. When you're franticallty shopping, remember why you care, why it's important, and be grateful that you can. People will remember your hospitality and the joy of doing it, not the centerpiece or what the napkins looked like.

Hi

1&3. We will have 9 adults (this may become 11) and 4 kids.

2. We hope this is the first of many family get togethers.

4. Current Everyday dishes: I have 4 white plates! And 4 wine glasses. Obviously, I need lots of stuff. I’ve been leaning toward Fiesta Ware for every day dishes - but that’s for another thread. :-) I’m thinking IKEA white because it is affordable and I can always add color with everything thing else on the table - like Monablair’s beautiful table! I have those inexpensive wire chafing dishes that I was planning on using - my plan was to cook my sides in half-steam trays and serve right out of them buffet style.

5. I think I can borrow enough folding chairs.

Wow! That Brentwood 40 pc Dinnerware set looks great. IKEA is really not very close - I just always told myself that is what I should do when the time comes. Maybe I should look at JC Penny’s… On second thought - I really want something simple that is easily replaced and added to - again why I was thinking IKEA.

KISS! My *favorite* motto!

Wendyb- your pictures are Great! Thank-you for the inspiration.

Thank-you to all of you - you have given me some great ideas. I’ll head to JC Penny’s tomorrow and see what I can find.

The good news is that DH’s family are wonderful, warm, and easy people to be with. My bil usually hosts and cooks this meal and he is the best cook I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I know going in I can’t compete - so I’m not even going to try! I just want it to be nice.

Warm and sincere thanks to all of you. :-)

Jeri

You might get glass dinner plates. Bed Bath and Beyond has 8 glass dinner plates for $12.

We love to entertain and a few years ago I started purchasing white dinnerware (set of 24). Crate and barrel has some great one for not alot of money. The first year I bought dinner plates, the next salad plate, the next square dessert plates. White is so easy to mix and match and food looks really nice on white place. They are dishwasher, microwave and oven safe.

Have fun! I love Thanksgiving. We are hosting this year. There will be 12 people staying at our house. I'm more worried about where everyone is going to sleep and if I have enough pillows and blankets.

OK....I have been doing this for 20+ years, so this may sound a bit OCD. Think of it as detailed LOL!

First suggestion is to use a Fresh (not frozen) turkey. No worries about thawing the bird. Makes the cooking part much easier to manage.

Based on the size of turkey you have, figure out how long it will take to cook. Plan on using the oven to heat up casseroles after you take the turkey out. This is because the turkey needs time to sit and rest before carving to stay juicy.

Create a timeline, working backwards from when you want to eat. Eat time-setup time-casserole cook time-turkey cook time = time to start turkey.

Next -figure out every food that will be served, and what it will be served IN. put a post it note in each bowl or dish saying "salad" or "stuffing". This is to make sure you have something for everything, and also so that when people start helping, they don't leave you with nothing to put the mashed potatoes in because it's now full of wild rice.

Now figure out what you may want to ask others to bring ,and what you will be making. Make a grocery list of all ingredients so you don't forget anything. I buy as much as possible the weekend before, and then pickup the turkey on Tuesday. Less chaos and it conserves my energy.

If possible, set the table the night before. When you take the turkey out of the oven, put the ice and water in the water glasses on the table and open the wine.

Ideas for tablecovings at best prices are: often Target, etc will have very large sized holiday table cloths all at 1 price. I would expect that you could find one in size you want for $20-25 or less.

If you have room for storage, then pick up on of the white dish sets for holiday entertaining. If you honestly don' have the space, then use disposable. Wine glasses are the same idea. Great to start a collection if you can store. If not, use clear solo cups. (like on the airplane).

If you have an "antique mall" in your area, these are also good places to pick up some nice serving pieces.

I usually have some small holiday paper plates and cocktail napkins for folks to munch on snacks while they watch football while dinner is cooking. I usually ask one of the guests to bring an appetizer for this.

Plan on using a second set of dishes for dessert and coffee. And have some disposables on hand if people will be hanging around later in the day to watch football, etc. So they can heat up "seconds" in the MW on a paper plate.

If you feel like it, ask your guests to bring some containers so that they can take some leftovers home. Or send home on a paper plate. Everyone likes a turkey sandwich the day after.

This is getting me very excited!!

If you have a Doller Tree near go check it out for dinnerware, glasses etc. real glass too...table cover remnant fabric at fabric store by the yard, cut as needed use hem tape if it frays. the large classy looking paper napkins are just fine.

Jeri,

Fiestaware is on sale starting today at Kohl's 30-40% off, and on top of that, if you buy 4 place settings, you get the 5th free. You mentioned that you'd really like to have that be your dinnerware. Also at Kohl's all the tablecloths/napkins are 30-50% off @13.99 for the tablecloth (solid colors or patterned). They have wine glasses, water goblets, basically everything you need.

There's a Kohl's 5 miles from here, right next to where my Dad lives, so I drop in there often. Right now I have a 30% off my entire purchase coupon so will be going there today on my way to visit Dad.

Do you have one near you? Also you can shop online and have the stuff shipped.

How exciting for you! My house is the holiday hosting house, so I have an extensive collection of dishes, serving ware and flatware. I purchased two 12 place settings of flatware at Costco and put them away in a snapped lid box and they're used only for parties. Same with dishes...I use white and some with black & white patterns. My serving dishes are all white or black, so I can mix & match.

I keep a lot of seasonal colors of table coverings, I use golds & greens for Thanksgiving, and white or green for Christmas. Then I use all different kinds of knicknacks, candle holders, faux & real greenery depending on the event.

I've found that after the holidays you can find fun stuff for up to 90% off, so I buy at those times and sock it all away. For this first year, buy some mini pumpkins and squash, gather up fall leaves and make a nice runner up the center of your table using them. Add a few candles and your centerpiece is done. If you want to get cute, tie some raffia on your chair backs and hang a name tag made of construction paper cut like a leaf. Less clutter on the table that way.

One possibility: borrow the extra place settings you need from a friend who is not hosting Thanksgiving. One year I borrowed enough silver flatware for an army! It wouldn't have made sense to buy enough for everyone. You should be able to get nicer linens if you are able to borrow some of the dishes and flatware.

I am not a Thanksgiving decorate-er, so no help in that quarter, but I wish you the best of luck!

Hi, Just saw in today's Target Ad that they had 12 white dinner plates/gold band...12 for $10 which I thought was a good price. Ofcourse they had other stacks of sizes too. I believe they mentioned serving pieces. White matches nearly everything so if you have company often and just need some extras this is a good deal.

I love using my (inexpensive) gold trimmed clear glass plates. For my sister's fall birthday, the kids and I went on a hunt for the most beautiful fall leaves. We put them under the clear plates on a blue tablecloth. It was beautiful! In the spring/summer, I put fresh flowers under them. For holidays, I buy nice seasonal paper plates and put the clear glass on top. After dinner, I take away the dirty dishes and the fancy paper plates serve us our desert plates! Looks great and saves wear and tear on the dishwasher (DH)

Jeri,
I'm doing Thanksgiving this year too, although not my first time. Something that we (my husband is a great help in the kitchen) have done in the past, is to cook the bird the day before, slice the meat and place in a large casserole, cover with broth and refrigerate. This especially works well if you're eating earlier in the day -frees up the oven for a ham or other casseroles. The thing I like about it is getting that carcass mess out of the way. We just stick the meat in a medium oven 30-45 minutes before serving time to heat it up.
I like using real dishes for family gatherings, but disposables are okay too. I have china, but my every day dishes are white, and I have used both. A cute idea my sister in law did one year was to use small decorative gift bags with fall flowers as center pieces. Another place to buy linens is Kohl's. Good luck and have fun!

You guys are the best! Such fun and creative ideas!

Patrice607 - I love your ideas with the clear glass plates!

I’m leaning toward the Pottery Barn Caterer’s Dinnerwar Set… Time is so short!

Target is having a good sale on 2 different sets of white dishes. If you have the dishes shipped to the store, the shipping is free.
Though I love white dishes bordered in gold or silver, remember they can't go in the microwave for a last minute warm-up.

Sounds like you've gotten good suggestions here. Now, relax and enjoy your company on Turkey Day.

I recently had a Fall dinner party and spray painted some big pumpkins with gold paint. They looked amazing! You could do small ones instead (or in addition) or spray paint walnuts for each placesetting, or use them in bowls.

I also used lots of votive candles (most of my candleholders are from the thrift store where they are always plentiful) and put fresh cranberries in around the candles, and some tall tapers too (sorry, took pics before I put cranberries in).

I purchased the tablecloth, placemats & napkins from Homegoods, and made napkin "rings" with brown velvet ribbon and my hot glue gun.

I used a Martha Stewart Weddings free menu template (from the website) to make the menus and printed them at home.

You have all been so helpful!

Please help me make this decision...

Our table will be 60 x 120. I found this seller on EBay and I think the 132 x 132 will work great!

What color should I purchase? Gold? Honey? Burnt Orange? Terra Cotta? Moss Green? I will have white dishes and I’m leaning toward gold but worry it will be too “gold” IYKWIM :-)

The seller said I would receive this in time.

Thanks!

Misenplace - I *love* your ideas! And my dd will have such fun painting pumpkins and walnuts. Hmmmm - I wonder if I could use those gold walnuts to make a napkin ring...

I went ahead and ordered the Gold Tablecloth and 12 Burnt Orange Napkins. Que Sera, Sera :-)

Hmmmm, I think the 132" width is far too wide for a 60" table. You're going to have a 6" overhang at each end of the table and 31" along the sides. I'd be afraid people would end up pulling the tablecloth as they tried to scoot the chairs in. Maybe 72' to 84" would have been better. But I could be wrong.

Your color combo sounds nice.

Mona is right about the side overhang, but you can always fold the cloth lengthwise so you will have a 6" drop on each side. You can always cut and hem to the proper length and make napkins and/or a runner from the remainder. Even if you don't do it for this holiday, the runner and extra napkins will always come in handy. Enjoy!

I have to admit, I am BIG on renting stuff when needed. I do have lots of plates, and stuff, but renting is great. Not only you don't have store the stuff afterwards, but you do not have to wash it. Reread that part, you do not have to wash it. Just scrape the plates, or empty the glasses, and put back in the platic crate they came in. I see you bought your linens, but the same applies there too. No cleanup. When we have parties, I always rent something it seems, it really makes my life easier.

And this is coming from someone who has too many dishes and glasses already in the basement. Friends love to come over and "shop" down there.

Just my 2cents.

gobble gobble (I'm hosting this year too, but only 10 of us)

Good points about renting - I've still not purchased the dishes and stemware yet...

I knew 132 would be too wide, but I thought I could either fold it or hem it.

They didn't have the gold tablecloth, so I reversed the colors - Burnt Orange Table cloth and Gold Napkins - quickly tell me if I made a mistake! I might be able to change it - but to what??? :-O

Those colors are fine and would make for a pretty table, but Army Green napkins would give nice contrast to the white dishes.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday to host, and this will be my first year in quite a few that I will be able to do that. The possibilities for menu choices are endless. I really recommend taking a peek at any year November issue Bon Appetit magazine. They do a Thanksgiving issue every year, and every year, I find a new must do recipe. I think BA gives the best Thanksgiving menu ideas, as well as hints for a great dinner party.

Plan your menu asap. Make sure you have enough oven and stove top space to do all of your dishes that need to be cooked. Add in some dishes that don't require any cooking. Also, some dishes can be done ahead and frozen, or just done ahead to a certain point, then refrigerated.

White dishes are the best for serving a meal. I saw the sets of white dishes at Target that mona mentioned. Also, BB&B, or if you have a restaurant supply store near your home, you can get great deals on restaurant quality white dinner plates, serving dishes, serving utensils, wine glasses, etc.

Don't try to do more complicated dishes that you haven't already tried. Also, if you have offers, I always think it works best to have someone bring an hors d' oeuvre and/or dessert. You will then have alot more refrigerator space for the meal items and not be tied up doing starters if someone is kind enough to bring something for cocktail time.

Also, if guests are bringing a dish, ask them to bring it in what it will be served from. Saves you from hunting down a serving dish upon their arrival.

This will be my 20th year hosting Thanksgiving. I did appreciate the years in between approx. 5-6 wherein we went to another's home for Thanksgiving. I always try to take something that the hostess has chosen to compliment her recipes. So, if there is a recipe that you want, but don't have the time or oven space to accommodate, perhaps someone would help you out if you provide them a copy. I've done it, but only with recipes with less than 5, easy to find, ingredients.

Good wine. Have a glass after you have your house ready and the table is set. Take a leisurely shower/bath and enjoy the solo glass of wine while you are getting ready for your party. It is always easier to entertain if you are relaxed. Your guests will take your lead.

One of the most important tools needed to make your turkey a success, is a $10 investment - instant read thermometer. Don't want any sick guests IYKWIM?

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your day!

Another holiday hostess here-my family comes and for the past few years in-laws have joined us as well. I generally have about 20 or a few more at our gatherings.

Years ago I bought glass plates-have 2 dozen. I like those even better than white; for some reason they seem both more festive and generic, if that makes sense. I use them for T'giving, Xmas, family birthdays etc.

I'm like Julie in having systems. Happily so, as I thought I was the only person in the world with post-it notes in the serving dishes! I also:

-Have an Excel spreadsheet with the list of foods, serving ware and people who are bringing items on it. I have one generic holiday list saved and every year I just update.

-Keep my holiday dishes and serving pieces stored together in one cabinet. It is much easier to put things out when it's all together instead of having to hunt through many cabinets and drawers.

-Assign dishes for people to bring based on my knowledge of the guests. Thus, I don't ask my sister who is never on time for anything in her life to bring appetizers. She is also not all that up on cooking so I ask her for a fancy dessert (which she can pick up at a bakery). I have my sister who shows up on the dot of the invitation do appetizers. My stepmother is in charge of a dessert that is ok for my diabetic dad to have. And so on.

-I serve buffet style and I set the table the day before and also organize the silverware. Have 2 dozen cloth napkins and I roll up individual sets, then tie them with raffia and place into a basket. It looks festive and keeps things moving when it's time to get 20 people through the buffet line.

-One of the Thanksgiving foods I have always dreaded making are those #$*#^ mashed potatoes. For the size of the group I feed, I need at least 5 pounds, maybe more. The peeling, the cooking, the need to wrestle with that huge messy pot of spuds while trying to get everything else out...arrgh. Last year I discovered a Pioneer Woman recipe for make-ahead mashers that changed my life :). Recipe is below. They are delicious and indeed, work perfectly if made a day before then reheated.

-I use disposable (plastic fluted edge from Party City) dessert plates and utensils for dessert. By that point, the kitchen is packed with dirty plates, cups, etc. and it does make life a bit easier.

-I routinely take vacation for the entire work week of Thanksgiving. I find that it helps me IMMENSELY to have the extra time to get ready. Do my shopping early, get the house spiffed up, start prepping and so on. I know not everybody can do this but if it's an option, I recommend it.

Target also this week has a 6-foot folding table on sale for $32. Tried to pick one up yesterday but my local store didn't have them in yet. Will go back for that. Till last year we had a fantastic 10 foot long picnic table on the patio (which is where we eat--the blessings of living in the subtropics) but it was riddled with termites so we had to toss it. I've missed that table so much!!

-And last but not least: enjoy yourself. I used to get so wound up that I felt like I missed the party. Now, I get things going, let people help as long as they don't start a fire or injure themselves...and I sit out with my family, have a nice meal and give thanks for all being together once again.

Ann

Here is a link that might be useful: Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

runningplace,
Thanks for posting that recipe. Looks good and I am going to give it a try this Christmas.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Another post it note gal here, DH just does the eye roll, but it helps me keep myself sane in the midst of a house full of guests and many dishes. I usually put a couple of serving pieces aside for something a guest brings in a dish that needs to be transferred.

I've already got my serving dishes collected and menu in my head...

My people! I thought I was the only one with xcel holiday sheets and labeled serving dishes. It is so much easier on me, and on anyone helping me- they don't have to read my mind.

I always have a turkey and a ham. I like abundance, I like for people to have choices, and it takes the pressure off me just in case the turkey is not fabulous (I like to experiment with the turkey!).

Below is a link to a service for 12 white dinnerware set at Target. Greact price for 72 pieces. Whiteware Dinnerware Set Service for 12 $89.99 List: $159.99Save: $70.00 (44%)

Here is a link that might be useful: Target White Dinnerware

I have also used clear glass plates, and use gold chargers underneath.

Another vote for tableware from Dollar Tree..It works very well and you can't beat the price. Their glassware is great as well! We serve between 35 and 50 at Thanksgiving...I use antique damask table cloths, nice heavyweight plastic plates and cups to match and real silverware bundled (knife and fork) into an oversized napkin and tied with raffia. On the dessert table I use smaller nice paper plates and cocktail sized napkins (both of which match the oversized dinner napkins), and matching paper bowls. Works well for our clan and looks pretty too.

Did anyone watch " throwdown thanksgiving feast"? Bobby Flay vs Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond. Two great dinners!

This site is like having forty best girl friends to help with the dinner and table.

Good luck Jeri!

....Jane