Are you hosting a thanksgiving dinner? Then read further to get some of our tips on Thanksgiving potluck ideas.
Thanksgiving Potluck Ideas
Thanksgiving Day is an important celebration in United States and Canada where people organise get together with friends and family and thank for everything they have received. It is on this day that people prepare delicious food items such as turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, and cranberry relish. Don't you think it is too demanding to prepare a dinner by yourself? Those who have prepared the thanksgiving dinner themselves will know the time and effort that goes into it. Then, host a potluck for Thanksgiving Day where each and every person share the cooking responsibilities and prepare different dishes. This is the most effective way to make the holiday a fun, enjoying and simple. Moreover, there is the enhanced joy of sharing the responsibilities and tasting the dishes which your guests have prepared. However, it is not easy to host a potluck; plenty of responsibilities and duties accompany it though it can be made easy with planning and organised preparation. Check some of our ideas for hosting thanksgiving potluck.
Potluck Ideas
Preparations
- Decide on the location of the potluck. This helps to determine the number of guests who can be accommodated in the location.
- In case you are the host, send an invitation to your guests by listing the menu and name of the persons who prepare it.
- Ask the guests to bring more silverware as reserves as a back-up if you don't have the adequate numbers.
- Irrespective of whether you are a host or a guest, mostly stick to those recipes which can be prepared ahead of time and can be reheated.
- While assigning the preparation of dishes, categorise them as meats, vegetables, casseroles, potatoes, drinks, salad, appetisers, side dish or dessert.
- Ensure you have more than one person assigned with the preparation of a specific category so that in case of last minute cancellations, you will not be missing a specific dish.
- Regarding appetizers, it is better if the hosts prepare it. This is because something should be in store for the visitors when they arrive at the party place. Or else, ensure that those people who make appetizers reach the spot on time.
- Two weeks before potluck, designate the preparation of dishes and the quantities to the guests. A week prior to Thanksgiving Day, ensure you clean the fridge to have ample storage space. Two days before, set a buffet of the tableware, label them with some cards with the name of the dish. On the day, ensure that the food that arrives is ready to eat.
- Once the date approaches, confirm the date with your guests. In case of cancellations, you can make arrangements for replacing the dishes, if required.
- As in any occasion, you need to expect leftovers in potluck. Ensure you have sealable bags, plastic wraps or plastic take out containers to avoid guests returning bare handed after all their efforts. It is also feasible to ask each guest to bring their own plastic containers.
Potluck Ideas
- The dishes one generally expects for a Thanksgiving Day potluck is turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie
- While deciding on the menu, try to maintain a balance by including heavy and starchy food items like mashed potatoes and lighter vegetable dishes.
- It is always good that the host prepare the turkey as it takes hours to get cooked and not easy to transport.
- In most of the thanksgiving dinners, the desserts go untouched. What you can do is suggest every guest to prepare their own dessert recipe and share with others. It is also preferable that every guest brings a beverage which they prefer.
- Make sure that there are ample varieties of dishes. If you are preparing turkey, suggest someone to make ham. If it is a big crowd or if your turkey is not big enough to pacify the appetite, another person can prepare a turkey.
- Ensure to include a vegetarian dish to consider the requirements of vegetarians. You can any ask of them attending the potluck to prepare a dish. If others have any kind of dietary specifications, it must also be considered.
- Preparing certain food items which can be prepared ahead of time such as cranberry relish, apple or pumpkin pie, rolls is a good idea.
The fun of a potluck is not in doing everything yourself but in sharing the work. Hope this article gives you an idea on thanksgiving potluck.
