A-Z of Planning Thanksgiving Dinner

I am so excited about the whole planning and thinking about Thanksgiving that I couldn't keep myself away from writing this to you all. And like many of you, I have loads of plans. The proper dinner includes a lot of calculations and preparations. I'll give you a gist of what I'm planning. Every year mom has to look into the planning but this year I figured, why not help her and make a difference in her life. What would be the best way to thank her!

Planning:
Following a countdown schedule is a must for all the people who are planning. That way you can cover all the stuff you need to do before the guests arrive. Proper defrosting of the turkey before cooking is very important. My mom always picks out a healthy & fresh turkey for the dinner. This year, the table will have some traditional side dishes like sweet n salty pecans, seasoned black eyed peas, garlic knots delight, and sweet yam delight. My mom is really good at guessing the amount of food required for specific number of guests. To give you guys a fair idea, she always tells me that if there were 8 guests then you should have an 11-pound-turkey and if it's 11 then a 17 pounds turkey would do.
You can trust her -- try it out. The biggest part of planning comes with making the guest list and don't forget it shouldn't be overloaded. Shopping should be done before hand. That's why I am doing the shopping now. It is difficult not to miss out on items. Now, I wonder how my mom handles so many things just by herself. I had a tough time cleaning my house last year since it was one of the main part of the celebration. The side-dishes and the pies had to be prepared just a day before to keep it fresh and smelling nice!

Party Ideas:
For me party ideas have to include the party games, thanksgiving drawings with the traditional themes or may be even fun themes and gift ideas for the guests. It is a must that the games are easily understood by both the adults and the kids. Last year, I got so bored playing with the kids and ended up snoring on my couch! I like memory games and this can be real fun. You can try it out this year.

Wine:
Wine is a special part for any dinner party. Don't you think so? I love this part. Though i am pretty new in tasting wine but I've acquired the taste. The food is all over the board which include the spicy, salty and of course sweet. Selection of affordable fun wines that will be easy to drink for a melange of food and people would be a gem of an idea. Some traditional wines we are planning to serve this year would include Gewürztraminer (spicy, fruity white), Riesling (either dry or sweet) or Rosé (which the NY Times call the “party wine of the year”) in either sweet and pale blush style or darker pink which complements the decor. And of course there's champagne aka sparkling wine has the body, the flavor and the fun for a meal for any special occasions.

www.novusvinum.com/topwines.html

http://www.drvino.com/retailers.php

So what do you think about the plan? Isn't it going to rock??? Come on don't tell me that this is not pretty good for what? A guy of 23? Tell me who can do more than this?