Hosting Thanksgiving comes with a lot of stress. There’s making sure the house is clean and getting the table set, of course. And then there’s prepping and making and serving all the food, while also making sure it all stays warm (even though everything has a different cooking time).
Needless to say, we could all use any helpful tips this holiday season. And TikTok has a ton of Thanksgiving hosting hacks to get us through the big day as smoothly as possible. If you’re in charge of hosting this year, check out these 15 great Thanksgiving hacks:
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Use ChatGPT.
Artificial intelligence can come in super handy when trying to plan a Thanksgiving meal. TikToker @crcederberg shared that she fed all her Thanksgiving recipes into ChatGPT. She asked the AI chatbot to make a plan of when to prep each item in order to sit down for dinner at 4 p.m., and it delivered all the step-by-step instructions. Genius.
Plan serving dishes ahead of time.
TikToker @victoriafoxco labels all her serving dishes with their corresponding meals ahead of time. That way she knows that she has enough baking dishes, serving bowls, and serving platters to go with each food item. She does the same thing with serving utensils.
Group ingredients all together.
On TikTok, @brunchwithbabs shared that she groups together ingredients for each dish on separate baking sheets. She even pre-measures the ingredients and prints out a recipe card to go with each tray. As one commenter noted, it makes delegating super easy. You can just point someone to the tray with all of the items and the recipe and let them get to work.
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Make food and freeze it.
Prepping ahead of time saves so much stress on the actual day. TikToker @recipesfrommichelle said that you can make items like pies, rolls, fresh green bean casserole, mac n’ cheese, and mashed potatoes ahead of time. Then freeze them for two weeks to a month and just thaw when it’s time to eat!
Set up a buffet station.
Shannon Doherty shared in a TikTok video that she covers her counters in brown craft paper to set up her food buffet. Then she just writes right on the paper what each item is. That way people can serve themselves and they’ll know exactly what’s in the dishes.
Easy ways to peel potatoes.
Peeling potatoes for homemade Thanksgiving dishes can be time-consuming, but TikTok had two great hacks to speed it up. First, if you choose to hand peel, @fashionblogdropout sticks a fork in one end of the potato to give a better grip. Additionally, as @amanda.dalfonso pointed out, simply score the potatoes down the middle before boiling and the skins peel right off.
How to quickly thaw a turkey.
Frozen turkeys can take days to thaw in the fridge, but @problemsolved posted a TikTok hack that just takes a few hours. Put the turkey (while in its packaging) breast side down in a large pot (or in the sink or a cooler). Fill with cool (never hot!) water until the turkey is submerged.
Change the water every 30 minutes to speed up the process.
Don't be afraid to use store-bought items.
Picking up a few store-bought sides, desserts, or heck even the whole turkey can save time and sanity on Thanksgiving. We love this store-bought pie hack from TikToker @athomewithshannon. She uses a cookie cutter to take circle-sized chunks out of the pie to serve individually with whipped cream. Then she takes the leftover pie filling and makes chocolate covered pie pops. Yum!
How to avoid basting the turkey.
If basting the turkey throughout the cooking process just isn’t for you, you can try this hack from TikToker @lorafied. She drapes a butter-covered piece of cheesecloth over the turkey before putting it in the oven, which eliminates the need to baste.
Put gravy in a thermos.
Free up important stovetop space by keeping warm gravy in a thermos instead of in a pan on a burner. As TikToker @itsnicolejaques said, it can keep the gravy warm for hours while everyone wraps up the rest of the Thanksgiving dinner cooking.
Get a warming pad.
Speaking of keeping Thanksgiving dishes warm, TikToker @famous.food.finds recommended using an electric warming pad to keep side dishes hot while the rest of the meal prep is completed. Having all the dishes come out at the same time is almost impossible, so this is a good stopgap.
Match the plate temp to the food.
TikToker @kaikani recommends either cooling or warming the serving dishes to correspond with each menu item. For cold foods like salads or desserts, she recommended chilling plates in the fridge or freezer prior to putting the items out. For warm items, you can put serving dishes in the oven on low heat. This ensures the food items stay the appropriate temperatures for longer.
Rent some items.
For those with smaller apartments or homes who still want to host Thanksgiving, take a tip from @alissa.mcmullan. She rented two large tables and folding chairs for the day. That way they could still have family over without worrying about storing those tables and chairs all year long.
How much food to make.
When planning exactly how many portions you’ll need for Thanksgiving Day, you can reference Nicole Jaques’ TikTok video. For example, ½ cup of gravy and cranberry sauce per person, and around 1½ pounds of turkey per person.
Easy leftovers hack.
Everybody loves Thanksgiving leftovers. So grab some disposable muffin tins with lids. People can load up each section with different leftover items, and you won’t have to worry about loaning and potentially losing any of your good containers.
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