Well, are you? If so, Central Library´s Sherry Utterback wants to help.

Have you been chosen (or did you volunteer) to host Thanksgiving this year?  Maybe it didn’t sound like too bad of an idea at the time, but now with the big day approaching fast, you are starting to realize all of the planning, cleaning,  preparation and entertaining you have to do.  Never fear, your Library is here!  Using the following list as your guide, you can breeze through Thanksgiving and be a jump ahead for the rest of the holiday season!  You may even be voted the “hostess (or host?) with the mostest” by your family and get to do it all again next year…well, never mind that last part.  Let’s just say you can have a truly memorable Thanksgiving.

First things first: you have to break down and clean the house.  Do not be afraid, and remember your guests will go home, but you get to stay and live in your nice clean space!

 

Absolutely Organize Your Family: Simple Solutions to Control Clutter, Schedules and Spaces by Debbie Lillard

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

The Ultimate Accidental Housewife: Your Guide to a Clean-Enough House by Julie Edelman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Complete Household Handbook: The Best Ways to Clean, Maintain and Organize Your Home by the editors of Good Housekeeping Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the menu.  Remember the day is pretty much defined by the meal, so you can go a little nuts here-or a lotta nuts.  Either way, stand back and wait for the compliments to roll in!

 

 

The New Thanksgiving Table: An American Celebration of Family, Friends, and Food by Diane Morgan

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Thanksgiving 101: Celebrate America’s Favorite Holiday with America’s Thanksgiving Expert by Rick Rodgers

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

How to Cook a Turkey: and All the Other
Trimmings from the editors of Fine Cooking magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a bonus, here is a little known tip: the late columnist Earl Wilson once wrote that his Mother-in-Law’s house always smelled wonderful when guests arrived for Thanksgiving dinner.  For years the lady refused to divulge her secret.  Finally, when she was no longer able to cook the dinner she capitulated, telling her daughter to put some Sage on the turkey before putting it into the oven.  “It doesn’t do a thing for the turkey” she confided “but it makes the house smell so good!” 

An excellent meal deserves a beautiful table.  Many of us are a little shaky on the subject of place and table setting, so let’s look at some guides on this subject so that your table will be as outstanding as your meal.

 

 

Tablescapes: Setting the Table with Style by Kimberley Schlegel Whitman

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

Set With Style by Caroline Clifton-Mogg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Table Décor: Festive Occasions, Weddings, and Other Special Events by E. Ashley Rooney

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

70 Napkin Folds &70 Napkin Folds & Table Decorations: How to Create Special Napkin and Table Displays for Every Occasion; Tricks and Secrets of the Professional Trade All Shown in Simple Step-by-Step Photography by Bridget Jones and Madeleine Brehaut

 

 

 

 

 

 

There you have it, a three part plan to hosting the perfect Thanksgiving!  After dinner, pop in a DVD, or put up some Christmas decorations.  Just don’t leave Aunt Martha in the kitchen with her bag of Tupperware…