Edna Dolan’s 9 Rules of Thanksgiving

 

Want expert advice on how to host Thanksgiving? Follow our mother, Edna Dolan’s nine rules of Thanksgiving. These are solid gold tips that will take your gathering to the next level.  Our mother was a master Thanksgiving planner who did most of her best work on the back of an envelope with a crayon. We routinely had 35 adults and children for the turkey and ALL of the trimmings. Our holiday dinner was more a a pageant than a meal complete with singing and dancing acts, costumes, very weak audio visual presentations, and specific roles for all participants.  I hope you can adopt some of our mother’s rules for your own holiday festivities.

1. It is never too early to set the table or peel the potatoes. The Sunday before Thanksgiving is a fine time to get the table done.  It may mean that you have to eat some of your pre-Thanksgiving meals standing up but who cares?  And according to our mother, peeled potatoes can sit in a pot of cold water for hours.
2. Everybody needs an apron. An apron should be part of the holiday attire for men, women, and children.  Everyone in aprons makes for a cute picture and and cover up any inappropriately dressed relative.
3. You can’t have too many pilgrims or turkeys. This is Thanksgiving for goodness sake! Don’t let shopping or Santa crowd out the day.  Savor all the goodness and gratitude that comes from gathering with friends and family.
4. Keep the appetizers light.  Our mother wanted us starving when we sat down to eat.  Think celery, carrots and olives.
5. Many hands make light work. And, good planning makes good fun.  Okay, Thanksgiving is a lot of work with lots and lots of dishes.  You need to enlist everyone in getting the job done.
6. Food has to be hot.  No matter how good your recipe for butternut squash is, if the dish isn’t served steaming hot, you’ve got problems.  Getting everything on the table at the right temperature requires timing and coordination.  See rule #5.
7. Rest the bird.  Okay, you did it.  You roasted the turkey to a perfect golden brown.  Our mother would advise you to patiently rest the bird for 20-30 minutes before carving.
8. Take a walk.  This rule had very little to do with health or digestion.  I think my mother just wanted all Thanksgiving commotion out of the house for a moment.
9. No matter how unnecessary, chocolate turkeys make the day. We certainly didn’t need giant chocolate turkeys after all the food, pies, nuts and fruit but they were fun and memorable.  Our mother loved Sees chocolate.http://www.sees.com.  Of course, our mother had many, many more rules regarding Thanksgiving but this should give you a good start to a wonderful holiday.