Thanksgiving Dinner: Tips and Tricks to Simplify Your Meal

Cooking Thanksgiving dinner is no easy feat. There's the turkey, of course (or some other largely important main course, if yours is a family that dislikes turkey), which takes up a great deal of time. But the main dish really isn't what takes up most of the cook's time in the kitchen; preparing side dishes and desserts is what keeps Thanksgiving cooks laboring away for hours and hours. Is there anything that can be done about this situation, though?

There are dozens of tips and tricks out there for simplifying your Thanksgiving meal. For instance, there's the idea about asking various family members to bring side dishes and/or desserts to have more of a potluck-style Thanksgiving. This can work-if you have other people who can cook coming to your get-together. Another idea I have seen is to buy prepared foods to serve to your family, either online or locally. That is a good idea, if your family doesn't rebel against the idea-and if you can afford it; buying Thanksgiving dinner can be quite expensive.

I have another tip that you may not have considered. What is my idea? Let the kids cook! Now, before you start shaking your head at the very thought, let me explain. I'm not suggesting that you allow young children hang out in the kitchen while the head cook is working on the turkey or a complicated side dish. What I propose is that you find a simple recipe or two that one adult can lead the children in making-recipes that can be a part of the Thanksgiving dinner.

Why is this a great idea? Two reasons. First of all, it will get the kids out of everyone's way, keeping them engaged in a meaningful (but fun) activity. The kids will get a sense of pride out of being able to contribute to the Thanksgiving meal in such a big way. Usually, kids are relegated to making crafts or going off to play out of the way while the adults work on the dinner; by getting the kids to help out with the dinner you are showing them that they are valuable members of your family. So, what is the second reason? It's simple-if you allow the kids to help out in making a dish or two for the Thanksgiving meal, that means that the adult cook has less work to do! This is a win-win situation here!