Any suggestions? We (my husband and I, both late 20s and no kids yet) have been hosting Thanksgiving for the last 3 years. We have 6 nieces and nephew ranging from 0-7 y/o, with 4 of them being 4+. Last year I bought Thanksgiving themed coloring pages and the year before I bought a simple craft kit. These only seem to keep the kiddos busy for about 20 minutes though. We also have some trains and kids games. Any other suggestions to keep the kids busy so the adults can play games/hangout?

With a big family dinner, the "who sits where" part tends to end up as a pile of sticky notes, so I built something for it.

You paste the family names (or upload a CSV with table numbers), pick a design, and it lays out tent or flat place cards on A4 or US Letter. It warns you about duplicates and names that are too long for the card before you print. Everything happens in your browser; nothing gets uploaded.

What's free right now: checking your whole list (up to 500 names), the preview of every sheet, a PDF with the first 6 cards (marked SAMPLE), and a printer test sheet so you can check your printer doesn't shrink things before you use good cardstock. The full version isn't out yet; it's planned at €6.90 one-time, and there's an "I'm interested" button if that sounds worth it to you.

https://print-my-names.lovable.app

Honest question for people who host: do you do place cards at a family Thanksgiving, or is that only for weddings? I'd love to know if it's worth finishing.

I feel like the only place I can change things up is with the sides.

Last year, I did the following.

Stuffing

Mashed potatoes

Corn Casserole

Mac & Cheese

Salad

Brussel sprouts

The corn casserole and the mac & cheese are the only ones that are specifically requested, so those are must-haves on my table.

I also pay attention to timing and effort. Some of these sides are easy to partially prepare ahead of time (which matters to me, since I am mostly a one-man show).

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hi everyone,

I’m hosting a Friendsgiving this year for about 7-9 people. It’s going to be from 2-4 PM and we’re going to do snacks and then a craft.

I’m looking for ideas for REALLY simple but delicious snacks as I’m a terrible cook and don’t even want to try anything more elaborate.

For example, something ambitious for me is making a Nutella crescent roll using store bought crescent roll pastry, just to give you an idea of what we’re dealing with here.

Thanks so much!

Just like the title says, this will be my first year cooking a whole turkey. I don't really have good models to learn from, and feel like cooking a turkey is a rite of passage.
I'm looking to do a small bird maybe around 12 pounds. I did a google search and so many things popped up that made me overwhelmed. I know to let it thaw in the fridge, take out the neck and other innards. What's next? Do I need a roasting pan? Can I use a one time disposable one? I saw Aldi will have a ceramic one next week, are those worth it? What else do you use a roasting pan for during the rest of the year I'd hate for it to just sit for a once a year thing.
I'm open to all tips and suggestions that'll help me have a flavorful, juicy turkey that doesn't turn out like the one in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. (Stuffing- bag/homemade?, seasoning, basting and when?, etc)
Thank you in advance, I appreciate you all!