Delightful Etiquette Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving

As we start the week of Thanksgiving, I am reminded of how much I have to be thankful for. I also am excited to have my family over to celebrate everything we are blessed with! As I start to prepare for our celebration, I wanted to share tips with you that help me and my friends set the scene for a delightful Thanksgiving! Preparing for the party can seem daunting or stressful, but I find if I plan ahead I enjoy the preparation just as much as the party. Setting the table with personal touches in anticipation of my guest's arrival is fun and it's always exciting when friends and family arrive at the door with the smell of turkey to greet them. Delightful Etiquette tips for hosting Thanksgiving: A great way to be prepared is setting the table the day before. A fun idea for the table is using brown paper (you can get this at Staples or Office Max) as the table cloth and have crayons or colored pencils at each table setting to have guests write or draw what they are thankful for. Plan on being ready 15-30 minutes before guests arrive so you are fresh and ready to welcome them into your home. It's nice to have beverages for them and introduce them to other guests arriving also. Another way to make your guests feel welcome is to take their coats and bags, hanging them in a closet or having a certain place for them to leave their belongings.

Share with your guests the agenda for the meal. Some ways to do this is giving a toast to your guests, a prayer of Thanksgiving, and an agenda on how the meal is to be served. My daughter had her “Friendsgiving” over this past weekend with 35 guests, for this amount of guests they chose to have a buffet line with open seating and announced this when they welcomed everyone, which is helpful for guests to know what to expect.

Another Thanksgiving celebration this past weekend hosted by my friend Victoria and her husband was a long table for all the guests to sit together. And an added pop of surprise was the black and white bag filled with homemade toffee for each guest.

Lastly, a nice touch is to adorn the bathroom with hand towels, full bottle of hand soap, new toilet paper roll and fresh flowers. However you choose to host your celebration, a smile, listening ear and laughter are the best part of the meal. Happy Thanksgiving.