With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner, we thought we’d offer a couple of suggestions to help ease the stress of preparing the Big Meal. Getting organized in advance for the big day can ensure you’ll enjoy this Slow Food day and savor the time spent with family and friends.

• If your menu isn’t fully solidified yet, now’s the time to choose your final dishes. There will be a mad dash at the grocery store for the next few days, so stock up now!
• Buy your bird now. Remember: it takes a couple of days to defrost frozen turkeys of significant size. The longer you wait to buy, the fewer choices you will have regarding available bird weight options for the number of guests attending.
• Plan, plan, plan ahead. Make extra room in your fridge and freezer for all your ingredients as well as Aunt Bess’ special cranberry dish that has to remain cool up to serving time.
• Re-read all your recipes in advance. Determine which dishes can be prepared a day or two ahead of time and get them made. This will vastly reduce your pre-turkey stress.
• For the day of: Write out a timeline of events, from setting the table to preparing the gravy from the drippings. Knowing when your schedule is tight will aid in planning which family members you can recruit at certain times to help with various tasks. Most importantly, know exactly how many minutes to allow per pound of turkey and its needed rest time after it comes out of the oven. You want all your dishes to be ready at just about the same time before you sit down at the table.

Seasonal squashes, gourds and other fall harvest items make excellent table centerpieces (not to mention some make great soups as well). Stock up early on these funny-looking and colorful fall bounties to make the most creative presentation. We’ve even got a great way to stash them when not in use:

Our rattan baskets are an elegant accessory to include in any kitchen or pantry. Add them between storage sections in the pantry or under a counter for easy and attractive access to your produce. But our solid rattan baskets (shown in natural finish above) are also ideal for storage of pantry items that don’t do well on a shelf such as bags of potato chips, pet food and snacks. Whether you need shallow baskets to store your placemats or extra deep ones for a supply of potatoes and Golden Delicious apples, we’ve got them in a size and finish that will fit your needs.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!