Give Thanks to your Thanksgiving Host
Are you a Thanksgiving host or attendee this year? I’m not too shabby in the kitchen, but I’d much rather enjoy the food of Thanksgiving than cook the food. Hosting Thanksgiving is no easy feat. The planning, shopping, cleaning, cooking, and entertaining that happens is nothing short of amazing and exhausting. Let’s show our hosts our gratitude for the time, energy, and money that they put into hosting Thanksgiving.
Slippers
A pair of cozy slippers… your host deserves some comfort and relaxation after being on their feet in the kitchen all day.
Kitchen Gear
A cast iron pan. A cast iron garlic roaster. An instant digital thermometer. Immersion blender. Anti-fatigue mat. Wine bottle stoppers. Kitchen shears. A new apron.
Booze
If you know what they like, get that! If you don’t, a good bottle of wine can never hurt. The wine-o’s in my life typically recommend Freakshow Cabernet, Josh Cellars Cabernet, or on the more expensive side, Caymus Cabernet.
Houseplant or Bouquet
You can find beautiful Thanksgiving/fall-themed arrangements at your local flower shop or even at grocery stores this time of year - just make sure you trim the ends and put them in a vase so it’s not an additional task for your host. Consider a houseplant which lasts much longer than flowers - some easy, safe, and beautiful houseplants include a snake plant, ZZ plant, money tree, and most pothos variations.
Christmas Ornament
Choose a special ornament or a set of ornaments for your host to adorn their Christmas tree (which will go up the day after Thanksgiving if they’re anything like me!). You can choose something related to something they love or just go with something traditional. I drool over Pottery Barn’s selection.
Tupperware
I wouldn’t necessarily consider this a gift, but definitely helpful and something I’ve found incredibly useful in Thanksgiving’s past as a host on occasion… bring a set of new, take home Tupperware! The compartmented ones and plain ones. This way the host isn’t sending their own Tupperware home with guests, searching the cupboard for matching lids, and everyone gets to take home leftovers, so the host isn’t left with food to throw out or eating a Thanksgiving meal for the next 5 days.
This year, it’s just me and my little family for Thanksgiving so we’ll all share the cleaning and cooking. If you’re not attending a hosted Thanksgiving or having just a small one of your own, consider giving back to your community with a small donation. Homeless shelters always need socks and often will take volunteers to sign up to bring a warm meal, food pantries are always taking donations, and Thanksgiving specific food drives for those in your community who may be struggling to put food on the table this Thanksgiving.
Best Wishes and Warmest Regards,
Em
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