The Halloween decorations have been put away, the Christmas decorations are just on the verge of being hung up, and the kids are starting to get excited about time off from school: must mean Thanksgiving is around the corner! You’ve still got a few weeks before the big day, but if you’re in charge of dinner this year you’ll probably want to start your planning and preparing! Everyone has their own recipes, tips, and methods for dealing with the stresses and elaborate plans of the season, but if you need a little inspiration, motivation, or just some plain old advice as you start building up to Turkey Day, we’ve got a list of things you can do to get ready, and what order to do them in! Step 1: Finalize The Guest List Sure, this only matters if you’re holding it at your house, but you’re going to want to take some time over the next few weeks to plan out who’s coming over, when to have them arrive, and where they’ll be travelling from. Make a few phone calls, send a few emails, make a Facebook page, whatever works best - but don’t worry too hard about making them overly formal! Step 2: Prepare Your Accommodations Once you’ve heard back on your invites and you have a better idea of how many people to expect, you might want to do some preparations for your guests. Set up some extra entryway storage to help hold everyone’s shoes and coats, clean up the living room and arrange some extra couch space, and if you have a guest bedroom try to put up some closet shelving and tidy up to accommodate any overnight (or longer-term) guests. Step 3: Plan Your Recipes Even if you already know what you’re cooking, you’re going to want to figure out exactly how you’re going to make it. Sit down and finalize what recipes you’re using for which dish - Grandma’s famous stuffing, that new homemade turkey baste you found online, maybe you’re feeling crazy enough to mash your own potatoes - and then begin planning where you have to get the ingredients, how long it will take to make each dish, and what you have to do to make sure they all get prepared correctly and on time (or as close to it as possible). Step 4: Get Your Tools & Ingredients Odds are you can probably get by with the dishes and supplies you have in your house, but once you have your recipes figured out you’re going to want to pull everything together. Make sure you have enough pots, pans, glass dishes, and utensils to properly cook everything, and then make sure you start looking for the right ingredients and supplies to make your dishes together. (If you’re still turkey-less, now’s a good time to try and round one up in time.) You’ll also want to make sure you have enough wire shelving and kitchen cabinet organizers to keep everything assembled and ready to go when you need it. Step 5: Clean Out Your Fridge & Freezer Finally, before the cooking can officially begin, you’re going to want to make sure there’s room for everything. A lot of Thanksgiving ingredients need to be either frozen before preparation or immediately afterwards to maintain freshness, and that means you might finally have to part with some of those leftovers you’ve been making friends with over the last few months in there. We’ll be back Friday with Part 2, but in the meantime get moving! Thanksgiving will be here faster than you think!