Thanksgiving dinner is one of the loveliest occasions of the holiday season. It is also, for those who plan and cook it, a massive undertaking. Whether you’re cooking the entire meal yourself or running point on a multi-person potluck, there’s an overwhelming number of dishes to prepare and a lot of pressure to make sure they live up to your family’s traditions and your guests’ expectations.
With so much focus on sides, pies, and of course, that dang bird, it’s easy to let the little things—the accessories and accoutrements that can keep things running smoothly—slip through the cracks.
I started hosting my extended family’s Thanksgiving feast six years ago, and every year since, a moment always comes when I’ve realized I don’t have a certain something that might make my job easier, and just as importantly, that would allow more of my guests to enjoy their holiday meal.
So I started taking notes to remind Future Me about the stuff I usually forget. Here are five items that have helped solve several of my Thanksgiving-prep blind spots—and that I’ll definitely have on hand this year and in years to come.
Clothespins
I used to get asked these questions every year about my Thanksgiving buffet: “Which stuffing is the gluten-free one?” “Do these potatoes have butter in them?” “Is this the vegan gravy?” Usually, I didn’t know the answers, because in my haste to get everything ready, I lost track of where I’d put each dish.
A few years ago, a crafty cousin of mine came up with an easy way to preempt those questions and keep the buffet line moving: by labeling each serving dish with a clothespin.
All it takes is a Sharpie and a spring-loaded clothespin. Write “gluten-free,” “vegan,” and the like on a pin, then clip it to the lip of a dish. The pins stay in place so that everyone can easily tell which label belongs to which dish. I can then store the pins with the rest of my holiday servingware so I don’t have to come up with new labels every year.
Ketchup
If my guest list includes kids, then there’s a good chance I may need to help a parent or two accommodate their picky eaters. The best man for this job is H.J. Heinz, whose eponymous ketchup has been delighting youthful palates since 1876. Though I always have ketchup in the house, I put an extra bottle on my Thanksgiving shopping list, because I’ve learned there is no such thing as too much ketchup as far as children are concerned.
Do I personally think it’s disgusting to slather turkey in ketchup? Yes. Do I enjoy seeing a huge glob of Heinz swirled into a mound of mashed potatoes? I do not. But what I most want is a peaceful meal for those kids, their parents, and all of my guests, where everyone can enjoy their food the way they prefer it. Plus, that’s what the kids table is for: Out of sight, out of mind.
Paper napkins
I set my Thanksgiving table with cloth napkins, but once people start eating, chaos often creeps in. Folks may forget whose napkin is whose (especially between courses as people circulate), or a napkin is dropped on the floor or used to sop up a spill and needs to be replaced. Having a backup set of paper napkins at the ready means I can quickly solve these mini conundrums, and we can all get back to enjoying ourselves. I do prefer the eco-friendliness of cloth napkins, which I use for everyday eating as well, but being able to toss the paper napkins into my compost bin at the end of the night softens that single-use sting.)
I’ve always used Vanity Fair Entertain 3-Ply Napkins for holiday entertaining, and so has senior editor Marguerite Preston, who heads our kitchen coverage. “They’re the nicest-looking paper napkins I know of, and unlike many printed party napkins, they’re reasonably soft for a paper product,” she says. I also like that they’re big enough to pinch-hit as a paper towel when needed.
Tea
I am, and have always been, strictly a coffee drinker. Any tea that might be lurking in the back of my kitchen cupboards is probably a random, years-old box that no tea drinker, no matter how die-hard, would be willing to try. As dessert is being served, however, someone is bound to request tea—and I hate having to admit to them that I’ve selfishly forgotten that non-coffee-drinkers exist.
I’m also not well-versed on all the types of teas to consider (green, white, oolong, and so on), but editor Alex Aciman, who researched and wrote our guide to the best-tasting teas, says that a high-quality (but not super-expensive) black tea—like the Fortnum & Mason Royal Blend Tea that was an overall favorite among our testers—will do the trick.
“The Royal Blend is a really classic black tea. It’s smooth and very lightly astringent, really well-rounded, mellow with a touch of smokiness—but all elevated,” he says. “So if you’ve got guests who drink any kind of black tea, they’ll probably like this.” It also comes in bags, rather than loose, which means you don’t have to worry about having a tea steeper on hand.
Nondairy creamer
Another item I always forget, because I never use it myself, is nondairy creamer, which some folks might want for their coffee or tea during dessert.
In our oat milk review, we found Oatly Original Oatmilk and Oatly Barista Edition Oatmilk to be the best-tasting of all the unflavored, unsweetened oat milk varieties we tried. Both are certified gluten-free in addition to being vegan.
Supervising editor Marilyn Ong recommends having the former on hand for folks who like a creamer with the consistency of regular cow’s milk, and the latter for those who prefer something thicker and more like half-and-half. Supervising editor Ben Keough also recommends Minor Figures Barista Oat Milk, which is available at Whole Foods (and is vegan but contains trace amounts of gluten).
I’m sure that this year I’ll think of another helpful item or two to add to my list. I like to imagine that with each problem I can resolve in advance, that’s another moment for me to indulge a little more in my favorite holiday—something I’m always truly thankful for.
This article was edited by Alex Aciman and Catherine Kast.
