1. Make a reasonable menu. 
2. Find shortcuts. 
3. Spread out the work. 
4. Dry run. 

I am a recovering perfectionist and I also like Pinterest. What does one have to do with the other? Good ol’ Pinterest keeps supplying bright and shiny suggestions long after I need any more ideas. My brain says, “Ooooohhh now that’s a pretty pie!” Even worse, I then add that beautiful pie to my menu! So the first order of business is to make our reasonable menu. If you struggle like I do, maybe say that with me. Reeeeeeea-son-able. See? Totally on the same page. 

You know what Pinterest is really good for? A special occasion where you will only bring one item. Then find the best and brightest, most time-consuming delicacy ever, and bring that. But for this occasion of making a full dinner, let’s press pause on Pinterest and aim for the middle of the path: delicious family favorites.

The very first thing to do is to ask your family members, one at a time, to tell you their top two favorites and record their answers somewhere for reference. Make sure you write your top two down as well. Text or call anyone who will attend your tiny house holiday dinner and ask for their top two menu items. What are your people really craving for Thanksgiving this year? You might be surprised! When I did this the first year, I was shocked that my son only wanted mashed potatoes and a shoofly pie. My daughter asked for monkey bread for breakfast and ham for lunch.

This is the best kind of menu: a menu of favorites! List your family favorites, then add any missing pieces. For example, if my hubby says macaroni and cheese and pumpkin pie; my daughter says coffeecake and green bean casserole; my son says rolls and mashed potatoes with BROWN gravy, and my favorites are cranberry sauce and cornbread dressing, then I start the menu there.

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Breakfast: Coffeecake and Coffee

Lunch: Cranberry Sauce, Rolls, Mashed Potatoes and Brown Gravy, Macaroni and Cheese, Cornbread Dressing, Green Bean Casserole, Pumpkin Pie

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You can see we are missing turkey from the menu. This is normal for us. Everyone assumes it will be there, but it doesn’t rank high enough to be in the top two for anyone. So I add Turkey to the list. No drinks are listed, so I will add Sweet Tea to the list.

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Breakfast: Coffeecake and Coffee

Lunch: Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Rolls, Mashed Potatoes and Brown Gravy, Macaroni and Cheese, Cornbread Dressing, Green Bean Casserole, Pumpkin Pie, and Sweet Tea.

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Just adding those two missing items makes this a valid menu. I know from experience this is really where I should stop. Continuing to add items will just wear me out during my prep days. Once your reasonable menu is written, we are going to look high and low for shortcuts.

Action item: Make your reasonable menu before moving on to shortcuts.