Community Corner

Thanksgiving 2012: Planning for the Perfect Holiday Meal

Every week leading up to Thanksgiving Glen Ellyn Patch will share tips and ideas to help you plan for the perfect holiday.

If the food website Epicurious is to be believed, if you haven’t already started planning for Thanksgiving six weeks before the Nov. 22 feast, you are already behind. (I must be doomed)

Not to fret, we are here to share some planning tips leading up to Thanksgiving Day to help you pull off the perfect meal for friends and or family.

Thanksgiving is about the food, but it’s also about the kind of meal you hope to serve. Will it be a casual event or more formal? This is decision No. 1, according to Epicurious.

Find out what's happening in St. Charleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Once you’ve nailed down the feel for your Thanksgiving meal, you need to create your invite list and send out invitations. You need to know how big that turkey needs to be, right? Local stationery shop Papier Girl has invitations perfect for mailing. Because while e-vites are quick and simple, isn’t it much nicer and official — and let’s be honest — fun to receive an invite in the mail.

Taking into account the type of meal you hope to create — more casual may include the Campbell’s green bean casserole, versus haricote verts or Brussels sprouts. Decide how much time you wish to spend in the kitchen, what you can make yourself and what you will purchase pre-prepared. Stores like Whole Foods, Jewel and Dominick’s will sell you the entire meal. Online stores, such as Williams-Sonoma have turkeys you may order — at a price.

Find out what's happening in St. Charleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Or, make it easy on yourself and stop in at local market McChesney & Miller and order your Ho-Ka (Howard Kauffman) turkey. You have eight days left to get that order in, according to the McChesney & Miller website. You can order online as well. 

Once you know what you want to cook, have the turkey ordered, the invitations sent and RSVP’s received, then you can start making your cooking plan for what will get done at what time, Epicurious says.

Have tips of your own on how to tackle the Thanksgiving meal? Or, have a special recipe you’d like to suggest? Share them in comments.

Lazarus House Annual Thanksgiving Feast

Lazarus House invites the community to its annual Thanksgiving Feast from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day 2012 at the , St. Charles. Dining begins at noon. There is no cost.

Lazarus House offers shelter, food, and support services to men, women and children connected to St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia and western rural Kane County who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

If you are interested in helping with food or supplies, check out the full story at http://stcharles-il.patch.com/articles/lazarus-house-invites-community-to-annual-thanksgiving-feast.

Registration is not required but appreciated (630-587-2144).

Let Patch save you time. Get more local stories like these delivered right to your inbox or smartphone with our free newsletter. Fast signup here. Like us on Facebook.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here