The time has come for an incredible aromatic experience. It’s not just the heavenly scent of pumpkin pie baking in the oven or the savory smells of turkey and mashed potatoes filling the air (though those are pretty great, too). Thanksgiving is the time for you to get together with friends and family and to enjoy the holiday, and Wicked Sense can help.
Our hand-dipped incense and Wicked Sense candles are sure to add to the overall ambiance to your Thanksgiving holiday. Since we know hosting a Thanksgiving can be a bit stressful, we want to make your experience as smooth and easy as possible. Wicked Sense is happy to provide some tips to creating a fabulous day—take a look at our tips on hosting the perfect Thanksgiving, and order from our online candle store!
Plan your guest list.
Before figuring out anything else, such as what you’ll be making and what ingredients you’ll need to buy, the first step is to make sure you have a guest list in mind. This will make every other aspect of planning Thanksgiving easier to manage, especially when you have an idea of who’s coming.
If this is your first Thanksgiving to host, it’s completely fine to make the process as simple as possible! Keep the numbers smaller, maybe no more than eight guests, or consider doing a potluck-style dinner. Once you have your guest list planned, send out the information—within a week, establish who’s coming, and get the ball rolling from there.
Decide on food.
Are you going traditional Thanksgiving dinner? Do you want to cook everything yourself? Having a sudden craving to go off the grid and make a delicious Indian meal instead? Start creating your menu—even if you don’t cook everything, figure out some of the essentials you want to have. Going potluck-style? Have some flexibility with what people feel comfortable bringing, but think of any dishes that you absolutely must have.
As another great hosting measure, consider your guests and their respective diets. You may want to plan on some vegetarian or vegan options for your loved ones, or talk with them to see if they have any ideas or suggestions. If there’s only one person with strict dietary restrictions, they are likely used to providing their own food (but it’s still something to communicate and discuss, not assume). And of course, if someone has a deadly allergy to peanuts or cheese (in which case, we’re really sorry), be courteous and safe and avoid those ingredients and the dishes that would require them.
Make a great space Pt. I.
A few days before the big day, start doing some household stuff to accommodate your guests. It’s fine if you live in relative chaos on the regular, with clothes strewn about and the occasional dirty dish that seems to reside in your sink. But when your guests are coming over, you want to ensure they feel comfortable. Start tidying things up, clean the bathroom (yes, the bathroom), vacuum, and do whatever else you need to make your space look fresh and bright. This level of cleanliness will be relatively easy to maintain until guests arrive.
Not only do you need to make your space clean, you need to make your space possible. Consider if you have enough seating options for everyone: do you need to buy some folding chairs? Will people be comfortable sitting on the floor? Where do you want people to eat? If your house or apartment is not at that level yet, do what you need to in order to make sure people will be comfortable.
Go shopping!
The last thing you want is to hit up the grocery store a few days before Thanksgiving and discover all the turkey and Tofurkey has sold out. You might want to talk with a deli or grocery store to see when they recommend getting a turkey, and if you’ll need to order one. Some of the standard Thanksgiving foods—such as cranberry sauce or relish, potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie,—will require you to get the proper ingredients somewhat in advance. Each of the aforementioned items are relatively non-perishable, so it’s OK for you to stock up on some of these ingredients a week out (if you’re planning a traditional meal, that is).
For some other key things to make your hosting so much simpler, stock up on plasticware and utensils. Foil roasting pans and pie tins are a great way to make cleanup easier, and unless you feel like doing dishes for the next three years, disposable plates are going to be your best friend. Consider getting plastic cups for wine or other beverages as well, because after a delectable feast, you’ll want to relax with your family and friends, not worry about scrubbing dishes.
And of course, another thing to shop for that will create for a phenomenal time is getting some hand-dipped incense or some scented soy candles from our online candle store! With an odor-eliminating candle, you might just be able to hold off on taking the garbage out right away, and relax with some loved ones instead.
Make a great space, Pt. II.
You don’t just want your home to be clean and accommodating—those are bare minimum expectations. You want your place to be welcoming, warm, and inviting! In order for that to happen, you’ll need to spruce up and embellish your space a bit to create some comforting and familiar vibes, where people will be able to fully unwind and relax. When decorating for Thanksgiving, focus on some of the senses to create an ideal ambiance:
- Sight: Grab a cute little cornucopia from a craft store, make a banner with ease out of some cloth scraps and twine, grab some fall-colored flowers—even though these are all smaller decorative measures, they add to the bigger picture and holiday scheme of your home. Get a bit on the extra side by creating a fun photobooth station for your guests! Put up a colorful sheet on a wall, add some props and/or signs, and have a blast taking pictures to remember the event.
- Sound: Create a playlist that will fit the mood and tone of the event. A mix of calm and upbeat is a great bet, and you can pretty much guarantee that Spotify or some other music streaming station will have some great playlists curated for Thanksgiving-specific purposes. Keep in mind that music at Thanksgiving should be subtly noticeable, never overpowering, but have some well-known features that can accommodate some spontaneous dance parties and singing sessions.
- Smell: The food is going to smell amazing when everyone is hungry, but by the time everyone feels like their bodies are actually made of turkey and stuffing, it’s time to switch the scent gears. Our Sage Thyme Fusion or Green Apple incense can be a great aroma that can add to a more mellowed vibe, and balance out some of the stronger food scents that took place throughout the day.
- Taste: Eat, eat some more, pause, repeat.
- Touch: We’ll dive into this one in more depth later, but a great space is not complete without some great tactile things. After eating, supply your guests with pillows and blankets and get as comfy as humanly possible. Everyone will be down for a movie and cozy vibes!
That’s all for our blog on Thanksgiving tips for now; in our future post, we’ll cover some of the event day essentials! Getting ready for Thanksgiving can seem like a lot to take on, but with these tips from Wicked Sense, we know you’ve got this covered. Start your preparations now, and you’ll be in great shape come Thanksgiving day. In the meantime, check out our Wicked Sense candles and incense from our online candle store and purchase yours today!
