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Thanksgiving is coming up fast. Will you be home? Will you make a turkey? Will you invite friends and family over to celebrate? Will you be untraditional and have it catered? Or make a butternut squash lasagna with a pear and gorgonzola salad and garlic bread? Whatever your plans this year, don’t stress about it! Thanksgiving is a time for thankfulness. With that in mind, we’ve put together some tips to help you get the most out of your Thanksgiving feast.

First, infuse your days with thankfulness. That’s what this holiday yearns for. So gather your family and practice it. Practice it every day leading up to The Great Day of Thanks. If you have children (or even if you don’t) cut out a tree from brown paper, or paint one, and purchase fake leaves from the dollar store. Every day write one thing you’re thankful for on one leaf and attach it to the tree. Use your children’s hands for leaves, use real tree branches and set them in a vase, or make it super easy by taping your thankful leaves to a piece of yarn, creating a thankful garland. Hang it on your mantel, in your hallway, or on a wall in your kitchen.

Then, think about the menu. Turkeys often are very cheap at grocery stores in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Sometimes even $0.49 per pound or less. Often you have to purchase $25 or $40 in other items before you get the inexpensive turkey, so look at other sales and plan your trip accordingly. If turkey isn’t your thing, try this butternut squash lasagna or a chicken pot pie with bread and a salad.

Next, the table. Ah, the table setting. A beautiful table setting makes the food taste better, like the atmosphere at a nice restaurant relaxes you and makes your food more delectable. So place a large piece of off-white lace on top of an orange tablecloth. Get a few pillar candle holders and top them with tiny pumpkins instead of candles. Place those on top of some silk greenery. For a more modern look, and one that will also begin a fun tradition for your family, purchase a new tablecloth and place a sharpie marker at each place setting with a small note asking guests to write one thing they are thankful for, date it and sign it. Then, the next year you can pull out the same tablecloth and be reminded of a long history of thanks in your home.

Is your dining room too small for all the people you want to invite? Have it outside! The weather here is perfect for outside dining and the outdoors lends itself well to casual dining as well as impeccable elegance. Place potted mums, a scarecrow, a wheelbarrow and pumpkins in your yard. Hang white lights in your trees, and lanterns filled with tiny pumpkins along the center of the table. Another plus to an outside Thanksgiving is that no one will think twice about using disposable plates, and you can be thankful for fewer dishes in your sink!

Make as much as you can ahead of time. Make your pie crust today and stick it in the freezer. Pull it out the day or two before Thanksgiving and make your pies then. Pumpkin and pecan pies are perfect at room temperature, and are often better when they are a day old anyway. If you are making apple pie and want it warm, simply reheat it the day of.

Whatever you’re planning, we’re sure it will be great in your new home by Brandywine Homes. Are you looking for a new home in Orange County, Long Beach or the Los Angeles metro area? Brandywine Homes is opening six new communities this year offering a combined 265 single-family homes and townhomes. Click here for more information.