Quite often, people overdo it for Thanksgiving, both in preparing and enjoying the meal.
But, it's possible to have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends without having to break the budget and spend two days in the kitchen.
The easiest way to do this is to organize a shared meal with your family and friends, and it actually brings the original tradition of sharing what we have with those we love to the forefront of the meal.
Once you've created a guest list, call and explain to them your idea.
Ask each family to bring their favorite side dish and dessert.
If you want to be really organized, you could plan the menu in advance and ask each family what they would like to bring from the menu, so you don't have duplicates.
However, most families have their traditional favorite items, so you might be surprised by the variety you have just by letting them decide what to bring.
Then, as the host family, you provide the main dish.
Plan ahead for the thawing and cooking time for the turkey, so it will be finished shortly before your guests arrive.
With the pop-up timers in turkeys, there is little guesswork involved in cooking the bird.
There are many websites on the internet to help you cook the perfect holiday turkey.
There are also 1-800 hotline numbers to help you prepare the meal.
If you decide to have a smaller meal, with just your immediate family, there is no need to fix a huge meal.
You may want to fix a few extra items, but just having time to sit and relax and eat a meal together as a family is quite often enough.
With so many families running in all different directions, it's nice just to eat together and focus on the blessings of your life.