Hello everyone! It is Erin Floto from @erinflotodesigns here. It is the fall which means that Thanksgiving, one of the biggest U.S. holidays of the year is coming up! This holiday is a big one because it is a wonderful opportunity for friends and family to gather together to watch football, play games, and of course, eat! This Thanksgiving spread is sure to help you prepare for such a hectic holiday!

But first, here are the items you will need:

• Archer and Olive Notebook - Any color and size will do! Just have space for 2 pages for this spread! Maybe try a fall favorite!
• Any Pen - I love using a variety of calliographs, acrylographs and more!
• Creativity and Decoration - I put together a printable for you using fall colors but definitely feel free to dive into washi tape and fall stickers as well!

Fall Into Your Planner!

One of my favorite times of the year is fall so I have a very fall color palette in this particular spread today. I used 2 fall calliograph pens including maroon and mustard, as well as a lighter pale peach to highlight every other line in the various sections. I love to highlight lines because it is a visual clue that the information, while still in the same section, are different lines and helps me see all the different items better.

Creating a Schedule

I have spent quite a few years cooking Thanksgiving dinner and I will tell you one of my favorite tools is a schedule. I’ve included one in this spread on the left-hand side with every hour highlighted. This schedule includes when the turkey needs to go in the oven, when I start making appetizers, when guests are arriving, and more! Typically I also include in this schedule the order that I have to cook items and what time in comparison to the turkey. My two biggest tips for preparing a Thanksgiving meal is: prep as much as you can so you can just throw it on the stove or in the oven and enlist help from family and friends to bring items as well. If you do have friends and family assist - work from a master list so guests aren’t bringing in two of the same item (unless it is a beloved item for the family!).

Food List

Also on the left page of my two page spread is a food list. This list is simple with a header for each course of the meal: appetizers, sides, main meal, and desserts, a list of the foods under those headers and a cook time for each of those foods. This will help you organize what items have to go out and when, as well as how to cook the items in order. I don’t know about your family, but somehow in mine there is always a dish left in the kitchen like the yams sitting on the corner of the countertop. So this list will make sure everything makes it on to the serving table or the buffet line.

Dietary Restrictions

Dietary restrictions are important to consider in what items make it onto the table, as well as how food is being prepared. Whether it is allergies or food preferences, make sure you have a list of who it is and what restriction they have. I have Michael who is allergic to peanuts in this example. I often prepare my dog’s foods with peanut butter in my kitchen so if that individual is coming to Thanksgiving. I need to do a very thorough cleaning prior to making Thanksgiving dinner in my kitchen to ensure that no peanut dust or peanut butter is around!

Seating Chart

This is probably not necessary for everyone but I wanted to include in this spread for the folks who are extra (like me) and may design some placemats or cute trinkets for their guests. In place of a seating chart, I would ordinary place the order and time that items need to be cooked that I mentioned earlier. In this spread, however, it isn’t a bad idea to put in a seating chart 

If you are more visual and auditory learner I’ve included a video explaining each of the sections and why I included them for this spread. I hope this video is helpful for preparing for a hectic but fun holiday for you and your friends and family!

I hope this blog, video and printable gives you the inspiration for your Thansgiving preparations this year!! Thank you so much for joining and please tag @erinflotodesigns and @archerandolive and #aoshare on Instagram with any thanksgiving spreads you create!