Real Simple A Joyous Thanksgiving
A Joyous Thanksgiving
Traditions That Grow With You • The best part about Thanksgiving? Getting to mix old and new rituals, so the celebration feels personal to your past - and how you live now.
Opener • Simple and elegant ways to deck the halls, prep your place for overnight guests, refresh your fireplace, and set a festive table.
Be Our Guest • ’Tis the season for company to stay over! Whether you’ve got a friend passing through for the night or your cousin’s family descending for a week, here’s how to keep them comfy, cozy, and (at least somewhat) self-sufficient. Because even if you’re not quite ready for a crowd, you can make sure every room in the house is.
5 Subtle Ways to Decorate for the Season • These timeless touches will bring festive vibes to your space from Thanksgiving straight through New Year’s.
Light It Up • Ready to entertain in front of a lovely fire? First, style your mantle just right - then make sure the hearth and chimney are raring to go.
Fix Up Your Fireplace • Don’t let a little mess extinguish your excitement about building a fire.
Fall Flower Power • Use the season’s go-to blooms to DIY modern and unfussy Thanksgiving arrangements. Floral stylist and garden designer Lindsey Taylor shows us how.
Opener • Getting into a grateful groove, celebrating quirky family traditions, feeling calm in stressful holiday situations, and keeping the conversation flowing around the table.
Giving Thanks • Gratitude feels great for a reason: When you stop and note the good things in your life, you nudge your brain into a positive frame.
My Favorite Family Tradition
• Real Simple staffers and friends share the unique foods and rituals that make their (turkey) day.
Navigate Tricky Dinner Convos • Even if your family gets along great, you might worry about what could come up mid-meal. We asked a neuroscientist to explain the art of table talk - and to share how to calm our brain, keep the peace, and enjoy the chatter.
62 Fun Conversation Starters • Who wants to stress about the dinner conversation? We gathered playful questions that keep the talk flowing.
Feel at Ease in Every Seasonal Situation • Don’t let your nerves suck the fun out of holiday merriment. Follow this smart advice instead.
Opener • Pro tips and recipes for a stellar cheese board, fun drinks, an amazing turkey and trimmings, next-day breakfasts, leftovers … and pies! We wouldn’t forget the pie.
Spread Some Love • The trick to building a crowd-pleasing cheese board.
It’s Turkey Time! • Should you brine it? What’s the trick to even cooking? When can you carve it up? Consider this final word on the bird.
Plan a Potluck Like a Pro • Divvy up the menu in a way that works for you, and keep these pointers in mind. You’ll wonder why you ever cooked the whole meal yourself.
Potatoes, Please • Dear potatoes, how do we love thee? Let us count the ways - roasted, layered, all buttered up, and pureed into pies. Here are five recipes that spotlight why you’re everyone’s Thanksgiving sweetheart.
Prep School • Coordinating a big meal for a (small) crowd is no easy task. These fixes will help the day go off without a hitch.
Gravy SOS! • When the sauce is good, it’s very, very good. When it’s not, here’s how to fix it.
The 4-Hour Thanksgiving • With some prep earlier in the week, you can sleep in on Thursday and still have a delicious Thanksgiving dinner on the table by late afternoon.
Holiday-Worthy Wine • Choosing a bottle or three for Thanksgiving can be daunting, so we asked pros to simplify our search.
Don’t Forget the Punch • Wine may be the traditional way to go, but for extra credit, stir up a big-batch…