EARLY NOVEMBER
Finalize your menu
If you're ordering a fresh turkey, do so now. You will need 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of turkey per person.

Make pie dough, and freeze

Polish flatware, and iron table linens.
Floral centerpieces finish off a well-set table. Florists are busy this time of year, so order flowers now.

ONE WEEK BEFORE
Clean refrigerator, clearing as much space as possible.

Write a shopping list. Purchase nonperishables. Wait until the day before Thanksgiving to buy salad greens, fresh bread, or seafood. Purchase wine.

Make place cards

FOUR TO FIVE DAYS BEFORE
If using a frozen turkey, begin to thaw in refrigerator, allotting about 5 hours for each pound of turkey. Place bird on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips.

TWO DAYS BEFORE
Prepare the serving pieces, plates, flatware, glasses, etc. If using cloth napkins or tablecloths, iron them now.

Make the cranberry sauce; a couple of days in the refrigerator will give the flavors time to develop.

Homemade stuffing often calls for stale bread; cut and cube the bread now, let dry on a baking sheet.

Cook and peel chestnuts.

Roast pumpkin for pie.

Make Pumpkin Purée

Buy any remaining ingredients.

ONE DAY BEFORE
Pick up fresh turkey; begin brining turkey in a saltwater bath. Make the giblet stock for the gravy.

Prepare the stuffing, but leave out any raw eggs until you stuff the bird.

Thaw pie dough; assemble and bake pies.

Peel the potatoes, and then refrigerate them in a pot of cold water.

Prepare sweet potato filling, and pipe into potato skins.

Make the vegetables and side dishes that require baking, such as casseroles, and reheat them tomorrow; or assemble them today, and cook them right before dinner.

Assemble everything you will need for table settings, including linens, serving pieces, and centerpiece; set table.

THANKSGIVING DAY
9:30 AM
Remove the turkey from the refrigerator, allowing it to sit for ninety minutes to two hours at room temperature. If your stuffing recipe calls for eggs, add them now.

11:15 AM
Preheat the oven, and stuff the turkey.

11:30 AM
Put the turkey in the oven, basting it every half hour.

12:00
Chill the white wine.

1:00 PM
Make the mashed potatoes. Closer to dinnertime, place them in a heat-proof bowl and set them at the back of the stove over simmering water.

3:00 PM
Whip the cream for the pie; prepare the coffee, but do not brew it until about twenty minutes before it will be served.

4:00 PM
Check the temperature of the turkey at the thigh, which is the thickest part. If the thermometer reads 180 degrees remove the turkey from the oven. If not, check the temperature every fifteen minutes until the bird is done.

4:15 PM
The turkey will need to sit for thirty minutes prior to carving. Take advantage of the break to make any last minute vegetables and the gravy.

4:30 to 5:00 PM
Call everyone to the table. Start the coffee maker just before sitting down.