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...
