Thanksgiving Preparation

Thanksgiving, while a small gathering, takes place at my home.  It also challenges me with preparation, both as chief chef and as host.  Three weeks remain, to include cleaning, shopping, meal preparation, some lessons in small talk, maybe a few YouTube sessions on family congeniality, with shabbos and dishwashing to follow.  Thus far I do not know who will need feeding or transport.  My daughter had been joining us but delayed her return to the East Coast by about a week.  My son and daughter-in-law now live within driving range but have not announced their plans.  It is unlikely I will need a turkey.  The single breast half should get us through shabbos.

In past years, I've made both soup and appetizer.  I think I'll omit the latter this year.  That brings menu categories to:

1. Motzi
2. Soup
3. Salad
4. Dressing
5. Turkey
6. Cranberry 
7. Sweet Potato
8. Vegetable
9. Dessert
10. Beverage 

Basic categories allow a lot of flexibility, laws of Kashrut providing the most restriction, along with practicalities of expense and ease of preparation.  I don't need any new utensils or appliances.  I will need to decide whether to use cookbooks or online recipes, though I really like the bread from one of my cookbooks.  Probably alcohol-free unless my son comes.  Having banned the evil soda from my home, I think wine would be his preferred substitute.  

I tend not to decorate as a theme, even for Hanukkah which this year follows Thanksgiving by only a few days and has its own cuisine.  

If my Thanksgivings now have a paucity of people, they retain the abundance of food and my satisfaction with assembling the parts to make the weekend festive.