Imagine yourself on Thanksgiving morning: You've got dishes on the stove, rolls in the oven, and a table to set. As dinnertime looms, you're trying to remember which cousin likes dark meat and which one likes white, who hates Brussels sprouts, which of your nieces is vegan, and how to serve the gravy. Whew! You probably need a glass of wine.
To ensure maximum happiness all around, consider serving your meal buffet-style. Here are five reasons why:
1. No plating. When you've spent the better part of a day cooking, you don't need an extra task to worry about. At a buffet, everyone can serve themselves, so you're free to tend to the last-minute details in the kitchen.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
2. No waiting. At a buffet-style meal, guests can get up and refill whenever they like. You don't have to pass dishes around the table all night, and no one has to wait for seconds.
3. More room for wine! Just kidding! (Kind of). Setting up a buffet on a side table or in the kitchen frees up space on the table for your centerpiece, place settings, and drinks of all kinds. No more overcrowded holiday tables!
4. Personalized meals. With allergies and general likes and dislikes to contend with, Thanksgiving can be a minefield for a host. It's nearly impossible to plan a single three-course holiday meal to please an entire crowd. A buffet allows you to serve a variety of dishes that might not otherwise fit together. A vegetarian can double up on sides and skip turkey, a vegan can bypass the creamedcorn, and so on. This is particularly useful when it comes to dessert: No shouting of individual pie requests — just set out your pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and whipped cream and let them at it.
5. No duplicates. A meal for a crowd usually spans a large table or multiple tables, which often means duplicates of every dish; this is both more time-consuming to prep and requires you to own lots of serving dishes. For a buffet, you can set out one of everything and not worry about anyone missing out.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Buffet or not, Thanksgiving is a lot of work. Here are some tips to keep yourself calm in the kitchen — and at the end of the night, give thanks for family members who are willing to wash the dishes.
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
register for free
Already have an account? Sign in
Subscribe to The Week
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Subscribe & Save
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions. Create an accountwith the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Ukraine using covert US long-range missiles
Arizona grand jury indicts 18 in Trump fake elector plot
Antony Gormley's Time Horizon – a 'judgmental army' of 100 cast-iron men
