Planning Thanksgiving Dinner with ADHD? Tips for Success

Organizing and planning can be challenging tasks for adults with ADHD — and those are two skills necessary for planning a Thanksgiving dinner.

Thankfully, executive function skills — which include planning and organization — are teachable skills. And that means planning a successful Thanksgiving dinner is within your reach.

Here’s what you need to know:

Plan Your Menu in Advance

First things first: plan your menu!

Organizing your thoughts and goals for the day is important. You might benefit from using a journal to plan your menu. Be sure to plan for all components of your meal, including:

• The main dish (it’s okay if turkey isn’t your thing)
• Vegetables
• Starches, including mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes
• Side dishes, including cranberries or other sauces
• Appetizers
• Bread or rolls
• Desserts
• Beverages

Creating this master menu is step one in managing your time on Turkey Day. For example, you might choose to make some of these items the day before Thanksgiving Day. You might need to take out your turkey from the freezer. We’ll get to time management tips later in this article, but for now, know that your menu is the first step to a successful event.

Need inspiration? Here’s a list of 50 tasty Thanksgiving recipes.

Prepare for Your Grocery Trip

Planning for a big event like Thanksgiving can seem daunting especially when your ADHD symptoms ― poor time management, inattention, difficulty organizing —start infiltrating your grocery shopping trip. Another ADHD symptom ― impulsivity ― makes grocery trips particularly difficult.

The best way to combat these challenges is to prepare for your grocery trip. Trying to plan a meal for a large party is difficult without planning, whether you have ADHD or not.

Before you even head to the store, you’ll need:

• A grocery list (including any items you need for the party e.g., paper plates, candles, décor)
• A designated time to shop (trying to squeeze in a large shopping trip isn’t ideal… allot plenty of unrushed time to shop)
• A full belly (shopping on an empty stomach increases your risk of impulsive buys and deviations from your list)

Tips for Making Your Grocery List

• Always write your list down, either on paper or in a digital grocery app. This will help eliminate forgotten items.
• Include quantities of items e.g. two cans of pumpkin puree or one 32-ounce can
• Be specific e.g. bread flour versus cake flour
• List out ingredients for a recipe e.g., instead of writing “pumpkin pie stuff” write two cans of pumpkin puree, eggs, two boxes of pie crust mix, 1-ounce jar of pumpkin spice mix, 1 pint of heavy whipping cream… and so on

Use Your Calendar

There’s a lot going on in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, and a calendar can you keep track of everything you need to do.

If time management is especially difficult for you, a calendar is even more so important.

You might use your calendar to create a schedule for:

• Setting out the turkey — some turkeys need days to thaw. You can check here.
• Setting the table
• Preparing any side dishes prior to Thanksgiving
• When to start baking
• When to put beverages in the fridge
• When to start cleaning for guests (you might start your cleaning days before Turkey Day and focus more on baking closer to the big day)

A well-organized calendar can help prevent last minutes scrambling.

Delegate

Just because you’re hosting Thanksgiving, doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. Delegating tasks, even small ones, can help the day run smoother.

Ideas include:

• Giving small (but well-defined) tasks to your children
• Be specific: instead of asking for “help” ask for specific help e.g., “sweep the dining room” or “write names on the place settings” 
• Ask for friends or family members to bring a side dish (but write this on your menu so you can keep track!)

Delegating doesn’t just mean friends or family helping you. You might delegate or receive help in other ways too. This might include hiring a cleaning service to clean your house the day before Thanksgiving, or you might order pies from a local bakery. Note that these all require pre-planning so if you think you’ll outsource help, start the preparations well in advance.

Don’t Overestimate the Power of Simple

If you feel overwhelmed, try to focus on simple things. If the thought of roasting a whole turkey overwhelms you, try a turkey breast instead. If the idea of juggling oven time between pies and rolls is too much, go for simple. Order rolls from a bakery to free up some space.

At the end of the day, Thanksgiving is about coming together as a family and celebrating love, joy, and things we are thankful for in life — and a simple meal can be part of that.

Tools to Help You Plan

Here are a few suggestions to make planning Thanksgiving even easier:

• Online or paper calendar
• Online or paper grocery list
• Online grocery delivery services (Some grocery stores offer delivery, but you can use other apps like Instacart too.)
• The number to the Turkey Hotline! If you have a cooking problem, the Butterball Turkey Hotline can help!

Enjoy the Day!

No matter how the day unfolds, remember to cherish the memories and celebrate those you love! If something goes wrong, or an ingredient goes missing, take a deep breath, center yourself, and carry on.

Need Extra Help with Planning and Organization?

If you’re still feeling overwhelmed with planning and organizing tasks, we can help. Here at Next Step 4 ADHD, we provide comprehensive, multimodal support, including:

• One-to-one ADHD coaching
• Medication management
• Therapy
• Online courses, including our FREE self-care course which focuses on nutrition
• Group courses, including Planning & Organizing Group Program

To make an appointment or to learn more, call us at 502-907-5908. You can also request an appointment here.