How To Plan a Real Vintage Thanksgiving | Vintage Home Management ⋆ Mid-Century Modern Mommy

I’ve been a mom for over 20 years, and a vintage housewife for over 10 years, learning by doing how those 1950s housewives did it all.

One thing I’ve found is that vintage home management is all about the PLANNING.

Because once it is down on paper, it isn’t just invisible labor anymore.

So here’s how I plan for November and Thanksgiving, vintage style.

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Table Of Contents

Plan November Housekeeping
November Lists
Plan Thanksgiving
Begin Christmas Planning
And that's it for my November home management!

Plan November Housekeeping

Obviously, life still goes on in a holiday month! So, some things you still need to keep up with.

The things that need to be planned every month are the cleaning and laundry routines — daily, weekly, and seasonal — that keep the house running smoothly.

Also, meals, 3 times a day and from scratch, are more important right now, because not only is food expensive, but you also need to plan for Thanksgiving being a SERIOUS food holiday. So you need to practice, and also save money and energy for the holiday.

I usually make sure that my “company shelf” has things for quick dinners for the family, in case I need to make a 30-minute meal during the busy season.

Here’s what I plan for November vintage housekeeping:

Daily and Weekly cleaning routines
Seasonal chores
Winterizing maintenance
Monthly meal outlines

Plan November Parties

Finally, there are OTHER holidays that occur during the month. I plan for Hallowtide, a birthday, Election Day (with an open house on Election Night), and Veteran’s Day.

I usually limit my “company” entertaining this month to the Thanksgiving Dinner and Election Night open house and cocktail party, but we do a family Hallowtide celebration, and with family that have been in the armed services, we have a family party for Veteran’s Day.

I do make sure that my “company shelf” is ready, with canned fish, crackers, olives, etc. I also make sure the bar is stocked and my baking shelf is ready to go, or I have a list so I can get things on sale.

I have hospitality checklists in my Vintage Year ebook.

Fall/Winter Wardrobe Switch

Other planning that needs to be done is for the seasonal clothing change, stocking up for cold and flu season, switching to winter bedding, preparing for the entertaining season, and preparing for ski season.

Everyone in the family has capsule wardrobes, which make it easy to switch.

Here’s my list for doing a seasonal clothing switch:

Thanksgiving and fall/winter church outfits
Christmas party outfits (which are also worn on Christmas Eve to church and on Christmas Day)
Warm winter pajamas
Warm winter everyday clothes
Ski/snow outdoor clothes

I just use church clothes for most of our formal photo shoots. I check over all the clothes, especially ski things, and make sure everything is in good repair.

Winter Safety Planning

I also make sure I have winter car kits in every car. They stay in year-round, but I check them and add anything that needs replenishing to my shopping list. I use a Midwestern list, because those people KNOW snow season:

Sleeping bag
Extra stocking cap, warm socks, and mittens
Flashlight with extra batteries
First-aid kit
Booster cables, windshield scraper, brush, and rope
Drinking water
High-calorie, non-perishable food (as a 1980s California baby, this is the same trail mix, peanut butter crackers, and dried fruit that my earthquake kit had)
Sand or cat litter for traction

And we travel with a cell phone charger and everyone’s winter coats and boots whenever we go. They can take their fancy shoes to change into later.

Cold & Flu Season Planning

I also prepare for cold and flu season. I make sure I have pages in the Sick Book, and I replenish my medicine cabinet and throw out anything expired.

Here’s what I stock in my medicine cabinet for sick season:

Mustard powder, castor oil, calamine lotion, and Epsom salts
Hot water bottles and covers
Thermometer, oximeter, BP cuff, and otoscope
Listerine, Vic’s VapoRub, Children’s Tylenol and ibuprofen, cough drops, saline nasal spray, and night & day cold & flu pills for my husband (IYKYK), Alka-seltzer, baby aspirin, and headache powders for me
Candied ginger, honey, lemons, and peppermint tea — also plenty of chicken broth
Vitamin C and zinc

November Lists

So the lists I make for November planning are:

Monthly meal outlines
November cleaning routines
Party plans
Shopping lists for:
- A “party” or “emergency” shelf with things for company snacks and quick dinners.
- A baking shelf, with supplies for cookies, cakes and cake decorating, candy making, etc.
- Candy and nuts to keep out (cigarettes, too, if you’re that much of a ’50s housewife!)
- Clothes replacement (outgrown, wrecked beyond repair)
- Winter car kit replenishment
- Cold and flu home nursing supplies

Plan Thanksgiving

Vintage Thanksgiving planning officially starts at the beginning of November, when you make your guest list and send out invitations.

Vintage advice and directions for Thanksgiving!

Including:

How to Plan Your Party

Planning Thanksgiving

Marketing List

Cooking Plan

Setting the Table

Serving the Meal

Serving Thanksgiving Step-by-Step

The Recipes

Get It Now!

Vintage housewives hosted either Thanksgiving Eve or Thanksgiving Day parties. If you are going to a big family event, it might be nice to host before you leave. I always host the Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day for my family.

Holiday dinners are occasions for family parties. In most of our homes, they are traditional meals including all the classic foods hallowed by memory. Often, that’s what makes them the most stressful!

I am a big fan of the idea of integrating those favorite sides and desserts into your regular Fall cooking plan — not all at once — so you can practice them and they become easy.

So, this week, you’ll also plan your menu (and your monthly meal plan, so you can spread out the shopping, the cost, and manage your other foods).

For these special dinners, you’ll probably want to set your table with choice linen, silver, china, and glass, and a decorative floral, fruit, or other appropriate centerpiece. Definitely make planning your table part of your lists!

And, you should also plan your decorations, so you don’t have to stress about getting things later.

And, if YOU are the one traveling, take your Thanksgiving hostess a cornucopia of fruit that you have selected and arranged.

My Thanksgiving lists are:

Guests
Table setting
Menu
Shopping lists
- Thanksgiving decorations
- Supplies for any DIYs and crafts you are making
- Groceries
- Baking
- Hostessing supplies (drinks, linens, candy/nuts/cigarettes, etc.)

Begin Christmas Planning

Yes, Christmas is so important that I begin planning early!

My most organized vintage gracious living books recommend having ALL your Christmas shopping done! I don’t. I do a lot of my shopping at local craft fairs and also during holiday sales like Black Friday.

But, I do make my gift lists.

I review my Christmas card list, buy or make cards, and plan the Holiday season outfits and photo shoots.

I plan or make a red or green holiday dress. I also assemble accessories to make a fabulous costume to wear when I am hostess.

Here are the Christmas lists I make while planning in November:

Christmas card list
Gift list and stocking stuffers
Christmas craft ideas
Holiday outfits for everyone
Evergreens, poinsettias, and other fresh greenery and flowers for decorating (I order these before Thanksgiving, and build my decorations around them)
Supplies for wrapping gifts

And that’s it for my November home management!

Don’t forget that you can also get my entire vintage Thanksgiving plan, from menu to recipes to cooking plan, in an e-book.